Page 98 of Shutter and Sin
Zoya sits up instantly, her exhaustion forgotten for a second. “What do you mean, caught?”
“You know how he told her to stop stripping? Said he’d take care of her financially?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, she refused. Said she doesn’t want to be dependent on a man - you know how she is. So he put a tracker on her! She found it in her purse and was furious, so she went to the club anyway just to prove a point.”
“Oh no,” Zoya breathes.
“Oh yes! And he showed up at the club while she was talking to a customer. Taras just lost it - he shot up the place!”
“What?!”
“There were bullets flying and people screaming. He shot the ceiling mostly and shattered half the bottles behind the bar, but still! He shot up a club!”
They go back and forth for a few more minutes, Yelena detailing how Taras dragged Anya out while she screamed at him in the parking lot. When they finally hang up, Zoya turns to me, her eyes wide. “Your cousin shot up a club.”
“So?”
“And you’re not surprised.”
“Nah.” I pull her back down against me. “He told her to stop. He has the means to take care of her, and if he wants to provide, she should let him.”
“That’s not how to get the girl. He’s been way too forceful, and Anya wouldn’t like that, Alexei. She wants to be free.”
“Then she should not have led him on. My cousin has never had a girl actively talk to him. You could say he’s like a turtle. She sparked interest in him, and now it seems too much for her. Taras isn’t the type to let go once he’s attached. He’s obsessive. Once he decides something is his, he doesn’t share. Anya can fight it all she wants, but the only question is how long it takes her to accept that she’s his.”
Zoya opens her mouth to argue, but my own phone cuts her off.
Bohdan.
“What?”
“Tornike agreed to meet tomorrow at noon at the old textile warehouse. He’s bringing two men.”
“We’ll be ready. I want him alive. The others can be dealt with.”
I hang up and find Zoya watching me. “You have to go.”
“Not yet.” I kiss her, lingering for a moment. “Soon. But not yet.”
We lie there for another hour in the quiet of the room. I hold her until her breathing evens out and she falls into a deep, heavy sleep against my chest. Just as I’m starting to drift off myself, the phone vibrates again.
Bohdan.
“Change of plans. He wants to meet tonight. Says he has information and he’s ready to negotiate now.”
I look down at Zoya. She looks so peaceful, so fragile in her sleep. I don’t want to leave her, especially not when she’s feeling like this. But in our world, business doesn't wait for a convenient time.
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
I slide out of bed, ensuring she doesn't wake. I move to the closet and pull out my tactical vest, checking my holstersand knives. By the time I’m finished, I’m no longer the loving husband but a vengeful spirit.
I lean down one last time, pressing a ghost of a kiss to Zoya’s forehead. “I’ll be back before morning,” I whisper.
She doesn’t stir from her sleep. I turn and walk out into the night.
Chapter 31
