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“And if he uses this as an opportunity to try and take over what you have in Chicago?”
“I’ll deal with that when the time comes. Aspen is our priority, and building up our resources in Texas is where we need to focus our energy.”
“And what about Sotoro? I feel out of the loop being in Germany for the month. Any details on him and the concern that he’s working his way into your Chicago connections?”
“No, but I’m sure Nicolai is all over that. Remember when he contacted me about confronting Sotoro so there wouldn’t be a war.”
“Well if things like this situation keep popping up, that’s exactly what there’s going to be. Bloodshed over who will ultimately run that territory. You know that you’re risking losing some control by bringing Aspen to Texas and remaining there? I’m bringing the whole team with me, too. I won’t let Andrei get his claws into Aspen.”
“Neither will we. We’ll see you in a few days.”
“Protect her, Storm. We’ll see you soon.”
Porter disconnected the call and looked at the guys. Piers, Ren, Reid, and Silas. They were his team since serving in the military and came from similar family backgrounds like him and Aspen. They were a wild bunch, never really learning how to settle down and live life like regular civilians. They each had a specialty, an ability that landed them a lot of private contracts for everything from security to applying pressure to get individuals to pay up. But they only did those jobs in between working for both Liberty Construction and Development and working for Pro-Tech Industries.
“How is Aspen?” Piers asked him.
Porter ran his hands through his hair as he told him and the guys about what Storm knew and filled him in on.
“Sounds like she’s hiding shit. You’re going to have to get it out of her as soon as we get to Salvation,” Ren said.
“No shit. But she’s changed over the last few years. I should have seen this coming. I should have recognized the signs,” Porter told them.
“Of what? That she wanted to seek revenge? That she figured out that Andrei was responsible for her abduction years ago? Then what? You weren’t ready to talk to her about her father, and the past,” Silas stated.
“You think I should now?” Porter asked, knowing that only his team knew the details of the family ties to the Russian mob. Surely Andrei couldn’t know. The secret was something he had come to know by accident.
“I think it may be necessary to help her make the right decisions,” Reid told him.
“The right decision about what?”
“About letting Andre control her. If she knew the truth, she may be making some different choices.”
“Like what, Reid?” Porter asked.
“Like accepting a part of her heritage that’s been kept a secret from her since her birth. Your sister has more than proven her capabilities and strength. You need to tell her the truth. She’s obviously done her own investigating into Andrei. It’s only fair for her to know,” Silas said.
“I’ll think about it. I just know, from what we’ve heard, that Andrei wants her but for what besides his woman, I don’t know. But knowing the man, and his capabilities, I’m fearful he’ll succeed and I’ll lose her forever.”
Chapter 4
She tried to pull on the sweater to hide the bruising on her upper arm caused by Demyan in Andrei’s office. But it was too late when Storm, Winter, Zin, York, and Weston opened the front door to her penthouse apartment.
“What the hell?” she asked, stunned at their audacity.
“Where the fuck did you go? Why did you lose your security guards?” Storm demanded to know as they piled into her living room.
“First of all, what gives you the right to break into my home uninvited? What if I was entertaining someone?” she snapped as York approached and raised an eyebrow at her.
“You haven’t dated anyone since that guy from New York you had living here,” he said. She gave him a dirty look but then Weston grabbed her hand.
“What’s this? How did this happen?” he asked.
Busted.
She tried pulling away from him.
“I don’t know. I banged it,” she lied.
