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But of course, I’m not mentioning my concerns to Gabriel. Instead, I just nod and smile. “Of course.”
“Excellent. Oh, and don’t overthink the Gavan thing. He’s about to dump a lot more work on us—much more than Taylor can reasonably be expected to handle herself. I think he just wants to meet a few of our top people who’ll be taking on some of that work. It’s all above-board. Don’t let the rumors spook you.”
“Absolutely, Mr. Black.”
He nods and raps his knuckles against the door behind him. Then he’s gone.
8
ELSA
I exhaleas Gabriel closes the door, trying to compartmentalize the various things flying around my brain: the dinner with Howard later, the impending meeting with the co-King of one of the most dangerous and powerful Bratva families in the world…oh, and the lingering memories of screwing Hades.
Which is exactly when the door swings open with barely a knock, and Gavan himself billows in like a black cloud.
At twenty-four, Gavan Tsarenko is even younger than I am. Tall and built, the man looks every inch the Bratva king that he is: black hair, steely gunmetal gray eyes, heavily tattooed. Even in his impeccable, tailored suits, the lines of ink creep out of his cuffs and snake across the backs of his hands, as well as up his neck to his jaw.
I stand and keep a neutral, professional smile pasted on my face as he enters. But inside, I can feel my blood chilling just a little bit. He’s not known to be ill-tempered or prone to random acts of violence or anything. In fact, by reputation, he’s as cold and calculating as a machine. But it doesn’t stop me from biting back a shiver as his dark energy flows into the room like black ink spilling across paper.
And then all the effort I’m putting into maintaining a calm appearance vanishes when Leo walks in behind him, followed by the consummately-creepy Pascha.
My father just glares at me, half a snarl on his lips. Pascha shuts my office door and very deliberately leans against it while mentally undressing me.
Puke.
“Ms. Guin,” Gavan purrs quietly. “I don’t believe we’ve ever officially been introduced.”
He crosses the room with the air of a man who owns every single one he enters. He shakes my hand firmly across the desk, then clears his throat. “May I sit?”
“Of course, please.”
Gavan undoes his jacket button and settles his muscled frame into one of the two chairs facing my desk. When I remain standing, he arches a brow.
“Will you be joining me?”
I lean against the credenza behind my desk. “I’m fine here.”
His lips curl at the corners. Angry? Amused? I can’t quite say.
“Let’s skip the part where we pretend we don’t understand all the convoluted histories and relationships in this room,” he begins. “It’s a waste of time and we’re both busy people. As I understand it, your father—”
“I don’t consider him my father,” I murmur icily.
Leo and Pascha glare daggers at me. Gavan just inclines his head gracefully. “Yes. Well,Leo, then, wished to aid my organization in an important business acquisition, by offering your hand in marriage to Serj Mirzoyan’s son, Melik. Do I have that correct so far?”
I nod stiffly.
“However, I gather there have been certain…actionstaken on your part recently that have rendered this deal no longer acceptable, as Melik exclusively wanted an…” he clears his throat. “Inexperiencedbride. Is that also correct?”
“Apparently so.”
“And is this true? I mean that you—”
“I’m not going to discuss my body, my personal choices, or my sex life with you or your men, Mr. Tsarenko.”
Gavan shakes his head. “You misunderstand. That isn’t why I’m here, Ms. Guin.”
“Then whyareyou here?” I mutter in a tone that I fully realize is approaching dangerous considering the man I’m using it on. “Because I know it’s not about ‘meeting the other lawyers in our firm who will be handling your legal needs’, as you told my boss.”
