Chapter 20 #2
Sav’s quiet but deadly voice reaches me from the top of the staircase. “If you don’t get your hand off my wife right the fuck now, I’ll cut it off.”
Following the threat up with action, he descends the stairs with heavy steps.
Unfazed, Anya shoots him a smile. “That’s a nice way to welcome your friends. You’ll give them the impression that you’re not happy to see them.”
Out of respect for Sav, I step away from Anya.
Sav stops next to her and wraps a possessive arm around her waist. “Dante knows the rules.”
Anya rolls her eyes. “We’re not starting with that again.”
“Give us a moment, treasure.” Sav kisses her temple. “Dante and I will talk in the office.”
“Sure.” She looks between Reino and me. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“It’s kind of you to offer.” Reino makes his way to the bar. “If that’s all right with you, I’ll just help myself to a coffee from your fancy new Italian machine.”
Sav tilts his head toward the stairs. “Shall we?”
Upstairs, Sav leads me into the office and closes the door. “The bakery isn’t open yet.” He goes to the seating area and lifts a carafe from the table “Coffee?”
“Please.”
“How’s Tatiana?” he asks, watching me as he pours.
“Good.” I walk to the desk and lean on the edge. “At least physically.”
He hands me a mug before serving himself. Holding my gaze over the rim, he takes a sip. “Mentally?”
I keep my expression neutral, not showing him how the whole situation is eating like acid into my gut. “The same.”
“I looked into the psychiatrist. She’s good.”
“Yeah.” I cross my ankles. “Her reputation precedes her. But you didn’t ask me here to discuss my wife’s mental state.”
“Care to tell me why six civilians were killed in a boat accident?”
Naturally, I brought him up to speed with Tatiana’s involvement in the explosion at the bank. I haven’t had time yet to brief him on my plans.
“It was unavoidable.” I lift the mug to my lips. “You know why.”
“Couldn’t you buy their silence?”
“Too risky.”
“Six people, Dante. We’re not talking about casualties in a war with our enemies.”
I straighten. “Do you think I don’t know that?”
A deep line cuts between his eyebrows. “You should’ve offered them money first.”
“No.” I put the mug down hard on the desk. “What would you have done if it were Anya?”
He purses his lips.
Yeah. If he were in my shoes, he would’ve done the same.
Shoving a hand in his pocket, he studies me solemnly. “Does Teszner know about his sister?”
“Everyone knows she’s back, but I’m keeping her amnesia quiet.”
“Is that constructive to your goal?”
“What does that mean?”
“Whoever took her will believe she told you everything. They would’ve made themselves scarce by now. You have a better chance of catching them if you keep them close.”
“I highly doubt the mercenaries would’ve told her who they were working for.”
“Others could’ve been present while they held her captive. You and I both know they weren’t going to send her back to you in one piece.”
The mere sound of that makes my vision fray around the edges.
“She could’ve seen or heard something,” he concludes.
“They wouldn’t have been too careful around her, which only gives them more reason for wanting to eliminate her.
To them, she’s still a threat. And as long as they believe she knows the location of the necklace, her life is at risk.
Letting people know she lost her memory could be the best way of protecting her. ”
“Do you think our enemies will believe that? They’ll think I’m lying for the exact reason you mentioned.” My tone is harsh. “It doesn’t matter. No one will get anywhere near her again. One way or another, I’ll find out who paid those mercenaries.”
“Do you have any leads?”
“A fingerprint.” I scrub a hand over my face. “My hacker is working on finding a matching ID.”
“That’s something, at least.”
Silence stretches.
Sav is never silent, especially not when he’s requested the meeting.
“What?” I ask when he only continues to scrutinize me.
“What’s the chances of letting the necklace go?”
Surprised, I say, “Give it up, you mean?”
He rubs a thumb over his bottom lip. “Yes.”
“No.” My firm answer leaves no room for argument. “That’s not an option.”
“From what I’ve heard, Tatiana’s brother is ruined. The man is a walking corpse, just waiting to keel over. Isn’t that enough? Is the money really that important?”
“It’s not about the money.”
“Do your men know that?”
I clench my jaw. “If you’re insinuating that the money is all that matters to them, you’re wrong. Yes, I promised them their share when we find the necklace, but any one of those men will stand by me if I change my mind.” I add in a heated tone, “Which isn’t going to happen.”
Sav raises his hands. “It’s your call. But—”
“I fucking knew you were going to say but.”
“But do yourself a favor and put Tatiana first. If Anya is happy, everyone is happy. Most of all me. Do you catch my drift?”
“I can handle my own wife, Sav.”
“I’m sure you can,” he drawls, but his small smile says otherwise.
He can go fuck himself. I don’t need advice on how to live my life with my family.
“The boat accident,” he says. “Can this come back to you?”
“I made sure it won’t.”
He nods.
As that indicates the meeting is over, I walk to the door.
“Dante?”
I stop and face him.
The ghost of the smile that remains on his lips is more dangerous than amused. “Don’t let me learn about your plans on the news again.”
“Noted,” I say before getting the fuck out of there.
Anya and Reino are chatting behind the bar, each of them with a mug in their hands. I motion for Reino to follow me. If Sav catches him being so cozy with his wife, blood will be spilled before we leave here today.
Anya follows my progress with a frown. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes.” I smile for her sake. “Have a nice day.”
“Wait.” She runs after me. “I was thinking…”
I pause and, as a courtesy, wait as she’s asked.
“I’d love to meet Tatiana and Noah. I saw them so briefly at the wedding. There wasn’t much time to chat.”
Politeness dictates that I accept her invitation, but Sav won’t appreciate it if I put his family in danger by dragging them into our mess.
“Maybe when she’s better,” I say.
Anya’s demeanor is compassionate. “We’re here for you if you need us, and I mean both of you.”
“Thanks.” I raise my hand to squeeze her shoulder but think the better of it. “I appreciate that.”
I say a quick goodbye, telling her to hug the girls for me, and, with Reino in tow, take the elevator to the parking lot.
“The office?” Reino asks when we step out on the underground level.
“On second thought, I’m heading home. You should go catch some sleep. It’s been a long night.” We stop next to the car. “Can you ask one of Sav’s men to drive you?”
He throws me the key. “I’ll borrow one of his cars. I’d like to go past Jazz’s place.”
I still with my hand on the door handle. “Stay away from Jasper, Reino. She’s Tatiana’s friend.”
“I just want to make sure everything is in order there.”
“There are a million available women in this city. Don’t pick the wrong one.”
“No chance of that. She’s made it obvious how she feels about me.”
“She has a strong reaction for someone who’s been deceived into believing you were a handyman. Shouldn’t she have moved past that by now?”
He scratches the scruff on his jaw. “It’s gone a bit further than that.”
I narrow my eyes. “What do you mean?”
“When we first met, she asked me if I was single.”
“Tell me you didn’t say yes.”
“Have you looked into her eyes? Show me a man who can look into those baby blues and say no.”
Letting the door handle go, I face him squarely. “What the fuck happened?”
“She kissed me, so I kissed her back. Things got pretty heated before she ended it. She asked me out on a date.”
I clench my jaw. “And you said yes.”
“She caught me off guard.”
“Jesus, Reino.”
He makes a face. “I know.”
“Stay away from her. Got it?”
“Loud and clear.”
“Good.” I open the door and get into the driver’s seat. “One complaint from Jasper, and I’ll have your balls on a platter.”
I shut the door on his unreadable expression, leaving him with that, and then I drive to the condo where I shower and change.
I told Tatiana I sleep here when I work late at the office, but I also use the condo to get cleaned up whenever I don’t want to walk blood into my house. It became a stopover to shower and get rid of evidence after a hit. Emily is a pro at burning my clothes and using the ashes as compost.
When I’m freshly showered and dressed in clean clothes, I go home and head straight for the bedroom. The house is quiet. It’s early, but Tatiana is usually awake at this hour. I’m surprised to find her fast asleep in my bed. A glass with wine residue in the bottom stands on her nightstand.
I strip quickly, sheathe my cock with a rubber, and get into bed. There’s only one thing that takes the edge off better than a strenuous workout or burying myself in paperwork, and that’s losing myself between her legs.
Hooking her thigh over my shoulder, I move her panties aside and go straight for my target. Before she’s fully awake, I already have my tongue inside her.