AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Is it a male friend?” I ask teasingly.
As she walks past me, she smacks my arm. “No details for you. You’ll run off to my father. See you later.”
I wave her off as I walk to Ivan’s office. Ivan has mainly been working from home because it’s safer and easier to protect. It’s an environment he has more control over. He also doesn’t like missing milestones in his son's life.
I stroll into Ivan’s office. He’s concentrating on his laptop, so I go to his mini bar and pour myself a drink, sitting down in front of him.
Ivan finishes what he’s doing and settles back away from his desk. “Hello, Cousin.”
“Pakhan,” I say respectfully. “Having a productive morning, I see.”
“Sort of.” He seems worried about something, but I leave it alone. If he wanted me to know, he’d tell me. Instead, his eyes search mine, and he asks, “What happened with Shirley?”
I scoff, “I don’t know what you mean.”
“The charity ball last night. We saw the two of you arguing, and then she left straight after the meal, and you were a grumpy drunk the rest of the night.” Ivan straightens his tie slightly and tilts his head to the side. “It was rather obvious.”
I shake my head. “She was being childish, and she left.”
I don’t want to go into the details, but I know there is something I must bring up. “I mean, did you see how Mikhail just approached her like that? It certainly raises a lot of questions.”
Ivan shakes his head. He knows I’m deflecting, but he doesn’t push the issue, and I’m thankful for that.
“Mikhail will always look for an opportunity to strike, he will always go for who he perceives as the weakest link, and he’s dead wrong this time. Many people tell me Shirley is not someone to be crossed if you like to live.”
I snort, “Unlikely, but I’d like to know what he’s after.”
“He’s probably after the same thing you are: Shirley’s proposal.” Ivan sighs and stretches, his neck clicking into place with a loud, satisfying crack.
I won’t admit to him that I’d love more than Shirley’s proposal. I always put the family first in every way, but why can’t I have Staten IslandandShirley? Why can’t we have our toxic ever-after?
Ivan’s phone rings, and as he answers it, mine does as well. His eyes open wide as one of my soldiers speaks quickly in my ear, “Sir, there’s been an explosion in Lower Manhattan. It’s one of our office spaces that’s been blown apart.”
I look at Ivan, who is frantically pacing up and down now, “Tori… Tori…. Answer…”
“I’ll call you back.” I stand up. “Where is Tori?”
“She’s supposed to be near there with Roman, Kira, and Bella,” he says, his face filled with anguish.
“Oh, thank fucking God, where the fucking hell are you?” he demands, putting her on speakerphone so I can hear.
“Calm down,” she snips, “we’re at Central Park. Why?”
Ivan sits down on an armchair, his hand shaking. “You said you were going to lower Manhattan today.”
“It was a beautiful day, so we changed our minds,” she sounds confused and worried. “Why? Is everything okay?”
Ivan lets out another deep breath, and his hands stop shaking. “Stay clear of there. There was an attack, and one of our buildings was blown up. I’d prefer you get home soon.”
“Kira has guards with her,” Tori says quickly. “I’ll ask them to escort us home.”
“Do that. Keep me posted every step.” Ivan hangs up and glowers at me, his face tight. “I want to know who did this.”
This is the side of Ivan that not many get to see. They always see him as mature and wise, but they don’t realize how deadly he can be when under threat.
While Ivan goes to pour himself another drink, I start making calls from one soldier to the next and through the ranks of our family. No one has any clues, and the cops on the scene aren’t on our payroll.
I turn to Ivan. “I’ll find out who this is, and they will pay. I’ll be in touch.”
