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Boris smooths back what little hair there is on his head and clears his throat. “So, I hate to say I was right, but Anatoly knew you were at The Pink Disaster last night.”
“I only got back a few hours ago,” I say, sitting up in sudden interest. “What happened?”
“Arson,” he replies, pursing his lips. “They burned the place to the ground.”
I scoff. “Impossible. I was there, and the place is solid brick. No way anyone would be able to burn it down.”
“The building is still standing, yes, but the interior has been turned to ash.”
I groan, not over the loss of real estate, but because this means Antony thinks he can actually get away with doing something stupid. I can’t allow him to act this way without retaliation, and that could mean starting a full-on war.
Which, by extension, puts Valerie into a hell of a lot more danger than before.
“Boris,” I say, standing up.
He looks up at me, a flicker of fear in his eyes.
I smile to calm him down. “I want you to shut down Valerie Morgan’s apartment complex. The entire thing. I don’t want a single person living there, and I don’t want anything on the news about it. Buy them all out if you have to, but you must ensure that she’s no longer a resident there.”
“Couldn’t we just remove her?” he asks.
“She’ll think it’s targeted. I’m sure she already knows that I’m conspiring against her, but it’s better that we don’t make it too obvious. I’m on thin ice as it is.”
Boris smirks, and I know what he’s thinking. I’m acting like a fool over some woman. A pussy is all it takes to bring me to my knees.
But that’s not the case, at least not fully. I have contractual obligations as the head of the Bratva, and I’m dangerously close to breaking them if I don’t have a baby with Valerie. Last nightwas a good start, but it’s not enough to ensure her pregnancy. I need to have her again.
And again.
And again.
“So, you want me to shut the entire complex down over this woman and lose the money we’re getting from there. She must be important.”
“She is,” I reply, considering whether I should let Boris in on why I’m doing all of this. He knows a lot, but there are some things I’ve kept secret from everyone. Anatoly would know, but none of my men do.
Perhaps Boris needs to know, because his own career is on the line over this as well. If I go down, so does he.
I pick my cigar up from the crystal ash tray on my desk, taking a few puffs to start it up again before gesturing to the chair across from me. “Sit down, please. I’d like to talk to you about something.”
Boris’s smirk fades into his typical scowl as he falls into the chair on the other side of my desk. He lets out a deep sigh, as though he can finally relax his heavy body after twenty years in the Bratva. It’s probably the first time I’ve ever seen him sitting.
My hand hovers over a cedar box to my left. “Cigar?”
“Depends on how long we’re going to be talking.”
I chuckle. “Relax, Boris. I’m not firing you or anything. Just have a smoke with me and we’ll talk.”
He relents quickly, allowing me to prepare one for him before we dive into the matter at hand. The room feels a little calmer now, the palpable tension replaced with fragrant smoke.
“You know I’ve taken a liking to Valerie Morgan,” I begin, “but do you know why?”
He shrugs his meaty shoulders. “She’s beautiful, probably fun at that age.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Yes, fun is one word for it.”
“She’ll keep you on your toes.”
“Certainly, but that’s more of the cherry on top, as they say. There’s another reason why Valerie has caught my eyes, and it has to do with her DNA test.”
