Chapter 10
CHAPTER
TEN
KIRILL
Her deadbolt clicks into place while I stand in front of her door.
“The alarm too,” I yell.
“Yeah, yeah, I was getting to it.” Evelina’s amused tone is followed by the soft beep of the system arming.
“Good night, Evelina.”
“Good night, boss.”
Her voice comes out a little throaty, and I have to rest my forehead against her door and breathe for a few seconds, willing my half-hard cock to calm the fuck down.
I should’ve kissed her. Should’ve pressed her against that door, fisted my hand in all that blonde hair, and found out if she tastes as good as I’ve been imagining.
I know why I didn’t. Because kissing her wouldn’t have been nearly enough. I need to be buried deep in her pussy—that’s the only way to scratch this itch that’s been eating at me since the moment she walked into my club.
But tonight, business calls.
Elio and my brothers are waiting at our Red Hook warehouse to finalize the plan for the Ghost operation at the end of the week. I’m already late because I couldn’t resist playing chauffeur and feeding her.
I force myself down the stairs and back to the Land Rover. One last glance up at her window confirms her lights are on and her curtains drawn before I pull away.
My mind won’t let go of tonight. Of Rosa’s knowing smile when she cornered me while Evelina was in the bathroom.
“Is she your girlfriend?” Rosa asked, eyes bright with curiosity.
“No. Just someone who works for me.”
Rosa laughed. “ Mijo , I’ve known you for a long time. You’ve never brought a woman here. Not once in all these years. If you brought her here, she’s special to you. Maybe you haven’t realized it yet, but you will.”
Then she patted my cheek and walked off, leaving me to wonder why I’d brought Evelina here. I hadn’t planned it. We were in the neighborhood and I thought she was hungry after her shift.
Fuck… I’ve never had the impulse to feed a woman before. Or introduce her to people I consider family.
My phone buzzes with an incoming call and I answer through Bluetooth.
“I’m on the way,” I bark, assuming it’s my brothers calling to give me shit for being late. “Another ten minutes.”
“It’s Miron. I’m calling because I got the info you wanted about that server… Evelina Panova.”
I drum my finger on the steering wheel. “I’m listening.”
“Everything checks out on paper.”
“But?” I can hear the reservation in his tone.
“Her past is too… clean. Everyone has skeletons in the closet. An ex who shit-talks you online, leaked dirty selfies, hell, even a parking ticket. She’s got nothing.”
“Maybe she’s just careful, led a sheltered life.”
Miron doesn’t sound convinced. “In my experience when someone’s past is too clean, it’s usually a sign to dig deeper.”
A clean life? Is that a red flag? Maybe, maybe not. But I know better than to ignore Miron’s instincts.
“Fine. Keep digging.” I pause as another idea occurs to me. “Let’s do one better. Keep an eye on her. Not constant surveillance, but keep tabs on where she goes and who she meets. If there’s cause for concern, let me know.”
“You got it. And one more thing. I hacked into MTI’s student records.
She’s enrolled in the cybersecurity engineering program, which is fucking impressive, but the results from her admissions test are what caught my attention.
She got a perfect score. The notes in her file describe her as a tech prodigy. ”
An odd sense of pride swells in my chest knowing the woman who’s gotten under my skin isn’t just beautiful, she’s brilliant.
I merge onto the freeway. “Good to know. You report directly to me about this. No one else needs to know.”
“Understood.”
I hang up as I pull into the back of our Red Hook warehouse. It is one of many we own around the city, used for storage of weapons, drugs, or whatever we need to move.
Tonight, it’s for a meeting between the mafia and the bratva, planning a way to kick the Ghost out of our city.
I step out of the Land Rover and head toward the warehouse entrance, shoving thoughts of Evelina Panova into the back of my mind where they belong.