Her eyes grow wide, and she shakes her head. “Why would you do that on your own? What if—”
“I wasn’t. Called in some backup. They helped me take care of things, and they’re cleaning up the mess as we speak.”
Leah’s arms wrap around me again. “You didn’t have to do that. We were leaving.”
I pull back and frame her face, our eyes locked so she knows just how serious I am. “I need you to understand I’m not a good man. And there will never be a day when someone wrongs you, and I won’t rip out their heart while it’s still beating.”
“Always so romantic,” she says with a small laugh, laying her head on my shoulder and going quiet.
I allow her a moment to reflect on what happened with her father. It had taken every ounce of restraint not to mag dump on that son of a bitch. I heard his last words to her.
He doesn’t deserve her. But that’s fine because Leah is mine now.
The ride to the private airport hangar is quiet. I thought she had fallen asleep for a moment, but I caught her reflection in the window, eyes open, staring hollowly at the passing city.
“We’re taking a slight detour,” I say, fastening my seatbelt as she does the same beside me. “Stopping at Roman’s place in Vegas.” Leah watches with rapt attention, waiting for an explanation. “As you know, delayed shipments mean money lost. They want extra for the three- day delay.”
“Three days?”
I nod. “They claim we caused a scheduling conflict and needed another day to accommodate their connects. So they say.”
“And you’re picking up more inventory from Roman?”
“Exactly. Drop is tomorrow at 3 p.m.”
Leah pats her pockets, and a look of panic crosses her pretty face.
“Fuck.”
“What is it?”
“I must have dropped my phone, or maybe Carlo took it. I have to call Ann and Rodri. They have to know what he did—what he tried to do to me.”
Rodrigo and I have been close friends for fourteen years. I even consider him a brother. But circumstances have shifted. He’s loyal to his father and the business he’ll inherit one day, just as I am to mine. Expecting him to throw away everything he’s worked to achieve just to side with his sister seems improbable, no matter how deep our ties.
“I hate to suggest this,” I say, placing my phone in her hand, ultimately leaving the decision up to her. “But can you trust your brother? I care for him. You know that. But Rod was the only other person who knew our location.”
Her features sour, gaze focusing beyond me as she drinks in my words. “He would never...” she whispers, almost to herself. “Would he?”
Leah’s eyes find mine, the phone dropping to her lap. Caressing her cheek, I swipe a single tear streaking down her skin.
“A man’s heart can be traitorous, given the right incentive, moya lyubov’. And Rodrigo is ambitious, with a desire for power and wealth that rivals your father’s.”
“If he sold me out, I’ll never forgive him.”
“We’ll figure it out. I promise.”
She kisses me. “Thank you for what you did back there.”
“Don’t thank me, because the things I’m capable of doing for you would scare you. They scare me sometimes.”
She smiles, pressing another sweet kiss to my lips. “I love you. And you don’t scare me, Mikhail. You complete me.”
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
Roman answers the door, his new wife beside him, and greets me in the only way a younger brother would. “You look like shit.”
I chuckle and pull him in for a hug, clapping his back a little harder than he probably expects.
“Yeah, well, it’s been a shit morning,” I say, threading my fingers through Leah’s as we cross the threshold.
His wife, Nadia, greets us warmly, and we exchange introductions. While Leah and Roman have met in passing, their interactions were nothing beyond a cordial hello and goodbye. He’s heard what he knows of her through me, but mostly the broken version of us, post-Leah.
The women opt to remain upstairs while Roman and I take a winding staircase to a hidden cellar below the main floor landing.
“I’m glad to see your ball sack finally dropped,” he jokes as he punches a code into the slate metal door. “I was worried you were trying to be like Dad and swearing off women for a decade after that whole Celeste bullshit. Lev and I were this close to staging a goddamn intervention to get you some pussy, brother.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Don’t be a dick. Getting pussy wasn’t exactly the problem. But I’m flattered you care.”
Roman slides a black crate from beneath a shelf and flips open the lid. “This enough?”
I peer inside and take a quick mental inventory, nodding my approval.
“I wired the funds to your account and threw in a little extra as a thank-you and, of course, a wedding gift.”
“You didn’t have to do that, but I appreciate it.”
