Chapter Thirty-Two
Igor
Shit. Inside my home office, I paced. No, I wore a fucking hole in the handwoven Persian rug because I knew what needed to be done.
I knew that today would have to be the last fucking day that Dmitry Voronov got to see the sun rise on another day.
Back and forth I walked the length of my office as the sun streamed in through the floor to ceiling windows, my mood at odds with the beautiful day outside.
Maxim stepped inside and folded his arms. His blank expression leaned toward anger. “Is everything okay, Igor?”
I stopped pacing and turned to look at my oldest friend in the world. My brows dipped because I was angry as fuck myself. Angry that Dmitry and circumstances have forced my hand, forced me to act before I was damn well ready. “No Maxim, nothing is fucking right at all.”
He pressed his lips together and took a few more steps inside before he closed the door. “Voronov or April?”
I sighed. “Yes.” The weight of that word was oppressive.
“Okay. Which is more pressing?”
I smiled, grateful to have Maxim in my corner during this time. “I have no fucking clue but Voronov impacts the other, so he takes top priority today.”
Maxim understood perfectly. “Today?”
I nodded. “Yes today. It needs to fucking happen today.” I stared at Maxim who watched me warily like I was a man who was on the brink of losing his shit.
“I can’t focus, and if I can’t focus then I’m as good as dead.
We’re all as good as dead if he’d not handled today.
Before I come back, before we come home tonight.
I can’t sleep until I know he’s drawn his last breath. ”
“Okay,” he replied easily. “What’s the plan?”
He laughed when I sent him a wicked glare. “If I could fucking focus, I would have a plan but since I don’t, I guess I’ll do what I’ve been doing.”
Maxim’s arms fell to his sides. “You mean sneaking out of the compound at night and taking out Dmitry’s men one by one?”
I nodded.
“Glad you’re fucking admitting it.”
Somehow, I managed a smile. “Any updates on our traitor?”
“I have a few suspects but none I want to speak about just yet,” his expression was inscrutable and as much as I wanted to know, later was soon enough.
Just then a knock sounded on my office door, and I sighed, glaring at the door as if it had offended me. “What is it?”
The door opened and Ivan appeared with an uneasy expression on his face. I didn’t have time for pleas for greater responsibility or more money or whatever the fuck else he needed. “I have something I need to tell you.”
“It has to wait.”
“But—” Ivan tried again but I shook my head to stop whatever else he thought he needed to say. “Okay, later. But it needs to be as soon as possible.”
“Are you leaving?”
“What? No. This is more important than that.”
“Okay. Later.” I gave him a long stare which he correctly interpreted and got the fuck out of my office. As soon as we were alone again, I turned my attention back to the matter at hand. “I need you with me tonight. Who isn’t on your list of suspects that we can trust to look after April?”
His lips twitched for a brief moment and then he gave my question careful consideration. “Ivan isn’t a suspect, and he needs to speak to you. He’s a good pick.”
“All right.” We spent the next hour coming up with something that resembled a plan.
Eventually Maxim stood and rubbed his palms together. “I’ll gather all the tools we’ll need. Maybe you want to go talk to April before we head out?”
“About what?”
“Fuck man, to say goodbye? To kiss her before you go off to battle? I don’t know. Talk to her or don’t. Meet me at the door in forty-five minutes.”
“That’s all you’ll need to gather everything we’ll need?”
Maxim smiled. “I have most of it already. Go talk to April so your head is on straight when we do this.” He smiled and left as if he was the fucker in charge.
I could’ve been upset but I wasn’t. I was completely amused but as I climbed the stairs toward April’s room my smile faded, and my heart rate sped up. A small part of me wanted to spark her ire by barging into her rooms again but in the end, I chose to knock.
I waited and when the door opened my heart cranked up another few levels at the sight of her in a pale pink strapless dress that showed off her pregnancy cleavage. Her skin was glowing, her nipples were hard, and her face was naturally beautiful. “Igor, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing,” I growled and blinked to clear my head. “That’s not true. May I come in?”
Her lips twitched as she stepped back and motioned me inside. “You may. But only if you tell me why you look so worried.”
I stepped inside and turned to face her, crowding her against the nearest wall. “I have to go out tonight. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone but I will be back.”
“Okay.” She said the word slowly, her expressive eyes asked one hundred questions.
“I need you to do one thing for me today, okay?”
She nodded. “What is it?”
I cupped her face in my hands and let my thumbs stroke her jawline.
“I need you to be careful today, April. Don’t leave the house, not even to go onto the terrace unless it is absolutely necessary.
If something doesn’t feel right, don’t do it.
If anything seems off, acknowledge it and take precautions. Okay?”
“Igor you’re scaring me.” Her hands rested on my waistband but slowly they tightened. “What’s going on?”
“A lot but I don’t want to burden you with the details.”
Her nostrils flared. “It seems like the details are what’s really important here.”
I smiled at her tone. “Okay, something is going down, and Maxim is coming with me, so I need you to be extra careful. Ivan will be here with you, so I just need you to forget your anger at me for now. We can pick it up later as long as both of us are still here to pick it up. Got it?”
She nodded slowly but her grip tightened on my waistband even more and she sagged against me, trusting me with her weight. “You’re going after that Voronov guy.” Thankfully, it wasn’t a question.
“I have to. Tonight it ends.”
April nodded and let out a long, slow breath. “You’ll be safe?”
I smiled. “I will. I promise.” I brushed a soft kiss to her lips because I knew that a longer taste would take us some place, I didn’t have time for. “I have too much to live for.”
Her lips pulled into a sweet smile. “Okay, then. Be safe.” She sucked in a deep breath and let it out faster. “Be safe. And end this shit once and for all.”
For that, I kissed her again. I had to. April knew the stakes, she knew what had to be done and she wasn’t being squeamish or unrealistic about it, she was reasonable and pragmatic and accepting. “When I return there are a lot of things I need to say to you.”
“Okay.” She released my waistband and slid her hands up over my abs, my chest and around my shoulders where her fingers danced in my hair. “Don’t worry about any of that right now. Focus on what you have to do so that we can all rest easier around here. Okay?”
“Yeah,” I smiled. “Okay.”
“Good.” She kissed me again and slowly pulled back, her smile blended with her worried expression the last thing I saw before I left to put an end to the Voronov family once and for all.