Unholy Tsar: A Dark Mafia Romance (Ruthless Dynasty Book 4)

Chapter 28

I wake up before Cecilia, and I steal a moment to watch her sleep before slipping out of bed. I’ve been neglecting her these past few days; it’s time to rectify that. Tugging on a pair of pants, I head out of our bedroom, determined to surprise her with something special.

When I walk into the living room, my men jump to their feet, but I wave them back down. We’ve had enough work; now it’s time to remember how to live. Making my way into the kitchen, I open the fridge. There isn’t much inside.

“Dante,” I call out. “Get in here.”

He’s quick about it. “Yes, boss?”

“Do you cook?”

His brows shoot up at my unusual question. “Not really. Why?”

“Fuck, forget it then.” I pull out my phone and search ‘easy breakfast recipe for a beginner.’ Dante makes a choked sound, and I glance up to see he’s peering over my shoulder at the screen.

He shakes his head slowly. “Don’t tell me you want to cook. Like, actually cook? When’s the last time you did that?”

“Don’t look so shocked,” I grunt, calling down to the lobby with a list of the ingredients I need. That piques the interest of the rest of the men. Slowly, they start to filter into the kitchen, staring at me as I’ve suddenly grown a second or third head.

I roll my eyes and lean against the counter, studying the cooking instructions diligently while I wait for the ingredients to be brought up.

It hardly takes an hour before I have everything I need.

“Thank you,” I tell the hotel staff at the door as I check the bags to make sure it’s all there. When I’m done, he’s still there, hovering hesitantly. “Is there something you’d like to tell me?”

“N–no, I just—I–Do you perhaps need us to send up one of our chefs? They’d be more than willing to help with anything, sir.”

“No, that’s okay. You may go.”

“Are you sure about this?” Dante asks as I dump the contents onto the counter and start preparing.

“It’s just omelet and toast. I doubt I can fuck it up too badly.”

He’s still watching me closely while I crack the first egg. The man is less cautious when I’m killing a man than he is now. What gives?

“That’s what I’m saying. Why cook an ordinary breakfast of eggs and toast when you can just call down to the restaurant and have a gourmet meal delivered instantly?”

Right. I could do that. But that wouldn’t be special. Cecilia deserves something special. And as bad as this might turn out, it’s something I haven’t done in a long, long time. That makes it special. For me and for her.

“You wouldn’t understand,” I reply simply.

“My God. You’re even worse than Rian,” he murmurs under his breath. “Whipped.”

I throw him a glare, and he quickly backs away with his hands up. “Just don’t burn the hotel down.”

With Dante gone, I try to concentrate on my task, but I can feel the eyes of my men on me. “See something interesting?” I ask casually as I chop some onions for the eggs. I have to sniff and blink rapidly to hold the tears in. Fuck, this is terrible.

They clear their throats and finally look away.

I turn on the toaster for it to warm up while I slice the bread, generously slathering it with butter before popping it in. While the bread is toasting, I start frying the egg. But wait, dammit, is that a shell? I use a fork to fish it out.

“Shit, I think something’s burning, Maksim,” Dante calls.

Fuck, the bread.

I abandon the eggs to deal with the toast, but that shit is already burned beyond salvaging. I let out a string of curses. How’s this even possible? I only left it in for like six minutes. Frowning, I dispose of the burnt food and slice up new pieces of bread.

It’s hard to tell how long I’ve been at it when the bedroom door finally swings open, and Cecilia walks out, looking ravishing in one of my oversized shirts. She yawns, blindly making her way to the kitchen. When she rubs the last bit of sleep from her eyes, though, it’s just in time to see the chaos unfolding before her.

Those pretty eyes go wide with shock, and suddenly, she’s running. I spread my arms out, but she runs right past me.

I spin around, completely baffled. Oh, the fucking eggs. I smack my forehead with my palm as she turns off the stove—something I thought I already did.

“What are you trying to do? Burn this hotel down?” Cecilia asks, hands on her hips.

“I wanted to make you breakfast,” I shoot back. “Who knew something as simple as toast and egg could be so fucking hard?”

The concern melts from her face. “Really? You were trying to cook for me?”

“I’m certainly not doing it for those losers.” I tilt a thumb at the men sitting a few feet away from us in the living room, pretending not to watch us.

Her eyes light up with the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen as she walks right into my chest. “No one’s ever cooked for me before. It-it’s so sweet. Thank you.”

I hug her back. “But I burnt everything.”

“You’ll get better.”

“Get better? I’m not sure I’ll ever do this again. I’m scarred for life.”

She pushes away, and gives me a playful poke in the ribs. “Not with that attitude, you won’t. Now, let’s see, there are still some ingredients here. Why don’t you go sit down while I take over?”

“Can you cook?” I ask skeptically, and she freezes, which says it all. I chuckle. “Forget it. I’ll just call down to the restaurant and have them send us something.”

She pouts. “I can’t even give it a try?”

“Nope,” I say, drawing her into my arms. “You don’t ever have to worry about stuff like this again. We have private chefs for a reason. I’ll call down and have them send something up. Why don’t you hop into the shower.”

“Fine,” she huffs grumpily.

I give her one last soft kiss, then pat her ass in the direction of the bathroom.

When she’s gone, I call the lobby and ask them to send someone to clean the mess I made and bring up their breakfast special. The second I get off the call, Dante calls my name. I look over, and the serious expression on his face stops me in my tracks.

I know before he even says anything that I’ll have to leave before the breakfast I just ordered arrives. Fuck. “What is it?”

“We just got an anonymous tip with an address that apparently belongs to our elusive puppet master. But we need to move fast. The message says he’s planning on leaving the country tomorrow.”

“Fuck. Let me see it.”

Dante hands me his phone and everything seems to check out. But the house in the address is in St. Petersburg, roughly a seven-hour drive from Moscow. If we want to make it there before nightfall, we’d have to move now. Damn it.

“I just ran a quick search, and the mansion at that address belongs to Vladmir Portov, one of the richest businessmen in Russia. He’s suspected to be a high-ranking member of the new Bratva,” Ezra, one of my men, says as he walks back into the living room.

Could this really be it?

I have to go check it out myself. Still, I hesitate. My gaze falls on the closed bedroom door. I can’t just leave Cecilia alone again, can I? Especially not after the scare I got last night when I thought I had lost her. That was such a terrible feeling, I never want to experience it again.

But she only wandered out of the hotel. If she stays in her room, she’ll be safe. Nothing can touch her here.

“What do you say, sir?” Dante asks, and I turn my attention back to him. The rest of my men are also watching me, waiting for my decision.

“Get the cars ready,” I instruct. I need to deal with this, once and for all. Then Cecilia and I can have our happy ever after. But I won’t leave her with just anyone. I’ve made that mistake far too many times already.

While Dante prepares our crew, I text Rian Kilpatrick himself.

ME:

How quickly can you get to Russia?

RIAN KILPATRICK:

Do you want to take me on a vacation, Uncle Maksim?

I chuckle. That little shit. I text a quick summary of what’s been going on and why I’m in Russia, emphasizing at the end that I need him here to help me watch over my jewel. The only way I can fully focus on my mission in St. Petersburg is if I’m sure Cecilia will be safe here.

And there’s no one I trust more than the young king named after my best friend.

RIAN KILPATRICK:

We’ll leave ASAP and be there in, say, 11 hours? Sounds like I won’t be alone either... Told everyone and they’re all thinking a little time away might do them some good. Hope that’s alright.

PS; Can’t wait to see the woman who’s made you fall on your ass, Maksim.

The smile on my face fades when I realize just how spot-on his words are. I have fallen head over ass for this woman, to the extent that I worry more about her safety than mine. I can’t wait for everyone to meet her.

But first…

My heart is heavy as I make my way to the bedroom.

“I’m almost ready, I promise, I–” She looks up at me, and the wide smile on her face slips off. “You have to leave, don’t you?”

“I’m sorry. I really wanted to spend some time with you this morning. I know I’ve been busy, but if I can end this tonight…”

She gives me a small smile as I come to a stop in front of her. “I get it. We’re here to catch some bad guys. Go do your thing. When we get back to New York, you can make it up to me.”

This woman. I yank her into me and kiss her. Her lips part with a gasp, and I immediately deepen the kiss, stroking the soft recesses of her mouth with my tongue. When I finally pull away, we’re both panting.

I love you. The words burn at the back of my throat, but I can’t get them to come out. The tender look in her eyes makes me wonder if perhaps the feeling is mutual.

“Go,” she finally whispers.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I promise fiercely and press a firm kiss to her temple before leaving.

As I join my men in the elevator, I realize it would be selfish to confess my feelings to her now anyway. There’s always a possibility that I might not make it back to her, then what?

No. Today is not the day I die. I’ll go take care of business and when I get back, I’ll pour my heart out to her.

Cecilia will stay by my side for the rest of our lives.

Because I’m going to make her my queen.