Page 125 of The Enemy Protector
She appears in the doorway. Not angry. I understand what Nelson meant. She walks to the desk, picks up the glass I poured for her, and drinks. Her eyes never leave mine.
I wait.
She sets the glass down with deliberate care. “You should have told me.”
“I got the call after you’d gone to bed.”
“My warehouse. My operation. My decision.” She says it like the queen she is, defending her territory. And damn, if it doesn’t make me want her even more.
“Your operation was harvesting organs from living people and selling them on the black market,” I say. “I’m not apologizing for shutting it down.”
“I’m not asking you to apologize for shutting it down.” She steps closer. “I’m telling you that you should have informed me. Before you acted. Not after.”
“There wasn’t time.”
“There’s always time for a phone call.”
“It’s done. I don’t do regrets when I know it’s the right choice.”
“Yuri is trying to take over my bratva,” she says, changing the subject. “He’s been systematically undermining me. Turning my people against me. Using my father’s operations to build his own power base.”
“I know. Do you want me to kill him?” I ask.
She laughs like I’ve made a joke.
Then she sees my face and the laughter dies.
“You’re serious.”
“Of course, I am.”
“We can’t just murder him.”
“We absolutely can.” I move around the desk, closing the distance between us. “If I was in your position, that’s exactly what I would do. Eliminate the threat. Send a message. Consolidate power.”
“That’s not—” She stops, shaking her head. “I’ll find another way.”
“What other way? He’s not going to stop, Sofia. He wants what you have. He thinks it belongs to him. The only way to end this is to end him.”
“I won’t become my father.”
“Your father would have killed Yuri the moment he stepped off the plane.” I lean against the desk. “You’re not your father. You’re better than him. But that doesn’t mean you can afford to be soft.”
“Killing him isn’t the answer.”
“Then what is?”
She doesn’t have one. I see her struggling with it. The good person she wants to be versus the ruthless leader she needs to be.
“You may get to run your businesses without my interference,” I say carefully. “But when that business crosses into mine, I will handle it.”
Her eyes narrow. “Clarification.”
“You.” The word is harsh. “You’re mine, Sofia. My wife. My responsibility. If Yuri hurts you, I hurt Yuri. That’s not negotiable.”
“I’m not asking for your protection.”
“You married me for exactly that reason.”
