Page 67 of Shades of Loyalty
“Fine, then. What did you have in mind?” he asks me.
I grin. Thank God, he knows I’m right.
Being too cautious is better than not being cautious at all.
“We’ll get extra security. I want snipers around the dock. I don’t care if you think it’s too much. And just in case, a backup crew. I want as many men as possible there to ensure that if anything goes wrong, we catch that motherfucker and kill him.” I tell him my plan.
He looks down at his drink before sighing. “Don’t you think that’s overkill?”
“Better overkill than getting killed.”
He mumbles something in Russian that I don’t understand, but in the end, he agrees. “Fine. Do you have good snipers?”
“Two. If you add two more, that’d be good.”
Yuri nods. “That’d be easy.”
It doesn’t take long to sort out the details before we’re done. I text Hayden a quick update while Yuri calls Nikolai in his office, telling him everything we’ve discussed.
Soon afterward, we leave his office and join our ladies in the living room.
Unlike us, they’re sitting in a calm, sweet ambiance and sipping on some coffee, having fun.
Fuck, my girl’s smile is so gorgeous.
Whatever she does, she looks gorgeous.
She’s wearing black jeans and a shirt, and although it bothers me and I wish I could’ve gotten her a new dress for this meeting, she insisted on wearing this outfit.
I’m sort of glad, actually. I wouldn’t have gotten her on my Harley with a dress, after all.
“I don’t need more dresses,” she said when I mentioned getting her a new one.
I think that’s bullshit. But I respect her opinion, anyway.
Regardless, she can be fucking sure I’m gonna buy her new dresses whenever I feel like it.
It’s the way I am. Can’t help it.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Jennifer
The soft clink of coffee cups breaks the stillness of the Volkov mansion’s living room. The space feels calm, almost intimate, with only the distant creak of the old wooden floors hinting at the world beyond these walls.
Moonlight filters through the tall windows, casting a cool, silvery glow over the table between us, where our half-empty cups rest. Katya and I sit across from each other on two small sofas, our half-empty cups forgotten as our conversation deepens.
Katya tilts her head. “You like him,” she observes, her eyes fixed on me, waiting for a reaction.
I gulp, my throat tightening. She’s not wrong, but… “Well, yeah. He’s... physically appealing. And he makes me feel protected in this environment, for sure. But it’s not enough to say I want a relationship with him. I—” I pause, my voice growing tight.
Before I can stop myself—before I can remind myself that opening up to Katya with my past might be a mistake—I continue.
“My last relationship didn’t end well. When I told my ex I was pregnant with Mary... he just left me. Disappeared. No goodbye. Nothing.”
Katya reaches over, giving my hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. “But Daniel’s different, isn’t he? You told me how he got Mary that stuffed animal—he treats her well. I think he likes both you and Mary. He treats her better than her biological father ever did.” Her eyes soften with a knowing look.
I sigh, my chest feeling a little lighter at her warmth.
