Chapter 9
MARI
By nine a.m. Monday, I’m already on my second coffee, and my spreadsheet is still a disaster. I’m distracted. I keep seeing Lev’s hands braced on the edge of his dining table, and I keep telling myself to focus on vendor shells instead. It doesn’t help.
I spent the weekend in his bed, pushing away every thought of who he is. Now I’m back in the real world, and nothing fits cleanly. I’m falling for a Bratva boss. I almost laugh because the word feels ridiculous in such a bright office with a plant wall and catered muffins.
I’m consumed by him, and I have to be honest with myself about that.
Yes, he’s dangerous, but I can’t stay away from him.
This weekend proved that pretty clearly.
My self-control falls right out the window in his presence.
It started at that damn club, and working for him hasn’t made it any easier.
If anything, it’s made my lust for him even worse.
It’s just sex, I remind myself. That’s all we have. Really good, mind-blowing, out-of-this-world sex. That isn’t a good enough reason for me to look past all his faults. Is it?
Lev doesn’t come in. His blinds stay at the exact angle he left them Friday night. He doesn’t text me or send me a calendar notice. I’m not someone who needs to know his comings and goings.
The truth of that sits wrong in my chest, so I bury myself in my work.
I will not think about Lev and how he keeps my blood pressure spiking in the best way.
Instead, I reconcile a batch, flag a suspicious transfer, draft a request to the bank, and pretend I’m not anxiously waiting for him to walk through the door.
But the thoughts start to nag at me. Why isn’t he here? I left his mansion early this morning. I was sure he’d be right behind me.
What if something happened to him? What if his enemies attacked him?
I don’t know how any of this works. Is he in danger every second of every day? Does he constantly have to watch his back? Am I always going to be worried that he’s dead when he’s an hour late to work?
By ten, I give up the pretense of working on this account and take a walk to the copier, just to give my brain a break from the incessant thoughts.
It seems extra quiet today. I’d expect the boss being gone to make everyone chattier, but everyone seems buried in their own work.
I sigh and head back to my office, wishing for a distraction.
When it does come, though, it’s far more dramatic than I expect. A man rushes into my office with the same general demeanor as the guards at Lev’s house. He sweeps the room with his eyes without looking at me, then says, “We’re leaving.”
“Excuse me?” My voice spikes. “I’m not going anywhere with you! I don’t even know who you are.”
“Yuri,” he says, pressing a hand to his chest, looking like he’s about to roll his eyes. “Let’s go, Mari.”
“What the hell is going on?” I ask, refusing to get up.
He crosses to my desk and pulls me to my feet. “Now.”
“I have a deadline,” I say, trying to pull free of his grasp.
He closes my laptop and tucks it under his free arm. “I’m sure the boss will understand, considering he told me to come get you.”
His tone makes something in my spine snap straight. His hand finds my elbow, firm but not rough. He guides me out of my office and toward the service elevator.
“Do you have your phone?” he asks.
“In my pocket.”
“Good.”
We move fast. A few of my coworkers look up, curious, then pretend not to notice me being marched out of the office by a scary-looking Russian.
The elevator doors open as we reach them.
He keys in a code I don’t recognize, and the car drops.
My stomach lifts into my throat. He says nothing on the way down.
The doors part into the garage. A black SUV sits nose-out, with the engine running and the rear door open.
Marcus Sterling is in the front passenger seat.
He doesn’t turn to look back at me. The driver doesn’t look back either.
I slide in because there doesn’t seem to be any other option.
The door shuts, and the SUV shoots up the ramp.
I press my knees together and keep my hands still.
“Is anyone going to tell me what’s happening?” I demand, but none of the men pay me any mind.
Yuri lifts his phone to his ear and talks fast. I hear “asset is secured,” but not much else. What the hell?
We cut through midtown faster than I thought was possible. We head west and reach a building I recognize as Lev’s. Marcus presses a button on the rearview mirror, and a gate opens for us. We glide into a private garage and drive to the top floor.
No one helps me out. Yuri is a wall that moves. He steers me into a freight elevator that smells like clean metal and shuts the doors with his hand. It rises without anyone pressing a button. When it opens, the air changes.
The penthouse is all glass and stone. The city sits under it like a model.
Lev is pacing with a phone to his ear, jacket off, sleeves rolled.
His eyes cut to me briefly before he turns all his attention back to the person on the other end of the line.
I step out of the elevator and wait for an explanation.
Lev reaches the window, stops, listens, and turns. “Do it,” he says into the phone. “No noise.” He ends the call, and the silence feels heavy.
I’m so dazed I’m not even sure what to say to him. I’m both incredibly pissed and a little scared. I try for a middle ground.
“You had me dragged out of my office by a stranger,” I say as calmly as I can manage.
His gaze rakes me head to toe, as if scanning. “Mari, this is Yuri,” he says, sarcasm threading the words. “I assume you’ve become fast friends in the time you were in the car.”
I roll my eyes and challenge him. “What the hell is going on?”
“Are you okay?” he asks instead, with more concern than I’d expect.
“Yes,” I answer, annoyed. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
He looks at Yuri, then back to me. The line of his jaw is tight. “There was an incident,” he says vaguely.
“Define incident.” I keep my voice level, but my palms are damp and my heart is racing.
“Nothing you need to worry about,” he says with nonchalance. “It’s contained.”
“That isn’t an answer.” I set my bag on a chair and square my shoulders. “You can’t just pull me away from my work and then refuse to answer my questions.”
“I am your boss, Mari,” he says with authority. “During work hours, I can do whatever I want, and I don’t have to tell you anything.”
His jaw shifts. He glances at Yuri, who has become part of the wall, then back at me, waiting to see how I’ll respond.
“No,” I say in a huff. “I don’t accept that. You said you would be honest with me. If I’m in danger, I have a right to know.”
He exhales once, sharply. “I ordered a hit,” he says plainly.
The words land harshly at my feet, and I play them over in my head. He ordered a hit. He had someone killed. I think I’m going to be sick.
“Some people are angry,” he continues. “It’s not a big deal.”
My heart knocks against my ribs.
“Not a big deal,” I repeat, scoffing. “Then why was I rushed out of my office like the building was on fire?”
He looks uncomfortable, which isn’t an expression I’m used to on him. The silence stretches between us, but I refuse to back down. He sighs heavily.
“Someone sent me a troubling picture,” he finally admits. “Of you.”
A chill runs up my spine. “Oh,” I breathe.
I feel dizzy. My face is flushing, and the room is definitely spinning.
“What was I doing in the picture?” I manage to ask, as if it matters.
“You were leaving the mansion,” he says, but I hardly hear him over the roaring in my ears. “They took it from a high angle, but they were close.”
“What does this mean?” I squeak out.
“It means you’re linked to me,” he says. “My enemies think you’re important.”
I breathe through the mounting panic and try to steady myself.
“And what does that mean for me?” I ask, a million scenarios running through my head.
“It means you’ll be protected,” he says. “Starting right now.”
I move to the couch and sit because my knees won’t support me anymore.
“By who?” I ask, though I know the answer.
“By me,” he says. “By my people. We have protocols in place for this exact situation.”
“This doesn’t sound like ‘no big deal,’” I say, glaring up at him. “You killed someone, and they’re threatening me. That’s a big fucking deal, Lev.”
I see Yuri shift just slightly in the corner, like he’s going to disarm me. Lev puts up a quick hand, and I realize exactly how much danger I’m in. Not just from this faceless enemy, but from Lev and his men.
“I solve problems,” he says simply. “This is a problem I can solve.”
I don’t want him to solve this problem for me. I want to run. I want to put as much distance between him and me as humanly possible. But once again, he’s got me trapped. He sent his men to bring me here. His car. There’s no way for me to leave without him giving the okay.
“I want to go home,” I say forcefully. “Or back to work. I don’t care, I just want to get the fuck out of here.”
“I’m afraid that isn’t an option,” he says with just as much force. “If you leave here, I can’t guarantee that whoever sent the picture won’t try to hurt you to get to me.”
“But I’m not your girlfriend,” I argue. “I’m your employee. We’ve had sex like a handful of times. This is ridiculous. I’m leaving.”
I stand up, but he gets in my face and forces me to sit back down again. He looks at Yuri, who simply nods and leaves the room, as if he’d been given a command. So this is how it works in his world. Whatever Lev wants, Lev gets.
“That isn’t going to happen,” he says to me. “You’re going to stay here, and that’s that.”
Anger burns inside me like nothing I’ve felt before, drowning out any fear or anxiety I have. Who the hell does he think he is? He’s going to find out exactly who I am before this is all over.