Page 21 of Anton

Aleksei glares. “Are you finally going to let us kill the Whitlocks, or are we going to keep letting them disrespect us over and over again?”

No one answers right away. Kirill leans back in his chair, eyes bouncing from Aleksei to Konstantin.

“We’re going to have one more meeting with them,” Konstantin says. “If it fails, it’s over.”

And I know exactly what that means: Thora dies.

CHAPTER SEVEN

THORA

I step into my secret hideout, slip off my shoes, and drop onto the sofa, dragging a hand down my face.

Okay, so maybe it isn’t exactly a secret hideout, but it’s a house I rent that no one in my family knows about. At least I don’t think they do, which means it still counts. Sometimes I need somewhere quiet, a place where I can escape work and my family and have something that is mine alone.

How long I can keep it hidden is another story.

Turning on the TV, I grab my cell from my handbag and check my emails. But it doesn’t take long before my mind drifts back to him. Before I know it, I’m typing his name into the search bar to see if he has social media, and no such luck. Other than some press photos for the company, there’s nothing on him. My fingers pause mid-scroll as I blow out a breath, staring at the ceiling.

This is ridiculous. Stop your madness.

When the phone buzzes, my fingers jerk against it like I’m afraid it’s him, which is ridiculous since he doesn’t even know my number.

But when I find Blair’s name lighting up the screen, relief washes over me.

“Hey. What’s up?”

“Wellllll…” she says slowly, dragging it out just enough to make me suspicious. “I should be asking you that.”

I frown, throwing one leg over the other. “What are you talking about?”

“Guess who called me earlier?”

Oh, boy. What did I do now?

“Who?”

“Nadia. You know, from that café you basically live at?”

Crap.

I pinch my lips, bracing for my friend’s wrath. “Oh, yeah? And what did she have to say?”

Please don’t let it be about Anton…

Blair’s wry laugh hits me.

Yeah, she knows.

“Oh, nothing major. She just told me how you were all cozy with some really hot, chiseled guy. The one who bought you coffee.”

Heat creeps up my neck.

“She even said she saw him brush his hand across your back,” Blair goes on, clearly enjoying this way too much. “And she was wondering if you were hiding a secret boyfriend. I told her, ‘No, Thora would never hide that kind of major news from me.’”

I squeeze my eyes shut. “She did not say that.”

“Oh, she absolutely did.” Blair laughs. “And I realized it had to be Anton.”