I smiled, the kind that didn’t need to be warm to land. I reached out and took the door handle from her grip.
“If it will help you sleep, yes. I’m easy to use.” I let my eyes move over her the same way she moved them over me, from the toes, then back to her face. “And when he is done using me, I genuinely hope he finds someone better than you.”
I opened the door and stepped out.
For someone who didn’t know what true hustling was, she had no right to put her mouth on me like that. I didn’t intend to say any of what I said. But no, I needed to draw a line for her.
Useless rich people.
I returned to the dining table and settled into my seat. Malia came back shortly after and sat down without looking at me once. It all terrified me, but I didn’t let it show. I would give anything for Dmitri to get me out of here.
“My wife had a long day. I believe this is settled. We are leaving.” Dmitri was already on his feet. He never asked; he simply moved, and the world arranged itself around his words.
He took my hand, and I got up. I could have kissed him right there. He read my mind.
Chapter Seventeen
Dmitri Konstantinov
The initial plan found itsway back to me.
Iker sent an invitation to an event, which meant that after I pulled Inna out of his trap and sent Gunter’s dead body as a message, he understood I was serious. He decided to come to me the way I originally wanted him to. The problem was that I was also bending in another direction.
I got enough information on Inna’s father. Enough to know where Iker was keeping him and enough to move on it if I chose to. That thought sat at the back of my mind like an uninvited guest. Ever since Inna offered her sweet body to me, I’ve been considering a therapist because I was making unnecessary decisions.
Since when did I rearrange things for a woman I planned to get rid of?
“Should I confirm the attendance?” Akim sat across from me, waiting.
“Give it a few days before confirming.” I took a sip and sat there hating that Inna’s father was still in my mind. If I movedon this, it would change the geometry of everything. I would provoke Iker instead of circling him. And yet, I needed Zachary.
“What’s the plan? Do I pull our men off from where the father is being held?”
“No.” It came out faster than I intended, which told me where I stood on this. I turned it over for a moment. If I did this for Inna, she would owe me more than we negotiated. “Keep them watching. If Iker moves him, I want to know immediately. He knows I’m involved now, which means he could relocate him.”
Akim got to his feet. “Boss, this changes the Cuba investigation entirely.”
I looked at him, and he continued.
“The plan was to let Iker come to you, use that to get close to Zachary, and solve what happened in Cuba.” He kept his voice even, the way he delivered things he knew I didn’t want to hear. “If Iker finds out men are watching his territory, he will know it’s you. You lose the approach, and you lose the investigation. I think we should call the men off.”
“So you’re suggesting I leave my wife’s father in Iker’s hands.”
“Boss, I thought the plan was that she was a fake—”
“I’m starting to hate that word.” I kept my voice low, but he felt the cold at the edge. “Don’t bring it anywhere near my face again. I’ll get rid of her when I decide to. Until then, you treat her as if she were my wife. My actual wife.”
“Yes, boss.”
I sighed. “Iker doesn’t know I’m Luigi.”
Akim’s face shifted when the implication settled in. I had buried that name twelve months ago. But burying a name was not the same as losing the access it carried.
“I thought you were done with it,” Akim said.
I scoffed. “I cleaned Rodion’s entire world using that name. You think I can’t afford to be a little selfish with it now?”
He understood what that meant. A smirk settled on his mouth.“I’ll prepare everything.”
