Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 100416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
“Then hold on to your ass, Romanov. I’ll show up ready to wow.” She strode out of the office, and he watched her go. It was a gamble putting her in charge of anything, but one he had to take.
More, one he wanted to take.
What would Keira become if given the freedom and power to do so?
Only one way to find out.
Alexei appeared in the doorway after Keira had left. “There’s new information on the Eldridges. I sent it to your computer.”
“Spasibo.”
He spent the next hour wading through the new intel. He needed to know how Alethea had secured Mae’s bail. Obviously the woman had dirt on someone higher up, and knowing who would be vital in continuing on this path. If she was doing something as mundane as blackmail, her victim would likely thank him for removing the issue. If it was a partner or some sort, that changed things.
The problem was that Keira’s scent had permeated the office. With every inhale, he was transported back to the vision of her spread out on his desk, her hazel eyes hooded with pleasure, her body primed for him. All he wanted was to leave the office and climb the stairs to the master suite so he could finish what they’d started here.
The phone rang, and Dmitri took a few precious seconds to get his head on straight and check the time—five a.m.—before he answered. “Romanov.”
“I have the location for you.” Cillian O’Malley’s voice was perfectly businesslike, just like it was every time he was forced to deal with Dmitri.
He didn’t even blame the man for it. If their situations were reversed, he imagined he’d feel the same. The only difference was that Dmitri wouldn’t show his dislike every time they interacted and give his enemy ammunition to further get under his skin.
There wasn’t time for any of that at the moment. “I’m listening.”
“I’ve e-mailed it all over, though you’ll have to click through a few links to unscramble it.”
Dmitri blew out a silent sigh of relief. He’d been sure Cillian had the skill set, but it was one thing to be sure in theory and another to have the man following through on his promise. “If I find them, I’ll relay the information.”
“No, you won’t, and we both know it. Which is why Mark will be arriving shortly.”
Fuck. The last thing he wanted to deal with was an O’Malley man underfoot. They had enough going on without adding to the dynamic, and he didn’t know how Keira would react. Would she be pleased to see Mark? The thought didn’t sit well with Dmitri. Mark lived in the O’Malley house. He would have had unlimited access to her over the years. Dmitri wasn’t aware of their relationship being anything other than platonic, but he’d also missed the fact that Seamus had hurt Keira.
Going home had done a number on her. He hadn’t had a chance to address it yet, but that was the event where everything pivoted. She might not have been settling in here, exactly, but she’d withdrawn after going back to Boston. Dmitri initially thought it was because of homesickness, but she walked out of that house with ghosts in her eyes.
“Romanov.”
He shook his head. He shouldn’t be mentally wandering while on the phone with an O’Malley. Even Cillian. Especially Cillian. “I’ll discuss it with Keira, and we’ll make arrangements for him to stay where she’s most comfortable.” Somewhere not in this fucking house.
“You’re really married to this fantasy that she wants to be there, aren’t you?”
“I’m really married to her.”
Cillian cursed. “She’s barely more than a child.”
“She’s twenty-one and more than capable of making her own decisions. But that’s the problem, isn’t it? Not that you think I forced her, but that she chose me.”
“I know how you operate. You wouldn’t have to force her if you leaned hard enough on the right pressure points.”
It was a valid argument, and it was how Dmitri pushed Keira into coming with him in the first place. That changed nothing. “She made her choice. Respect it.”
“I’ll respect it when I believe it was actually her choice,” Cillian fired back.
Her family would never believe it. Even if her feelings for him turned into something real, they’d still doubt and question and chip away at the fragile balance Dmitri had fought so hard for. There was too much history between him and the O’Malleys for them to do anything else.
For the first time, he regretted the plays he’d made—just a little.
“Thank you for the information, Cillian.” He hung up before either of them could say anything further. They would never be friends, but he respected Cillian for the way he treated Olivia and Hadley.
That didn’t mean he’d let the man do whatever he damn well pleased, though.
Dmitri pulled up his information on the Eldridges and plugged the range of coordinates into his system. He doubted they’d stay in one of their publically owned properties, but he knew a number of their safe houses—the very ones Mikhail had been searching.