Page 18 of Scarred Temptation

Dangerous men involved in perilous lives.

There was no other choice.

He rubbed the injured area, finally breaking the look we shared out of respect. If any other man had been so fucking stupid in risking my daughter’s life, they’d already be hanging from a metal bar waiting for me to calm the fuck down before I decided the painful fate the bastards would succumb to.

“Chertov idiot,” I snarled and stormed toward my desk. With a hard jerk, I had the glass of aged whiskey in my hand. I looked down at the smoky liquid, noticing my hand was shaking. I switched the glass to my non-dominant one, flexing my fingers to try to put an end to the sign of weakness. No one could see me like this. Not their Pakhan, a man considered a true savage.

“Who’s the fucking idiot?” Roman dared to asked. “Your brother or the motherfucker who made a very bad decision in trying to kidnap Mina?”

I took several deep breaths before answering. “Both.” As I threw back the entire contents of the glass, the liquid burned, but other than mild sensations, I didn’t feel a damn thing. That’s what fury did to me. I became a machine capable of doing unspeakable things.

But the hard-working system was showing cracks.

No one fucked with my daughter and lived.

“You know her system can’t take the anxiety. She’s fragile and could become ill at any time.” The ugly desperation I felt wasn’t unusual nor was Roman surprised at my outburst.

But I knew exactly what he was going to say before he did so. “She’s not fragile any longer, Max. You know that. She’s a very strong little girl.”

“And I will keep her that way.”

I could feel Roman’s anxiety from where I stood. It had a distinct stench like fear. Only my brother wasn’t worried about what I’d do to him. He adored Mina as if she were his own, becoming her second father when I’d needed him the most.

“What the fuck happened? How could you allow Mina to become terrified and fight for her life?” I’d heard only a few details about what had occurred. From the moment my Brigadier had called and said she’d almost been taken, I’d been in a fog, a rage I’d had to take time to control before my beautiful little girl arrived home.

Now I needed my brother to provide an explanation that I considered plausible.

I’d sworn my child would never see the darker side of me. All she knew was that I was her papa, a man who read books to her at night and controlled how much candy she ate. I was the guy who could recite every word of every song from The Little Mermaid and knew the best parks and beaches in the city.

Along with the tastiest ice cream shops.

Goddamn it, I would slaughter whoever was responsible.

“There were unexpected roadblocks,” Roman said quietly as he approached my desk.

I cocked my head, handling the emotions by doing breathing exercises as prescribed by a shrink whose name I couldn’t remember. “Roadblocks?”

“A staged accident. I made a few calls after we arrived here safely. As soon as we were rerouted, the accident disappeared.”

“Who the fuck would be stupid enough to try a kidnapping in broad daylight?”

“Don’t shoot the messenger, but I don’t know. The assholes got away, although at least one of them was severely injured. There was blood on the fountain.”

Another deep breath and I turned around to face him, studying his face. My brother was the only other family Mina and I had, at least in the United States. I’d be damned if I was taking her to Russia any time soon.

“Let me get this straight. Somehow, one of our enemies, and we’re uncertain which one, almost abducted my child to use for leverage. When the plan failed, the men involved managed to get away and we have no fucking clue what we’re dealing with?”

Roman’s exhale was deep and heavy. “Succinctly put. We weren’t expecting an attack. There’s been no threats, no thefts. There hasn’t even been discord with any shipments or our clients. Everything has been running smoothly.”

“And the new real estate project?” The planned commercial building was an extension of my other business, but an opportunity had dropped into my lap and I couldn’t pass it up.

Not because I’d become rich off the campus of buildings, but because the facility was needed.

And perhaps would calm the demons living feverishly inside of me.

“County approved and ready to go forward with no hiccups. I was honestly a little surprised how smoothly the project is running.” Roman shoved his hands into his trouser pockets.

“Therein lies the problem. When our business runs smoothly, we need to take extra precautions. At least my daughter knew what to do.”