“From you?” I asked, unafraid to let my tone imply that I was mocking her.
She smirked. “Fine. Then if there’s nothing else to waste my time on here”—she put her hands on the armrests of her chair to rise—“I’ll be going.”
The fuck you will.
I twisted in my chair to face her. She wasn’t going anywhere. Not far from here, at least. “You are?”
She nodded and set her hands on her hips. The move emphasized the curves I’d appreciated last night as I pounded into her. I bet bruises would show on her waist and ass where I’d grabbed her and held on so hard. The stretchy fabric of her workout leggings and top concealed all that luscious skin from my sight, though.
Obviously, she planned to hit the gym. Again. Jeremiah had reported that she’d spent a long time in my gym, on the treadmill and then with some weights. I was on board with that—her being independent to think of something to do without waiting for an instruction, order, or suggestion from me and also her interest in keeping herself healthy and fit.
“I doubt you want me to tag along with you while you see to whatever is expected of you.”
No, I didn’t. I didn’t want her at my side every minute of the day. I had to have a break from the temptation of bickering with her and getting that high of excitement. And I really had to have a respite from wanting to take her against any surface and hear those sexy-as-hell moans of pleasure that she couldn’t prevent from slipping free.
Besides, she was nowhere close to earning my trust to be near the discussions about the family I’d have with my brother.
Her wording intrigued me, though. “Tag along?” I stood, shaking my head. “No onetags alongin my life. Either you have a purpose.” I stepped up close to her and gave her a long, intense once-over. “Or you don’t.”
She licked her lips, as if she were arguing with herself about a comeback she wanted to give me. “Good to know.” Then she flounced out of the room.
Smiling to myself, I gathered the few papers and printouts and left to take this discovery to my brothers. Adrik had already asked us to meet today, so it wasn’t as though they wouldn’t be around to hear me out about this wife of mine and what she seemed to know.
All three of my brothers claimed seats in the big office that had once been my father’s. Adrik had taken the room as he began to officially take over, and little touches made it more ofhisoffice than my father’s.
Lev came in late, just minutes after me, and took another seat. Alexei paced in the background, never still or idle enough to sit for long.
Adrik began talking about the latest with the death of John Morovov. Elena’s father was dead and his financial firm was gone. In his wake, though, Elena was taking over copies of the program to ensure she could contribute to tracking the money trails of what was likely my uncle Gregori’s network.
As soon as that discussion was over, I took the opportunity to speak up about Carina. Dropping the papers and maps on his desk, I indicated for them to look if they wanted to. “This morning, Carina lectured me about why this alternative route wouldn’t work.”
Viktor rolled his eyes. “Sure. You should believeher.”
I shrugged. “I think I will.”
Alexei scoffed and Nikolai laughed out loud. “Fuck. She’sthatgood? One night and you’re that pussy whipped?”
I scowled at him, daring him to try another word on that path. I wasn’t pussy whipped. But I would be a moron if I couldn’t notice and respect when someone proved what they knew.
“She’s very informed about the smuggling routes at the border,” I replied. Going into more detail, I relayed the conversation I’d had with her. Almost verbatim, and using the same papers and maps to point out what she’d shown me and drawn, I sharedthis discovery about the hotheaded and ice-blooded woman I’d married yesterday.
It almost felt surreal. Mere days ago, I hadn’t known she existed. Now, she could be the tool I needed?
And want?
“She’s knowledgeable about it. All the ins and outs of it. Routes, obstacles, blocks, territorial lines, federal hideouts, all of it.” I looked at Adrik, finding him skeptical.
“She offered this to you?” he asked. “Out of the blue, she just laid this all in your lap this morning?”
I shook my head. “Not really. I had it all out because I was reviewing it. I, uh, I wasn’t really sure what the hell to say to her and she was just sitting there. She seemed bored and from what she saw, she spotted issues.”
“But why would she want to offer you any tricks or tips?” Lev asked. “She was just handed over as a sign of good faith. She can’t be undyingly loyal to you or the Bratva yet.”
Adrik nodded. “And there’s no good reason we shouldn’t be viewing Arturo’s offer of this marriage as anything but a trick yet.”
“She could be a mole,” Alexei said, voicing the same concerns that I’d shared with Viktor when he was with me at the Cartel compound.
“And she could be lying,” Nikolai said. “She clearly did something to you last night for you to get that.” He indicated the mark on my neck where she’d sucked on me too hard. “Maybe she’s thinking she’s lowered your guard and she’s setting you up with shitty intel to trick you into a bad decision.”
