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“Itwassincere,” I huffed over my shoulder.
He shifted behind me and suddenly all of my senses went into overdrive. His cologne enveloped me, followed by the feeling of his hands on my elbows, holding me steady as the elevator rocked to a halt on the next floor. I heard him inhale softly before leaning forward, speaking quietly in my ear.
“I know how difficult it is to accept help, let alone ask for it. That’s why I give it to you. I know you’re grateful. I can see it. Which means, you never need to say it out loud. Not to me.”
By the time he was done speaking, the soft rumble of his voice had rippled through me like a seismic wave. If he wasn’t still touching me, I might have slumped to the floor in a puddle. He could probably read the phone book and I’d be enthralled.
For the millionth time, only two questions rolled through my head: who the hell was this guy, and what the fuck did he see in me?
12
MISHA
Between straighteningout a damn liquor order at the club and sending people to comb the streets for more connections to the source of Nirvana, my temples were already pounding. The last thing I expected was Sergei and Dimitri to barge into the manager’s office one night, completely unannounced.
I got to my feet quickly, glancing between them before my gaze landed on Sergei. “Boss?”
“Meeting. Now,” Sergei responded brusquely, sweeping out again.
Dimitri lingered, assessing me with a head-to-toe perusal ending in a sneer. Shaking his head, he spun and stalked after Sergei without saying a word. He didn’t need to. Sergei’s spy and I had clashed since my arrival five years ago and it continued to get worse the longer I was around.
Swearing under my breath, I ripped my black suit jacket off the back of the chair. At least I was already dressed for my funeral.
Anton met my gaze as I emerged from the office, his eyes wide. He’d been surrounded by a cluster of Dimitri’s men, conveniently held back from alerting me that they were there. Still, he pointed at the large two-way mirror on the second floor where Sergei’s office was located, a warning too little, too late.
I gave him a curt nod and took the front stairs up to the office so at least a club full of patrons saw me, in the flesh, in case I ended up disappearing. I didn’t want to make my future murder investigationtooeasy to sweep under the rug.
Exhaling a slow breath, I walked past Sergei’s bodyguards and pushed the door to his office open, stepping inside with my head held high.
“Misha,” Sergei said politely, pouring vodka into the last of three glasses. “Drink?”
“Thank you,” I murmured. The fact I hadn’t witnessed him pour it didn’t sit well with me but I took the glass he offered anyway.
“To our health,” Sergei said, raising his glass before tossing it back.
Dimitri acknowledged him with a thin-lipped smile and emptied his.
I lifted the potentially poisoned drink to Sergei and swallowed the lot of it. It didn’t taste like it had been tainted but that didn’t mean anything. At any second, I could be foaming at the mouth and dead before I hit the floor. At least it would be quick.
Sergei dropped into the leather chair behind his desk and gestured for me to sit across from him, with my back facing the door. It also put me in sight of both himandDimitri without the risk of crossfire. It seemed all of his actions were meant to unsettle me, which I assumed was Dimitri’s doing, trying to throw me off before the meeting even began.
“How are things?” Sergei asked, sounding as pleasant as ever. Like the drink, his tone of voice gave nothing away.
“Business is good,” I replied, trying to keep an ear perked toward the door. With the bass thumping outside the office, it was hard to hear anyone moving in for an attack. I’d have to rely on my men to thwart anyone who might be on their way to assassinate me that very moment, but first, they’d have to get past the other two factions.
“Good. I am glad to hear it.”
“Perhaps it’s time to consider finding a new manager. I can’t keep doing this and looking after your other interests.”
“Are you well enough to return to the streets?” He gave me a pointed look, as if I had been sick with the flu and not that he ordered my brigade to beat me into unconsciousness.
“Yes,” I replied tightly. “Which is why I’m more useful out there than in here.”
Sergei leaned back in his leather chair, propping his elbow on the padded arm and gesturing vaguely. “What about that little squeaky one who’s always following you around? The one Natasha recruited?”
Dimitri sniffed disdainfully in the corner, uncrossing his legs and recrossing them while toying with his empty glass. I expected he would be familiar with the staff as he had undoubtedly dug into all of their lives at one point or another, and anyone with common sense could see Hayden was subversive to the “natural order.” Still, it didn’t bode well for the young man if Dimitri noticed him enough to be disgusted, even in his absence.
“Hayden?” I shook my head, trying to ignore Dimitri as much as possible. It was safer that way. The less he had to use against me, the better. “No. He’s good at accounting, but half of the staff hates him. We don’t need that sort of problem.”
