When we pull up, we scan the street for any movement—cars, people, or otherwise. The houses are far enough apart that I can’t make out anyone behind curtains or in shadowed light. Perfect.
After climbing out of the car, I strip off my suit jacket and toss it into the seat before heading up the walk. It takes a minute to remember the code for the door lock, but then I walk inside. The air is stale, but everything looks clean. I flip on the lights, content the shades and curtains are drawn.
Michail surveys the empty refrigerator. “Everything is running. You want me to get it stocked, just in case?”
I nod and head into the bedroom to look things over. “Yeah, get the cleaner in here too. One we’ve never used before, contracted via a burner phone. I don’t want a single thread leading back to us.”
Coming back out, I spot Michail checking the hookups behind the big-screen TV. “What are you, checking to see if you’ll be able to watch the big game here? You don’t think you’ll be able to see it well enough in the command center?”
He chuckles, deep and slow. A sound the women in society rarely get to hear but try for, nonetheless. “Of course not, but I can’t exactly watch the game in my underwear with all of you bastards.”
He stands and braces his hands on his hips, and it hits me he’s going to do one of those intervention moments the guys draw straws for because they fear my reaction. “Spit it out, whatever the fuck it is,” I mutter, already tired.
“If you confess, they will sentence you to death.”
I draw in a long breath and hold it a moment, using it to bring the edge off my anger and my need to get Val in my arms. “You don’t think I fucking know that?”
He shrugs. “Just need to remind you.”
I take a step closer, and he doesn’t even flinch. “Who thinks I need a reminder?”
The question is moot since we both know Kai is yet again trying to butt in where I don’t need him. I turn into the kitchen and check the cabinets to give my hands something to do. “Well, you can tell him I have no intention of fucking confessing to anything.”
“What if they threaten Valentina?”
I charge around the counter and have my hand on his neck before he can even think to move. He freezes in my hold, his hazel eyes going dark from my shadow. But he doesn’t flinch or even breathe heavily. I lean in, my face an inch from his. “If they threaten Valentina, then it will be the end of society as we know it. I’ll finally take the step my father was always too chickenshit to take and remove every single one of those bastards from power. One by one by one until they decide they don’t want to lose anyone else and surrender to me.”
I give him a little squeeze. “So I think it’s in everyone’s best interest that Valentina doesn’t even get mentioned in the presence of anyone who might even go near the council or their lackeys.”
Staring into my eyes, he says nothing, waiting for me to release him. By virtue of his position, he can say anything he wants to me, all my men can, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences, as Kai learned the hard way.
My hands are shaking and cold when I slide them away from his skin. He still doesn’t flinch, and I realize it’s not bravado. It’s trust. Punishment is one thing, but he trusts me not to take it too far, not unless he deserves it.
Fuck. I turn away again, unable to look at him. Have I been too hard on Kai? Especially given all I’ve asked of him recently. When it comes to Valentina’s safety, it’s like I get some kind of blinders on, and my default is rage. Like the only way to make sure she stays with me is to ensure not a single person would dare come near her.
I brace my hands on the counter and roll my neck around. There won’t be an apology, there never is, but I can explain myself, my thoughts, and give them a little more to go on the next time one of them needs to butt heads with me. “She is my only reason for living, Michail. Do you understand? If something happens to her, then there is nothing else left.”
“Do you mean the same to her?” he asks.
I pivot to level him a glare. “Why would you ask that? Has she said something?”
He crosses his arms over his chest and shakes his head. “I just want to know that the woman I’m expected to take a bullet for, the woman you’d sacrifice everything for, would do the same for you.”
I grind my teeth. “You obviously aren’t hearing me. I don’t want her to take a fucking bullet for me. I don’t want a single scratch on her body. No one touches her. No one looks at her. No one gets even an inch too close. If they can reach her to hurt her, then you and I have already failed. Are we clear?”
If he takes even one more second to answer, I’ll deck him. Finally, he nods once, his chin barely dipping. “I understand. Nothing will happen to her on my watch, I promise you.”
We stay that way for a moment, measuring each other. Then I say, “Fine, let’s get out of here. I want to get back to her.”
I lock up the house and head toward the car. Michail follows, his soft steps barely audible on the concrete walk.
The car beeps with the unlock, and I climb in, crushing the jacket I’d forgotten I’d left there.
We pull away and head back into the city. “Stop at Velvet’s place on the way. I want to get something for Valentina.”
He leans over and gives me a grin. “Velvet’s? Really?”
I shrug, answering his smile with one of my own. “I’ve never had a wife before. I want to spoil her a little bit.”
He snorts, his eyes glued to the road. “A little bit? You can’t get anything at Velvet’s for less than a down payment on a Tesla.”
Velvet’s is closed at this hour, but one text from me brings the woman who owns the store running to open it for us. I survey the merchandise and pick out a necklace. Diamonds run around the length to two clusters of diamonds that look like angel wings framing a large canary-yellow diamond.
It’s stunning, and my angel will look so good naked in my bed sparkling in the overhead light with this on.
I hand it back to Velvet, and she carefully wraps it for me. “You have my account information.”
Her black hair spills over her shoulder as she gives me a bow. “Of course. I hope your lady enjoys it. If not, bring her with you next time. I’d love to help you both pick something out.”
I leave without another thought, the white bag inlaid with gold clutched tight in my fist. Usually, purchases at Velvet’s include a security escort, but tonight, it’s just Michail.
We climb back into the car, and I settle into the seat again. This time, my jacket is in the back as Michail moved it for me when I exited at Velvet’s.
“Home?”
I nod and face out the window, my mind already on Valentina. “Home,” I whisper.
It takes way too long to get there, and I’m itching as I exit the elevator. My heart hits my feet when she’s not standing there waiting.
Maybe she’s fallen asleep early. I head up to the bedroom, but it’s also empty.
Hearing Kai’s footsteps behind me make me stiffen, and he says what I could already feel if I had stopped to focus.
“Valentina is gone.”
3