Page 129 of Taken By My Grumpy Pakhan

“I heard the recording, Kazimir.” My voice broke clean in half. “I heard you tell her I was nothing.”

“That’s not—”

“I don’t care what it is or isn’t,” I said. “I want to go home.”

“Gen…” His voice was almost too low to hear.

I turned away. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him without the pain coming back. “Take me home.”

Nikolai cleared his throat and stepped toward the door. “I’ll drive her.”

Kazimir didn’t move, didn’t argue, just stood there watching. Maybe he realized there was nothing he could do, maybe he realized he had been caught in his own net. Whatever it was, he eventually stepped aside and let me walk past him.

I didn’t look back.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Kazimir

“You know you’re not going to find her at the bottom of a bottle.”

Nikolai waltzed into my home office, his nose scrunched in disapproval when he took in the state of the room.

I swallowed the last pool of liquid in my glass, focusing on the phone in front of me. It took two more rings for the other line to connect.

“Pakhan.” Svetlana’s father’s voice boomed over the phone, sharpening Nikolai’s eagle gaze at me.

“I want a meeting,” I said, bypassing all pleasantries.

The man had eyes all over, so I was certain he had been enlightened on his daughter's conduct.

“I understand.” His tone was clipped. “However, I am currently on a business trip in Italy and will be there for another two weeks. Maybe we could see after that?”

Classic deflection. Draw out the situation till the flame cools to smoke and gives you time for damage control.

Too bad this was the type of flame that never dulled.

“Italy is fine,” I replied, to Nikolai’s surprise. “I’ll alert my men and the necessary audience from Russia and we’ll be on our way soon.”

I killed the call before he could give a response. I had what I needed, and I was not going to hesitate.

“Isn’t that a bit impulsive?” Nikolai queried, picking his words cautiously.

“She has not spoken to me in a week.”

“Well, a woman doesn’t exactly want to have chitchats with you after she finds out you referred to her as a warm pussy.”

“She was pregnant.”

“That too. It’s worse when they’re pregnant and they realize their baby daddy—”

“Don’t use that word, ever.”

Nikolai’s lips clamped shut, but I could see the retort lingering in his eyes.

“It was a while ago,” I said, frustration eating at the tips of my nerves. “Long before I… before this became…”

Nikolai gave me a look as if to say, go on, you can do this.