“Asher!” She jumps up, and I slam my hand on the table.

“Sit down!”

She looks at me fearfully and slowly lowers herself back into her seat. Luka stands there holding Asher, who has also been crying. She must have begged him not to gag her. I didn’t order that, but it’s a nice touch. My brother clearly knows what I’m aiming for here.

I glance at Penny. “As you can see, your friend Asher here is still in one piece. Would you like me to release her and leave her to be returned to her life? No one ever bothers her again, and you know what? You can even see each other. I can do that, Penny, if you guarantee you’ll marry me.”

They’re staring at each other as though desperately trying to convey a message, so I lean back in my seat. “Or you can resist. I’ll get rid of your friend, force you to marry me, and lock you away for the rest of your life once the baby is born.”

“You’re a monster,” Penny hisses, her head snapping around to glare at me.

“Words don’t hurt me, my dear,” I say, looking at her seriously.

Luka shakes Asher a little, making her cry out in fright and making Penny turn around. “No! Don’t hurt her! Please.”

I look at Luka and shrug. “What do you think, Luka?”

“I think Miss Winters should give you an answer once and for all before I take Asher to her next destination. Her home or…”

“I’ll marry you,” Penny says in defeat. It doesn’t feel like a victory, but with time, she might come to be more agreeable. I clap my hands. “See. That wasn’t so hard.”

“I will never love you,” Penny snaps, glaring at me. “But if you let Asher go, and I can see her in the future, then I will marry you like you want me to. She’s my best friend. I don’t want her to be hurt or never to see her again.”

“I don’t need love, Penny. Just an heir and occasionally some decent sex.” I stand up and nod to Luka. “Untie her so Penny can say bye for now and then take her home. Impress upon her what happens to snitches.”

Luka nods, and I watch as they tearfully hug once Asher is free. I smile and walk away from them. I have work to do today.

I go to the car waiting for me out front and climb in. I prefer to drive myself some days, but it’s rare. Generally, if I’m taking someone out for dinner, I’ll drive us, but otherwise, I prefer to be driven around and keep my hands free to defend myself if necessary.

As we pull out of my estate and drive toward the club, my driver perks up. “We’re being followed.”

“Detectives again?” I ask.

“Yeah. No doubt nosing around for something.” My driver remains calm. This isn’t the first time the police have harassed us. I send another message to my lawyer to arrange for a harassment complaint to be filed.

We reach the club, and I climb out of my car as they park behind us. “Gentlemen. You’ve caught me on my way into a meeting. Is something wrong?”

I know the older detective. Detective Lymes walks toward me with what looks like his new partner.

“Mr. Milov, sorry to disturb you. I’m sure you’ve already messaged your lawyer, but we just wanted to ask about a certain red-haired woman seen entering your estate.”

I incline my head and smile. “You must mean my fiance.”

“Fiance?” He looks at me, surprised. “Someone wants to marry you, Mr. Milov.”

“She’s a sweetheart, really, and I’m so looking forward to our wedding. We’re in the planning stages at the moment.” I cross my arms over my chest and smile. “Now, I have already contacted my lawyer, so unless you have an actual question…”

“Does she know she’s your fiance? Did she know that before entering your home?” the younger detective looks cocky.

I smirk at him. “I would hope so since she agreed to marry me.”

“Why would anyone agree to marry you…” The younger detective is cut off, and Lymes nods. “We’re sorry to have bothered you, Mr. Milov. We’ll be on our way.”

I nod and turn, walking toward the club without a backward glance. I take out my phone and text Danil what just happened. Then I text Arseny. I will tell Luka later on.

I walk up the stairs to my office and sit down in my chair, starting up my computer, when there’s a knock at my door. “Come in.”

“Brother, I’m glad you texted. I thought the detectives might be around because we’ve received a threat from a civilian.” He smiles broadly as though this is Christmas. I suppose for my best hitman, it is Christmas when he needs to go hunting or torturing.

“Who is it?” I ask, sitting back.

Maria comes in with freshly brewed coffee and sets it down behind my table before she scurries off.

“It’s the cabin owner, the one where the girls you were looking for were staying. Luka did pay him for his silence, but he’s apparently got a fat mouth and got hold of Danil and said he’ll spill to the cops if we don’t give him two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.” He cracks his knuckles. “Danil is bringing him in now.”

I nod. “Name?”

“Warren Thompson.” Arseny pours a cup of coffee and goes to sit on the sofa. “I’ll just hang around if you don’t mind.”

“Only if you’re quiet. I have work to go over,” I say, opening my emails.

I’m not working for long when the door flies open as a middle-aged man is thrown through it.

“Really, Danil, I just had that replaced.” Arseny comments with a little smirk.

I give him a warning look and stand up, buttoning my suit jacket closed. “Mr. Thompson, I presume?”

I walk over as he scrambles to get up and backs off. “I’ll tell the cops everything if you lay a finger on me.”

“Now, now there is no reason to threaten anyone. My brothers have so far only shown you common courtesy. You certainly don’t want them to start getting merely polite. Please, have a seat next to Arseny here. He’s my younger brother, a bit of a needle fanatic, I don’t know why.” I go to pour more coffee before I sit opposite them. Danil forces him to the sofa where he sits.

“You can’t kill me. My wife knows that I’m here, and she’ll tell the cops you took me.” He looks at me. “The price just went up to three hundred thousand for my silence. Maybe it should be more.”

“You seem to like spending my money, Mr. Thompson. The initial payment was a courtesy for disturbing your place of work. There will be no second payment. Danil?” I look at my brother.

“He hasn’t got a wife, and I’m sure no one knows he is here since I drove around with him all morning, and no one’s noticed.” My brother smacks the back of Mr. Thompson’s head for good measure.

“Now see, I don’t like being lied to, Mr. Thompson. We offered you a chance to take the ten grand we gave you and move on with your life, but now you’re trying to be demanding. What made you think you could threaten the most powerful man in the underworld?” I smile.

“I know you’re avoiding getting in trouble with the cops. They’re probably watching the place. If you try to take me out, they will see you taking my body and arrest you. You can’t touch me.”

I lean forward and smirk. “Arseny has a fascination with needles, did I tell you? He also has a fascination with knives, and on some weekends, he volunteers at a butcher's shop to carve up the dead animals. He’s quite skilled with cutting down things to smaller pieces.” I say this as Danil undoes his tie.

“This is one-way glass, so even if your detective friends were sitting downstairs, they wouldn’t know what we were doing or that you were up here. Also, this room is audio-proof. So they won’t hear you struggle.”

Danil throws his tie around Warren’s neck and pulls tight, cutting off his air.

I get up and sigh. “Not here. Take him downstairs to Arseny’s office in the basement. Take the back stairs.”