“Boss, calm down! He’s sorry, he didn’t mean it like that!”
I guess Viktor already filled him in on his fuck up.
Viktor wipes blood from his split lip, breathing hard but not fighting back. “I’m sorry, okay? After our call I was worried about you and came to check up on you.”
“And how does that justify the situation?” I bark.
He huffs a breath. “I don’t trust her. What if she’s playing you? What if she’s a spy for her brothers? She could be feeding them information, trying to undermine everything we’ve built?—”
I cut him off with a shove. “I’ve already told you—I can handle her. If she’s a spy, that’s my problem, not yours. It isnotyourplace to disrespect herand mejust because you’re paranoid. She’s my fiancée. Any disrespect toward her is disrespect toward me. Do we have a problem with that?”
Viktor lowers his gaze. “No, boss. I’m sorry.”
“Good.” I release him, still seething. “The earlier you understand that, the better for you.”
Dmitri lets out a heavy breath, stepping back. “Now that everyone’s calm… can we actually talk about why we’re here?”
I drag a hand down my face, trying to rein in my temper. “What’s so important it couldn’t wait until tomorrow?”
Viktor straightens, suddenly serious. “I think I might have found the rat.”
My attention snaps to him instantly. “Who is the motherfucker? Where is he?”
“He’s already waiting for you in the basement,” Viktor says. “I got solid intel earlier today. I wanted to confirm it before I told you, especially after you called about the cleanup.”
I don’t waste another second. I turn and head straight for the basement.
The man is already chained to the metal chair in the center of the room, wrists and ankles secured, face pale with fear.
He starts babbling the second he sees me. “I don’t know anything! I swear! I didn’t leak any documents, I didn’t talk to anyone?—”
I don’t waste time with pleasantries. I grab a pair of pliers and get to work. An hour passes and he still hasn't said anything useful.
I finally step back, flexing my bloody knuckles, and look at Viktor and Dmitri. “Leave him here overnight. Maybe by morning he’ll remember something useful.”
They nod and leave. I head back upstairs, eager to finish what Calina and I started. My body is still wired from the taste of her lips, from the way she melted against me.
But when I push open the bedroom door, I find her curled up in my bed like she belongs there. Her golden hair fans across the pillow, one leg kicked out from under the duvet.
She looks peaceful. So fucking right in my bed it knocks the air out of my lungs.
I walk over quietly and pull the blanket higher over her shoulders, then lean down and press a kiss to her forehead.
The thought that I’ll be the first and only man to ever have her does dangerous things to me. The possessiveness I feel toward her is getting stronger every day, and it terrifies me because I’ve never felt this way about anyone.
I stand there for a long time, just watching her sleep. I know there will be no sleep for me tonight. My mind is too restless.
I head back downstairs to the basement.
I crack my knuckles. “Surprise. I’m not waiting until morning.”
The man’s head snaps up when I enter. “Please… I told you everything I know…”
I go harder this time. Chains. Pliers on his nails. The sound of his screams fills the room. After what feels like forever, he finally breaks.
“Please stop…” he gasps, blood dripping from his mouth. “I was just following instructions. I don’t know who gave the order, they contacted me anonymously.”
“Who gave the order? You must have communicated with someone, who is it?”
