Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
ANA
M ikhail is angry. The storm in his eyes has never been more prominent, and that’s saying something for a man who wears irritability as a favorite shirt.
He’s angry. He’s always angry, but this time he’s incandescent with rage—because of me.
Our eyes meet and I issue a warning in mine. I will not be undermined by my brother—any of them.
The battle I fought when we arrived here after the alleyway incident is nothing to the war we are currently fighting as a family. It took all of my skills of persuasion to prevent him from driving straight to the family jet and sending me back to Russia. He gave me little time to prepare my case against that, but I know how to handle my brothers and this time knowledge was my most powerful weapon.
I simply reminded him what was at stake and agreed he could dictate the terms of my stay here, no matter how much that went against every principle in my body.
James is probably wondering what the hell is going on and he is about to discover just what blew in off the sidewalk that night at the bar. Not that Mikhail needs to know the details of that and fortunately, he didn’t have a tail on my ass at the time. I doubt James would still be standing if he knew what happened in my hotel room that night, which only increases my anger.
I hate my protected life and yet I owe it for the fact I’m still breathing because Mikhail was following me from the moment I stepped out of The Rose Foundation headquarters.
The shots that ended the lives of the men in the dark alley came from my brother’s gun and those of his men.
James fell and hit his head, effectively knocking him out, which was extremely fortuitous because he never witnessed the aftermath of a Romanov at work. The five men were removed and disposed of, no trace of them will ever be found, and anyone that comes knocking at our door will forfeit the right to leave.
The sole reason I’m here is what spared me the plane journey home, as the most important thing in our lives at present is clearing up the mystery of our father’s death and extinguishing the person responsible.
James is on edge, probably because Mikhail is glaring at him with the promise of death hanging heavy in the air, and I say quickly, “Tell James what you told me. ”
Mikhail frowns and James shifts in his seat as he senses my brother’s anger.
“Your brother’s debt has been settled by me.”
“I don’t understand.” James leans forward at the mention of his brother, and Mikhail fixes him with his usual enigmatic glare.
“Dylan Warner owed the Cordoza mafia that is run by a man called Michael Cordoza. Victor was his cousin and was sent to collect a down payment on the one hundred thousand dollars your brother owes him. The interest alone meant he would never pay it off and the only outcome would be his death.”
James is ashen as Mikhail delivers his words with his usual cool detachment.
“The money you raised made no difference. They would have dragged you into it and bled you dry. Your position as CEO of The Rose Foundation was the perfect vehicle to extort even more money from you.”
“I never touched a dime of their money,” James hisses and Mikhail shrugs.
“Not yet, but when people are faced with Hobson’s choice, it’s usual they fall onto the wrong side of the law, you see–” He leans forward and the lack of any emotion in his eyes sends a shiver down my spine.
“When family is involved, the rules change. You would do anything to save your brother’s life and it would soon become apparent yours was also on the line.”
Mikhail leans back .
“As I said, your brother’s debt is now mine and unlike Michael Cordoza, I am a fair man and will demand a realistic price for my assistance.”
Mikhail raises his hand and James is surprised when Damien, Mikhail’s second in command, steps forward from behind James and drops two objects on the table in front of him.
James blinks in disbelief and raises his eyes to Mikhail, who says coolly. “I have taken the liberty of repossessing your watch and your car. You’re welcome.”
“I don’t understand. Why would you do that?”
James is confused and my heart sinks because I know exactly why Mikhail did that.
He fixes James with his usual enigmatic glare, one that chills the bravery of battle weary hardened criminals.
“You have something my family wants, and this is your incentive to help us.”
James stares at the objects on the table but makes no move to reach for them. Instead, he merely utters two words.
“And Dylan?”
“Is currently a guest of mine.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
James faces him with a hardened glare of his own, which is interesting because to my knowledge nobody has ever had the guts to face my brother off, especially when he holds all the cards.
Mikhail leans forward and hisses, “Your brother is a disgrace. He is hooked on drugs and illicit living and it’s only a matter of time before he self destructs and takes you down with him.”
“I said, where is my brother?” James is angry. It’s as obvious as the testosterone surrounding the two men as they play a live game of chess, one preparing to capture the king.
“He is mulling over the choice I gave him when we removed him from the gutter he fell in and deposited him to a safe house.”
“What choice?”
James is calm but I note the tense set to his jaw and the way he curls his fists and then uncurls them as a kind of coping mechanism.
“Tomorrow, he must choose between joining the military or facing imprisonment for killing Michael’s men in the alley. But I can’t guarantee his survival if Michael’s men seek revenge.”
“But he wasn’t even there,” James says angrily and Mikhail shrugs.
“That’s the beauty of what we do. You see, we write our own scripts that suit our agenda at the time. Your brother will thank us for saving his life and in return we give him the chance to pay something back to his country by way of compensation for the lives he has ruined by selling drugs on the streets to kids and the vulnerable.”
Mikhail’s voice is loaded with venom as he spits, “Your brother has one chance to make it up to you and to the people he ruined. You should be thanking us, not questioning our motives.”
“Which are?”
James flicks a glance in my direction and my heart sinks when I see the animosity directed at me. He believes I set him up, that we set him up and are using him for something he won’t be happy about.
Mikhail’s voice is loaded with promises of what could happen if he doesn’t play by our rules as he says huskily, “You allow Ana to uncover every fucking secret The Rose Foundation is hiding and you give her free access to all your files and passwords.”
“Why?” James shakes his head. “We’re a charity. There is nothing untoward happening in the business. I would know.”
“Would you, Mr. Warner?” Mikhail leans forward and stares at him with a lethal promise in his eyes.
“You know shit about The Rose Foundation, but you’re right, if there is nothing to hide, this will be an easy trade off for your brother’s life and your possessions returned to you.”
“How long?”
I swear I hold my breath as Mikhail throws a heavy look my way and I return it with a pointed one of my own.
My message is clear and leaves him in no doubt of my wishes and he tears his gaze back to James and snarls, “When we have what we came here for? ”
Mikhail stands and throws James a withering look that I’ve seen many times before and probably will again.
“How long is up to you? It’s in your best interest to make it swift because the sooner we have what we are searching for, the sooner you can get back to picking up women in bars and pretending you’re the good guy.”
I swear I want the ground to open up and swallow me whole because what the actual hell?
He knows.
How the fuck does my brother know every single freaking move I make and why do I feel as if I’ve just been caught making out behind the bleachers by the head prefect?
Mikhail turns to me and his eyes flash as he nods and says dismissively, “Work fast, Annabelle Starling, and pray you find the information my family seeks before I deal with you personally.”
I blink as he smiles and winks, his back turned to James who can’t see his expression.
I maintain a blank expression because thank fuck for that. Mikhail has kept the deception in place and made me the victim, along with James. Sometimes I hate being part of this twisted fucked up family, but at times like this, I don’t believe I could love them any more than I do.