Silence greets me, and no one will meet my eyes.
From the corner of my eye, I see the door open and my assistant lean in. Beside me, Dmitri rises to meet her, letting me focus on the problem at hand.
“I want an answer.Now!”
Voices spring up in the fading echo of my fist hitting the table again, a cacophony of ideas, frustrations, and finger-pointing. I’m about to yell for quiet when Dmitri’s shadow falls over me.
“Someone is on the phone for you,” he murmurs for my ears alone.
The look I give him could melt glass. “Are you really interrupting me right now with a call?”
“It’s Eva.”
“Eva?” I echo. “How did she get this number?”
“I gave it to her. In case she needs anything. But I told her not to call unless it’s an emergency.”
“Then why the hell is she calling? Why didn’t Ana tell her I was unavailable? This is not the time, Dmitri.”
People are starting to look our way. Others are whispering, trying to guess what my second is telling me.
“She won’t say, but Ana says she sounds upset.”
I glance at my assistant and see her mouth pinched into a thin, worried line.
“Damn it,” I hiss under my breath, hating that my first instinct is to run for the phone. My instinct should be to stay here and ensure we have a plan to deal with Tsepov and the Sokolinaya Bratva.
This is what I was afraid of. I cannot afford anything distracting me from my duties aspakhan. But I won’t be able to concentrate when I know Eva is upset and on the phone.
“Fuck!”
The room goes silent as I shove to my feet so fast the chair tips back, every eye on me.
“Find a fucking solution,” I snap and stalk from the room.
Ana hands me the phone and steps away quickly to avoid the blast of my temper.
“Why the fuck are you calling me at work?”
My question comes out harsh. I’m already angry, and now I’m furious with myself for putting Eva before Bratva business.
“I just don’t know who else to call. If I call the police, they’ll arrest Jordan, too. He already has a prior, and if they arrest him again, I don’t know what’s going to happen?—”
Eva’s words pour through the line in a tumbling, breathless rush, each one running into the next.
“They’re—” Something crashes in the background, and Eva gasps at the same time a young voice cries out in fear.
“Eva, what’s going on?” Concern replaces anger in an instant and only grows when I don’t get an immediate answer. “Eva? Eva, answer me. What’s going on?”
“Jordan’s in trouble, and Katie’s with him. Those guys are back, and they’re here for Jordan. They’re trying to break in. We locked the door, but now we can’t get out, and they’re prowling around outside. They just threw a rock through the window.” She sucks in a deep breath. “Evgeny, I’m scared.”
My response is instant and ferocious, triggered by her words and the fear in her voice.
“I’m coming.” The words are out before I’ve thought them.
“Boss?”
Dmitri and Vasya are waiting for me as I slam the phone down, and their set expressions tell me they know something is wrong.
