Chapter 38 Liev
LIEV
The bell above the coffee shop door jingles as we step inside. The mid-morning rush is the perfect cover for this meeting. Most of the tables are full, and there is enough chatter to obscure whatever is said at our table.
I scan the room and spot Yuri sitting at the back corner table I prefer. The position allows a clear view of the front door and access to the rear alley exit. Not that I expect this pampered prick to try anything here. But my wife is in the room which means I have to be extra careful.
I steer us to the table, and Yuri stands and walks away without a word. Sera slides into the seat facing the room, and I take the one next to her, my back to the wall.
She reaches under the table, fingers finding the small black device Finn planted earlier. A barely audible click lets me know it’s been activated and is recording.
I’m not risking Taggert claiming we didn’t give him the password. While I’m confident Mikhail would believe me over him, there’s no point in taking chances.
I settle back, arms crossed, watching the door.
“Should have gotten a coffee before we sat down,” Sera says.
I smile. My Little Warrior. Calm on the outside, even though I know she’s furious on the inside.
The bell rings again, and Tyler Taggert walks in first, followed by a second man, Arthur Taggert.
“They really don’t follow directions well,” I mutter under my breath. Not that I expected Tyler to arrive alone as he’d been instructed.
Tyler spots us and lifts a hand in a half-wave, but Arthur’s expression is stone. Until his eyes land on me. Recognition flashes across his face, quick but unmistakable. His shoulders stiffen.
Good, he remembers me.
They reach the table. Tyler’s eyes flick between us. “Sera,” he starts, voice overly friendly. “Hey, thanks for—”
“This is my husband,” Sera cuts in smoothly, gesturing to me. “Liev Kovalyov.”
Tyler blinks. “Husband?” His brows dive between his eyes. “You didn’t mention being married when I saw you.”
“Whirlwind romance,” she says, smiling serenely. “Sit.”
Arthur doesn’t sit. He shifts on his feet and stares at me like he’s measuring how many seconds it would take me to reach across the table and end him. Smart man.
Tyler finally drops into the chair opposite Sera. Arthur takes the one beside him, posture rigid.
“You’re willing to give us the password?” Tyler asks, his excitement and relief showing.
Sera tilts her head. “We have a few things to clear up first.”
Arthur’s mouth thins. Tyler shifts uncomfortably.
“You bugged my phone.” Sera narrows her eyes at them. “Tracked me. Tried to have me kidnapped—twice that I know of—Chicago and again in Vegas. Was that why you were in Dallas?”
Tyler’s head snaps up. “What? No. Why would you think that?”
He looks genuinely shocked, and I believe him.
Arthur’s expression doesn’t change. Not a flicker of surprise, but he’s more experienced than his son.
Sera keeps going, voice level. “You need to drop the lawsuit. I have no idea what happened to Aaron. I didn’t do anything to him.”
Arthur waves a dismissive hand. “I just want the password.”
So much for paternal love.
“You need to make sure your wife feels the same.” Sera says coldly.
She reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out the small black thumb drive containing the cropped photo with only the numbers on her stomach and Aaron’s smug face visible. She sets it on the table but keeps her hand on it.
I lean forward, voice low. “One last thing.”
The two men both freeze.
“I know you owe money,” I say. “A considerable debt. Now that you have the means to repay it, Mikhail will expect repayment. Immediately. Don’t make him wait.
Because if he has to send someone to collect…
” I let my eyes drift to Arthur. “It’ll be me.
And after what you put my wife through? You won’t enjoy it. ”
Tyler swallows hard. “What if it doesn’t work? What if it isn’t the password?”
Sera’s voice turns to ice. “Then I can’t help you. You took my computer when you ransacked my apartment. By now, you know I’m not hiding anything else. This is all I have.”
Arthur’s face hardens, jaw working. “If it’s not—”
I cut him off. “Then it has nothing to do with her.” I hold his stare. “This is all she has. She’s done her part.”
The air at the table thickens. Tyler looks like he wants to disappear into the chair. Arthur’s face is red, but he doesn’t speak.
Sera slides the thumb drive the last inch toward them and removes her hand.
“Take it,” she says. “Drop the suit. Pay your debts. And stay the hell away from me.”
Tyler reaches for it first, fingers trembling slightly. I wait until they push back their chairs, clearly thinking this is over, and they are going to walk away untouched after what they’ve done to her.
“Before you leave.”
They freeze halfway out of their seats.
I lean forward, elbows on the table, voice pitched low and lethal.
“From this second forward, you do not speak my wife’s name. You don’t text it, type it, whisper it, or fucking think about it out loud. You don’t look at her. You don’t drive down her street. You don’t ask anyone how she is. You don’t breathe in her direction. She no longer exists to you.”
Arthur’s eyes flick to me, and I let him see the promise of death in mine.
“Seraphina is a Kovalyov now. My wife. Which means every member of the Kovalyov Bratva will do whatever is needed to protect her. To keep her happy.”
Tyler’s throat works. Arthur’s hands shake but I suspect it’s from anger. The arrogant fuck isn’t used to not getting his way.
“If anyone in your family forgets.” I continue, “If I hear that her name has left your mouth for any reason, I will come for you.” I give them both a cold smile. “And I will take my time before dropping off whatever is left of your miserable corpses on your company’s front steps.”
Sera’s hand finds my thigh under the table, a small, steady pressure. I don’t look away from Arthur when I finish. “Get the fuck out of her sight.”
Tyler stumbles backward heading for the door. Arthur holds my stare for one more second then turns and follows his son.
The bell jingles again as the door swings shut behind them.
Only then do I exhale, slow and controlled, the monster sliding back into its cage.
Sera’s fingers lace through mine. She squeezes once.
I squeeze back.
She grins at me. “I think that was your best murder-face yet, Gangster.”