Chapter 14
ANTON
“Once again,” I tell the owner of the hotel where Roman caused damage from a wild all-nighter, “my apologies.”
She arches one thin brow at me and lets out a slow breath, like she doubts she can take my word for it.
I add another zero to the amount I’m writing a check for. Biting my lip and holding in a growl of frustration, I tamp it all down and smile at her. “Sincerely.”
At this rate I’ll be apologizing to the whole world for Roman. I’m sorry I let the pattern go on this long, and even sorrier that I kept pretending he might somehow grow into the heir I needed.
The woman nods once, and as soon as she takes the check, I breathe easier.
Cleaning up after Roman’s messes is nothing new.
I’ve done it often enough to know when to care and when not to.
This hotel owner is an ally, the kind of friend worth keeping for a future favor.
It pays to keep alliances and partnerships intact.
But sooner or later, Roman’s behavior will drag me past the point of no return.
“He’s digging himself into a hole,” Viktor quips as we exit the building.
I glare at him in agreement as I take my phone out.
“Sooner or later, he’ll realize your patience is limited,” he adds, matter-of-fact.
“He’s already exceeded it,” I snap, calling Markus. He’s usually able to rein Roman in. I’ve already upped his bonuses for practically babysitting him, but he’s unable to pull off something impossible.
I slide into the backseat, waiting for Markus to pick up. Closing my eyes for a second, I try to shake off the fatigue clawing at me, the headache spreading from the tension that never leaves. It’s been so long since I felt like I could fucking breathe and just relax.
With her.
Liliana.
She was the one who finally let me relax for a night or two. Just by being there, she got me to let loose and stop thinking about work for those couple of nights at the vacation home upstate.
It’s been so long since then. I haven’t seen her, yet she still lingers in my mind.
Thinking about her has become a habit, and I keep telling myself a little more time will make her fade.
Weeks have passed, but it seems I need months to forget her.
How tight she was as she took me so deep.
How gorgeous she looked, flushed and trembling as she came. How—
“Yes, sir,” Markus answers.
Sounds come from his end of the call, almost too loudly.
“I expect an immediate update on—”
“Hold it,” he orders, his voice deadly.
I pause, brow furrowing. There’s no fucking way he’s talking to me, not like that. But I’m cut off again, not because he speaks, but because someone else is nearly shouting from his end of the line.
“No. I’m not holding it. I’m not waiting,” a woman declares heatedly. “And I’m not standing around here listening to whatever you think you need to tell me.”
My heart hammers faster.
Because it’s not just any woman ranting at him.
It’s Liliana.
“Move it,” she orders.
I clutch my phone tighter, totally engrossed.
This isn’t in my head. It’s really her. It’s Liliana talking to Markus, at this moment.
“Mark—”
I fail to get his full name out.
“You are going to wait,” he argues with her. His voice is muffled, like he might be covering the mouthpiece. “You and I need to discuss the terms—”
A scuffle sounds. I lean forward, straining to listen to every second.
“Fuck.” Markus mutters.
“Markus!” I swallow hard, caught up with this rush.
“Sorry, boss. This woman is trying to run off and avoid—”
“Stop her.” I order it without thinking.
It’s instinct, this need to know where she is.
Through all these weeks of her being absent in my life, I could have sought her out.
Viktor could’ve easily provided me with all the details that could lead me to finding her again.
I haven’t reached out once. I ignored the pull to see her again, waiting for my usual drive to work nonstop to erase her from my memory.
But it hasn’t worked. She’s still in my thoughts and my dreams.
Now that I’m hearing her again, there’s no chance of me shutting off this obsession.
“Excuse me, sir?” Markus asks.
“Do not let that woman leave. Keep her with you until I arrive.” I end the call, having the last word. He won’t disobey me. He’ll do as I say. I have no doubt about it.
“Change of plans?” Viktor asks with his usual mild intrigue.
“Yes.” I lean forward to speak to the driver directly, impatient to reach Liliana now. I order him to track down Markus’s location and get us there fast. As I sit back and try to regain my composure, I fight through the anticipation and raw excitement of seeing her again. “He has Liliana.”
Viktor raises his brows in silent question. “Liliana Baranova?”
I nod, noticing how he hasn’t forgotten her either. Then again, he’s like that, always on top of every detail, big or small.
“Is she contacting someone to complain about the cost?”
I frown, lost.
“Sorry. Is she contacting someone to complain about the payment?” He tilts his head to the side, seeming confused. “She wasn’t pleased that you paid for the damages to the cars, both ours and hers. But I didn’t think she would actually pursue how she could pay it back.”
I huff, amused all over again that she could be so honest. That she has so much integrity and hates charity. It’s so different from what I’m used to with Elena and Roman, with most of the world, while I sit at the top of the food chain as the mafia boss of this city.
“She voiced her concerns about that?” I ask for clarification.
He nods. “Yes. She was respectful, yet insistent. She claimed that she isn’t the sort of person to ever take handouts.”
I can’t help but smile. That sounds just like her. Determined to give, not get. It’s so rare that I want to savor every second of it. When I feel his stare on me, probably wondering why I’d be grinning about a woman, I mask it immediately.
“But it’s been weeks. The less I heard from her, the more I assumed she was going to give up fighting the coverage of the accident.” He’s not done, still frowning. “Is she contacting Markus to refund the money?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know.” I have no clue why Markus is talking to Liliana or making her hash anything out with him.
I don’t have to wonder much longer, though, because we’re there.
The driver pulls up at the curb, and I’m out before he’s fully stopped.
Viktor follows me, and as I rush down the sidewalk, I pull my overcoat tighter and squint against the blowing flurry.
Spring is supposedly right around the corner with March nearly here, but the weather says otherwise.
“Where is she?”
Markus cringes at the sight of me approaching. He shakes his head. “She took off.”
Fuck!
“Where?” I demand. I can’t give up this chance to see her again. Maybe it’s fate. Maybe it’s insanity. But hell, if I see her once more, I can test the theory that I can go on with only work filling my life, not this fling.
He points down the sidewalk. “She just took off that way and I couldn’t follow her. She slipped away.”
“In a car?” I demand.
“No. On foot. She was running down the sidewalk,” he replies, looking more worried and confused by the second.
“Fuck!” I want to lash out and take out my frustration on him, but there’s no time to waste. I secure my coat and drop into a jog in the direction that she went. “Stay with him and find out more,” I shout back at Viktor.
Running off like this with the darkness claiming the evening isn’t wise. Having bodyguards and security is imperative, but the driver can come with me as I hunt down my obsession.
The obsession I never wanted.
The obsession I can’t allow myself to make time for.
Yet, I sprint down the sidewalk, determined not to lose her again.
I didn’t lose her before. I left her. I decided the fun was over and gave her an easy way out of my life. She was dismissed, having served her purpose for those two nights we were snowed in together. But now I wonder why I still feel this pull to need her, to have her again.
It makes no sense.
I should’ve let her go by now.
The usual hectic pace of my life should have diminished the potency of the memories.
But here I am, frantically searching for her, looking for her long golden hair, hoping to catch sight of her blue eyes.
The pounding footsteps of my driver follow me. We slip and skid on the fresh ice and the usual debris at the edge of the pavement. But nothing stops me from scanning for her, whipping my head side to side, searching.
I run past another building, and as I clear a set of steps, she’s there.
Her bright blonde waves trailing loosely over her shoulders as she walks.
Her cheeks pink as she keeps her gaze cast downward.
Her lips curving into a frown as she steps one foot after the other.
Without a coat.
Without a clue that I’m here.
“Liliana.”
She jerks her head up when I call out for her.
Her eyes open wide with alarm a split second before she gasps and turns to run.
She’s out here without a desire to see me again.
I take off, catching up quickly with my longer stride.
“Liliana, wait—” I reach out to grab her right as she slips.
Her arms windmill, and then she braces herself for a fall.
I’m quicker, snatching her into my arms and tugging her closer.
Before I can speak, before I can pull her closer and tuck her under my coat, she stiffens, leans forward, and throws up right then and there.