Chapter 12 #2
I stepped inside her room to find her curled up asleep on her bed.
Her dark hair cascaded over her pillow, and her hands were tucked under her head.
She looked too trusting as she slept. I’d convinced myself that staying away from her would keep her safe, but that distance hadn’t protected her.
Watching her sleep, I understood too late that I had already failed her because someone had let me know tonight that she was on their radar.
Giselle was already sitting alone in a booth at the back of the restaurant. Her light hair was pinned up and tucked beneath a hat, and she was sipping on green tea and focusing on the menu.
I sat down across from her.
She gave me a smile. “Thanks for coming on such short notice. Did you want to eat?”
I was hungry, but I also didn’t want to leave Mila home alone too long. “I’m good.”
“How’s married life?” Her question was casual, but curious.
I crossed my arms, not wanting to talk about the biggest complication in my life. “Fine.”
“I heard you bought a house.”
“Yes.”
She smiled as she assessed my boundaries around Mila. “I brought you out tonight because I saw something that I can’t put in text. This can’t come back to me.”
“Tell me.”
“You know I run the shipping logistics for the Volkov family. They added an unscheduled intake without any paperwork.”
I frowned. “Meaning?”
“I manage cargo duty, so I track everything in my system. They scheduled containers, warehouse space and manpower, with the point of intake at the dock, but we don’t have a ship coming in.”
I still wasn’t following her. “Help me out.”
“You do. You have a shipment coming in.”
We had a large shipment of illegal weapons coming in from Europe, but I didn’t know how anyone knew that. “You think they’re planning to intercept my shipment?”
“Yes.”
Twice in the month before his demise, Demetrius had two different shipments hijacked, and it had set our supply chain back significantly. “Do you know how the details of my shipments are leaking?”
She shrugged. “It could be anything from corruption at the port authority level, or you have someone in your supply chain providing intel to the Volkovs.”
I could feel my blood pressure rise at the thought of being double crossed. Nothing annoyed me more.
“I appreciate your help.”
She looked at me with concern. “They will keep escalating. Be careful.”
I thought about the photos of Mila. “You too.”
Two days later, I was driving to the docks with Maksim next to me. It was crushingly early, and only the seagulls were up. Everyone else in this city still seemed to be sleeping.
We pulled up to a red light and waited.
“You ready for your update?” Maksim asked.
I took a sip of my coffee. “Yup.”
“Last night we took three simultaneous attacks, but nothing that resulted in anything more than minor damage. We suspect but can’t confirm the Volkov family.”
“It’s starting,” I said grimly.
“We think the photos of Mila were noise from the Volkovs. I’ve heard they did this to the Italians too.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing, they were just creating fear.”
“And the attacks at the docks?”
“They were testing our security,” Maksim concluded.
“Did everyone do as we asked?”
“Only our first wave of security responded as minimally as possible. But behind the scenes, everyone was ready.”
I could almost feel the tension building in the air. The turf war was inevitable, but I was trying to create enough alliances to delay it. It didn’t seem to be working. “Expect it to escalate soon. Tell me about Mila’s security.”
“Anton and Oleg will trade off as her bodyguard whenever she leaves the house. From the evening to the morning we have an outside guard with one dog monitoring the perimeter. We’ve set up the guesthouse as a temporary guardhouse.”
Anton and Oleg were two of my most skilled men. “Good.”
“Jordan, your chef, starts today. He’s already been vetted by security.
” He opened his notebook. “He’ll be doing all the grocery shopping and he’ll prepare a nightly meal for Mila.
He’ll also do other meals, like sandwiches and frozen dinners, that Mila can heat up.
I told him that her preferences are the priority, and to give her as much choice and space as possible when it comes to cooking and eating. ”
I nodded, satisfied. “We’ve got a couple of weeks max until the real war starts. We need to be as prepared as possible. Let’s get to work.”
Work was hectic, and I used it as an excuse to keep my distance from Mila.
Now that I knew she was safe at home with a security team and a chef, I spent most nights sleeping in my office and showering at the gym.
When I went home, it generally was just to change, and I often chose to do that when Mila was asleep.
Tonight was no different. I had just lain down on my couch when Maksim opened my office door. “Boss?”
“What is it?”
“Remember how you asked me to set up trading dock times with the Italians?”
I smiled into the dark anticipating his news. “Yes.”
“I just got word that the Volkovs didn’t realize it was the Italians’ ship and they tried to overtake their shipment by force.”
I had traded my dock time with the Italians, warning them it could be an ambush. They had been more than willing to get into it with the Volkov family. “What happened?”
“The Italians took them by surprise and when the Volkov men tried to board their ship, all hell broke loose.”
I sat up and turned on the lamp. “Was anyone hurt?”
“Three were sent to the hospital.”
“Are you heading to the dock?”
“Yeah, right now.”
I stood up and started to pull on my coat. “I’ll drive.”
He made conversation while he waited. “Mila’s security team seems to be working out.”
“How so?” I had read the reports, and nothing had been mentioned.
“I guess she’s in love with the guard dogs, and she’s bribing the outside team with homemade cookies so they let her pet the dogs.”
“She’s baking?”
“She’s getting lessons from your chef. Jordan emailed and asked for a higher food budget.”
“How much can Mila eat? I’m never home.”
“Mila insists that the entire security team should have access to cooked meals.” Maksim cleared his throat. “She’s been inviting them to eat in the house.”
That made me pause.
The irony wasn’t lost on me. I spent my time sleeping on a couch and eating takeout at my desk while four other men were enjoying home cooked meals with my wife. “If it makes her happy, let her feed them.”
I couldn’t explain the dull jealousy in my gut, and that annoyed me more than I wanted to admit. I reminded myself that Mila’s safety was the only thing that mattered. I didn’t have an issue feeding the men I’d hired to protect her.
That night, even though we were busier than ever, I went home. I arrived home around ten thirty, but most of the lights in the house were out. I found Oleg sitting at the island, reading a magazine.
“You’re here late.”
Shocked, he stood up when he saw me.
“Relax,” I told him, meaning it. “Sit down.”
“Thank you, boss. The outside guard had to take his dog to the vet, so he asked me to stay late.”
“Is Mila in bed?” I asked, as I made myself a drink.
“She went upstairs about thirty minutes ago.”
I felt a pang that I’d missed her. Which didn’t make sense, considering I had been spending so much effort to avoid her. I swirled my ice in my glass, hating myself for the question I was about to ask. “How’s she doing?”
“Boss?”
“Is she keeping you busy?”
He shrugged, not realizing that he knew way more about my wife’s habits than I did. “The usual.”
I took a slow sip of my drink. “What does that look like?”
Oleg cleared his throat, betraying his nerves. “After she eats breakfast, she likes to go for a walk on the beach. Sometimes she goes to a yoga class at her local community center on Monday mornings.”
“Does she have any friends?”
He shrugged. “Just us.”
“Thanks.”
His phone pinged. “The night guard just got back. I’ll see you later.”
I heated up some lasagna that I found in the freezer, walking around the family room while I waited.
When I wasn’t looking, this place had gone from being a blank house to a home with cozy touches.
There were plants. Big throw cushions on the couch.
Candles and books on the shelves. There was even a new fabric ottoman that suited the room and the big couch.
The house had changed into something when I wasn’t paying attention. Mila had made this place feel real, warm and quiet. I had disappeared, and she had made this her space. That had been my goal, so I wasn’t sure why I felt so hollow.
The next morning, I found myself thinking about Mila. How was she doing? Was she handling the security okay? Did she like the chef? I had more than enough work to keep me busy, but instead I called Anton, Mila’s guard.
“Hey, boss.”
“How’s it going?”
A slight pause. “We’re good. We’re just downtown.”
My question was deceptively casual. “What’s Mila up to?”
“She’s at an open house at Adult Dogwood.”
“What’s that?” Was she trying to adopt a dog?
He cleared his throat clearly feeling like he was caught in the middle of something. “It’s a program that offers adult students a GED degree.”
“Her high school equivalent?”
“Yeah.” There was a note of discomfort in his voice. “She starts class tomorrow, and this is some sort of meet and greet. Should I stop her?”
Lately, no one seemed to surprise me more than my wife. “Absolutely not. Support her without question.”
“Okay.”
“Does she need anything like tuition money?”
His voice dipped, uncertain. “She was checking out laptops at the mall, but so far she hasn’t bought anything.”
“Thanks.”
That evening, I decided to leave work early. I took a detour on the way home and stopped at a high end computer store to buy Mila the best laptop I could find.
When I walked in the door, I expected to find her sitting alone in her room, watching a show.