“It’s like I mentioned before the first time you asked me how well I knew him,” Emma begins to explain. “He had loud friends that would come over and claim they were just watching football or playing video games. Then there was the feeling of being followed, and Patrick showing up.”
“I remember,” I tell her.
“After all that, he’s the one who pushed me into the car and drugged me.”
“Anything else you would like to share?” I ask. I’m trying to keep my voice as calm as possible so Emma feels safe.
She pauses before saying, “Right before the explosions and gunshots started, Patrick had me brought into the living room to force me to marry him. He called me his reward from Callaghan for his new promotion,” Emma replied. “He also called me ‘little clover’, and I can’t even begin to describe how disgusting that made me feel.”
I sigh heavily as I process everything Emma is saying. I’m glad that Patrick O’Brien is dead. There’s no need to tell Emma that Grigory was the one who killed him. That part doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I will serve up Callaghan’s head on a silver platter to her after I kill him so that she knows she’s safe and he can’t come after her again.
There’s a soft knock on the bedroom door, and I get up to answer it. Mrs. Ivanova is there holding two cups of steaming coffee.
“Breakfast will be ready soon. I send some up for you both,” she tells me before turning and going back downstairs to the kitchen.
“Coffee smells good,” Emma says as she sits up in bed. I hand her one of the cups, and she inhales deeply before taking a sip.
“I may have more meetings today,” I tell her, sitting beside her on the bed. “You need to continue resting like the doctor said, so you can either stay here in bed or we can set you up on the couch in the living room.”
“Can I just stay here?” she asks.
“Of course,” I tell her. “When I am not in a meeting, I will be right beside you.”
“Do we have time for a shower before breakfast?” Emma asks, setting her coffee cup on the side table and leaning over to kiss me. The question has my dick instantly hardening and tenting my pants.
“There is always time for a shower with you before breakfast,” I say with a smile.
I put my own cup next to hers before kissing her deeply. I lead her to the bathroom and turn on the shower. The next twenty minutes are spent giving each other orgasms then washing each other’s bodies. I love the feel of Emma’s hands on me, running over my shoulders and down my sides. When all of this is over, I’m going to have to teach Emma how to take me down her throat.
I could spend all day in bed with Emma today making love to her, but our reality is that Callaghan and Popov are coming for us, and we need to prepare for it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
IVAN
AFTER HAVING BREAKFAST with Emma, Alexei Rostov calls me with an update. I tell him to meet in my office, which gives me time to gather my brothers and Mikhail.
“What do you know?” I ask Alexei when he shows up.
“One of my soldiers just shared intel from Popov’s camp,” Alexei begins. “Popov and his men are planning an ambush on this estate tomorrow night.”
“How reliable is this intel?” Maksim asks. He’s already on the phone with Kolya, relaying what Alexei is reporting.
“Very reliable,” Alexei answers.
I let out a long breath at the impact this intel could have on us all. A lot of different scenarios start running through my head.
“Well fuck,” Maksim says out loud. His sentiment is echoed by Dmitri and Grigory.
“I don’t have to tell you what this means for security,” I say, directing my attention towards Dmitri. “Start by pulling most of our men back and positioning them around the estate. I want them rotating in shifts every four hours,” I tell him.
“On it,” Dmitri says.
“Alexei, I want your men patrolling our territory with the men we leave out there. Now that Popov is working with Callaghan, they may use the ambush as an opportunity to steal territory, especially in the Seaport District,” I instruct.
“Yes,pakhan,” Alexei replies.
“Dmitri, get Denis Beridze on the phone and tell him to get here now. He’ll be sharing security shifts at the estate with our men until I say otherwise,” I tell my brother.
