Chapter 6
LEV
Istudy the report for the twentieth time, knowing it will not reveal more than it already has. I knew something was wrong with the books. I’ve known for months. It’s why I hired a forensic accountant in the first place. I needed someone who knew exactly what to look for.
Still, anger pulses in my veins, demanding I find the person responsible immediately. I will be his judge, jury, and executioner. There is no corner of this earth he’ll be able to escape to, especially not with my money.
But no matter how hard I try, I can’t make these numbers name the thief.
I can spend my time fantasizing about how to make him pay, but there’s no way of knowing how deep this betrayal really goes.
It could be more than one person. There could be a mole in my ranks.
Whoever did this has to be made an example of. That much is clear.
I stare at the papers spread across my desk, fury coiling in my gut. I press my fingers into the wood until half-moons mark the varnish. I don’t move for a long time, just staring at the numbers until they start to swim in front of my eyes.
Suddenly, Mari storms in like a whirlwind, fire in her eyes, chest rising and falling fast as if she ran here. The sight of her ready to fight sends a jolt through me I can’t name. I’m angry at the intrusion, angry at her presumption, and yet part of me is impressed.
“Are you Bratva?” she demands, her voice sharp as she slams her hands down on my desk.
The words hang in the air between us, and I have to let my brain catch up. That’s not at all what I expected her to ask, and my heart slams in my chest with anger and confusion. She’s either brave or foolish for bursting in here, demanding to know something like that. Probably both.
I lean back slowly, deliberately. I shoot her a look that would make my men cower, but she doesn’t back down. She watches me with fury, her demeanor unwavering. It’s almost impressive how unafraid she is. Impressive and incredibly stupid.
For a moment, I debate lying to her. It’s a ludicrous enough accusation in any other setting.
I could pretend I have no idea what she’s talking about, but something in her eyes tells me that won’t fly.
She’s figured out this much somehow. She likes to dig, so lying will only push her to go behind my back and get answers on her own. That would be very bad for both of us.
I shrug.
“You’re here to do a job,” I say slowly. “A legitimate, legal job. That’s all that matters. Whatever I do outside of this company is not your business.”
Her lips part in surprise, and I can see the outrage sparking in her eyes. She’s far fiercer than I would have given her credit for.
“That’s it?” she asks, incredulous. “That’s all you have to say to me?”
“That’s all you need to know,” I say, keeping my tone casual.
She leans closer, palms pressing harder into the desk. She’s close enough that I can smell her perfume. It takes a fair amount of self-control not to pull her over the desk and start ripping her clothes off.
“Am I in danger?” she asks, with more fury than fear.
I let out a low laugh, rough in my throat. “This isn’t The Godfather,” I say, though it isn’t really an adequate answer to her question. I tilt my head, a smirk tugging at my mouth. “Relax, Mari. No one’s going to put a horse head in your bed.”
The joke doesn’t land. Her glare sharpens and she straightens, sizing me up.
“Do you think this is funny?” she demands. “Because I really fucking don’t.”
“No, Mari,” I answer more carefully, my tone icy. “I don’t think this is fucking funny. I think you’ve got a lot of gall coming into my office like this. What did you think was going to happen here?”
It’s only then that her demeanor cracks in the slightest. I’ve knocked some wind out of her sails and we both know it.
I lean back further, deliberately casual, pretending that her knowledge doesn’t put her life in grave danger. She hasn’t answered me, and I don’t think she will. I try another tactic.
“How did you find out?” I ask, shifting the subject.
She reaches into her blazer, pulls out a white rectangle, and flicks it onto my desk without a word. The card slides and stops against the ledger. I see the federal seal and clean type. I don’t need to read the name to know the agency.
“Agent Cole was waiting for me when I got home,” she says, breaking through my thoughts. “He told me everything.”
I pick up the card and turn it once between my fingers, considering this. I’m not familiar with an Agent Cole, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know me.
“And what, exactly, did you tell him?” I ask sharply.
“Nothing,” she answers, her tone still defiant. “Because, as far as I was concerned, you hadn’t done anything illegal.”
“So you thought it would be a good idea to confront me?” I let out a humorless laugh. “Honestly, Mari, do you have no sense of self-preservation?”
I watch her while the clock on the credenza ticks once. She doesn’t drop her gaze, but she doesn’t answer me either. Slowly but surely, her mask is falling. I finally see the worry behind her eyes. It finally clicks for her.
“What will you tell them when they come back?” I ask, my words laced with a threat. “Because they will come back.”
She tips her head a fraction, a spark in her eyes as she considers the question. “Don’t be an asshole and I’ll keep my mouth shut,” she says, cocky, though she’s not nearly as confident as she was when she stormed in here.
I fight to keep from smiling. She’s all false bravado. Completely and utterly full of shit. She was brave to come in here like this. I have to give her credit for that. But now that the reality is sinking in, she has no leg to stand on.
“You don’t know anything,” I tell her coldly. “So there is nothing for you to share. You work for a legitimate business that has absolutely nothing to hide. No part of this company is illegal, and my books will reflect that.”
She lets out a breath, and I see that I’ve finally broken her down. She has no rebuttal.
“Go back to work,” I command her. “Find my money. That is your job. That is your only job.”
She holds my stare for a beat that feels longer than it is, then turns and walks out. The door shuts with a hard click. Silence returns, and I take a breath, finally letting myself react to what just happened.
My first instinct is anger. Not at her, but at this Agent Cole who thought he could harass her and get away with it. I don’t know who he is, but I’m going to make it my mission to find out. Then I’ll need to seriously consider what I’m going to do about her knowing who I really am.
I look at the card again and call Yuri to my office.
He comes in half an hour later without knocking. He kicks the door closed behind him and sinks into the chair in front of me, his eyes glued to the small rectangle on my desk like it’s a live bomb.
“What the hell is going on?” he asks, clearly recognizing the federal seal as easily as I did.
“Apparently, there’s an FBI agent sniffing around one of my employees,” I tell him, ice in my voice. “He showed up at her apartment and told her all about our organization. She knows everything, Yuri.”
Yuri goes still for a moment, already in damage-control mode. He’s calculating a thousand and one ways out of this situation, and I know at least one of them doesn’t end well for Mari. Which is, simply put, not an option for me.
“And what did she say to this agent?” he asks.
“She told him she knows nothing,” I tell him.
He appraises me, mild surprise flickering and then hiding behind a blank expression. He hears what I’m not saying. Eliminating her is not an option.
It would be the easiest solution, though. She knows too much, and she’s got her hands all over the Levcon books. There’s nothing to stop her from taking everything she knows and giving it to Agent Cole. That makes her a risk that neither of us can afford to take.
“What do you want to do?” he asks warily.
“We have to keep a very close eye on her to make sure she doesn’t suddenly decide to play ball with them.”
He nods slowly, not offering any insight, but I can read his mind.
Why would I go to the trouble of monitoring her if I could just take her out?
It’s what I would do to anyone else. If some sniveling Harvard grad douchebag came in here acting the way she just did, he would be dead before he had the chance to leave the building. Yuri and I both know that.
She’s a weakness I can’t afford. I don’t do weaknesses. I never have, and it’s what’s kept me sharp all this time.
But I can’t just eliminate her. I’ll probably live to regret it, but I won’t kill her just to keep my secret safe.