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Eric couldn’t sit still anymore as he listened to Sylvia and Talya as they told him and Yuri about the notes that they initially put down to fan mail. Apparently, it wasn’t unknown for the girls to receive fan mail from some of the regulars, or even guys who just stopped by to see what Poles was about. But the guy who had taken a liking to Sylvia had started going beyond that of a normal fan.
Once or twice during the discussion, Eric had left the room to get his jealousy and anger under control. He wanted to shout at Sylvia for being an idiot and not telling Yuri, or him, about the notes. If the steam coming out of Yuri’s ears was anything to go by, he was just as pissed. Eric just couldn’t decide who Yuri was pissed the most at, Sylvia or Talya.
The sight of Sylvia with tears overflowing her beautiful eyes was what settled him down. The tears were more likely because of his cold attitude toward her since they arrived and the notes appeared.
He hadn’t meant to be a bastard and leave her out in the cold, but he’d been close to losing his shit when he saw there were more notes than a few. There must have been about twenty plus on the coffee table.
He sat beside her, and pulled her onto his lap. She curled up without any hesitation, and wrapped her arms around his neck. In the shelter of his arms, he kept her there while he focused on Yuri, who looked like he was about to blow. There didn’t seem to be any calm in him.
Talya must have sensed Yuri’s fury because she stayed away from him. His face was a thundercloud. Eric winced and felt sorry for Talya who looked alone, curled up in the oversized chair. She was nervous and he didn’t blame her.
“Ia doverial tebe I ty solgal,” Yuri seethed at Talya. “I trusted you and you lied.”
Talya looked as though he’d slapped her across the face. Her face drained with color, except her cheeks, which were flushed. Her eyes welled with tears and when she looked down at her hands clenched in her lap, one slipped down her cheeks. She looked heartbroken and the room crackled with tension as Sylvia shifted in his lap. She moved to get up for her friend, but Eric held her tightly as he watched Talya breathe in deeply as though she was picking up the pieces of her heart. When she looked up, her eyes were filled with steel, the sadness that was in them seconds before was gone, but Eric doubted that she wasn’t crushed. Like a leopard, she uncurled and stood, her eyes blazing at Yuri as she swiped at the errant tear on her cheek. “I can’t do this anymore,” she whispered. “I’m not coming back to Poles. I’m through. Have a nice life, Yuri.”
With one final glance around the room, she turned on her heel and retreated to her room. The room filled with an uncomfortable silence. Her broken words had gotten to Eric, who considered himself hard as steel. He blamed Sylvia for his compassionate side coming out.
Yuri looked like a man defeated, and the ‘note’ problem was still apparent with no end or solution in sight, or even discussed.
As Yuri’s eyes stayed glued to Talya’s door, Eric said, “Can we please get back on track here?”
“Da.” With a heavy sigh, Yuri rubbed his bald head as though it ached, which it probably did, and focused back on the problem at hand.
“We need to find the bastard who is doing this, and find out whether or not he is a serious threat to Sylvia. Da?” Yuri looked at her, and waited for her to meet his gaze. “You think it is one of the new regulars?”
She nodded.
“The tall blond one?” Yuri asked, but Sylvia shook her head.
“No. He’s tall, with a lanky frame and dark hair. He wears it close to his head, he has a tattoo on his neck. I think on the left side.”
“Da.” Yuri snapped his fingers and got to his feet. “I recognize him. If he keeps to his usual schedule, then he will be there tonight. My men will question him and get to the bottom of this. I promise you, Moia milaia Sil'viia.”
“It’s annoying when you slip into Russian,” Eric grouched because he was sure that Yuri had said an endearment to Sylvia.
Yuri snickered. “I shall repeat myself in English, for you. I said, my sweet Sylvia.” The glitter of amusement in Yuri’s eye warned Eric that he deliberately teased, which is why he didn’t respond.
“You have nothing to worry about.” Yuri stood, and glanced at Talya’s door. “Look after her for me,” he asked, his gaze unmoved from her bedroom door.
“I will,” Sylvia agreed. “She’s special.”
Yuri glanced to Sylvia before he made his way to the door. When he reached it, he paused, his gaze on the wood in front of him. “She is,” he whispered, and with those words, he left.
“What’s going on with those two?” Eric asked.
He knew Yuri was a lot more than what he seemed, regardless of the clubs and the fighting house; he had strong ideas that broke away from his family. Eric knew that they let him be, but he didn’t know for how long that would last.
“It’s
Talya’s story to tell.” She offered Eric a small smile. “They should be together, and I hope one day they work it out enough so that can happen. It hurts seeing my friend so upset over him, especially knowing that he feels the same about her.”
Sylvia moved from his lap and tried to get up, but he held her firm. “Where are you going?”
“I need to check on Talya.”
“Talya is fine,” her friend said as she leaned against the doorway to her room. “Or I will be.”
Her red rimmed eyes made it clear that she’d been crying, but it seemed like she was trying to pull herself together for their benefit. Eric had no idea what was keeping them apart. He didn’t think it was because they were ‘boss and employee’; it had to be something more. He shrugged and let it go. It had nothing to do with him.
