Page 48

The door buzzes, unlocking. I push it open, Rush and Ryker following just behind me. But we’ve barely made it through the door when we’re being patted down.

Both Ryker and Rush have a pistol, both of which are removed.

I feel like I could tear Dimitri apart with my bare hands, but I draw in several deep breaths, attempting to keep calm.

Dimitri is surely armed, and I am not.

We’re led down a narrow hall, the guard stopping by an open door. “Those two wait outside,” he says in a thick accent.

Ryker steps up next to me. “No. This is a family matter, he’ll see the family.”

Ryker’s words help me focus, knowing I have my brother’s support.

“It’s all right, Ivan. See them in.”

Ivan steps to the side of the door, allowing us to pass.

Rush moves between me and him, clearly acting as temporary guard.

I am the man in my family who keeps our business moving forward. Makes the deals, plans for the future.

But in this moment, I understand how important family is to my success. They prop me up in those moments I need them.

I never think of it this way. I’ve always seen myself as the man who breaks the water, how I take the full force of the wind.

And I am. But I do so with their strength at my back. It’s something I’ve forgotten and in losing it, I’ve lost part of myself. The part that finds joy.

My father may have been a complete piece of shit, but my mother managed to raise men who are strong and committed.

Thinking of her makes my chest tighten. A good woman can’t be underestimated.

I stop in front of Dimitri’s desk. He’s a roughly handsome man with a crooked nose and a sharp jaw. We’re equal in height, but he outmuscles me.

And these Russians can never be underestimated.

I straighten my spine, expanding my shoulders. “Why do you have Honeyeh?”

“She came to me.” He holds my gaze, his own steady.

But my knuckles rap on the desk. “Lie.”

His hands come up. “Something about a surgery she needs to pay for.”

I want to tell him to fuck off. That she would come to me if she needed money, but my gut twists.

Because last night I nearly fucked her, then packed her in my car and dropped her home with barely a word. Fuck.

But what are the odds that Honeyeh would end up here? In the den of the man I’m moving against. “You’re telling me that she just ended up here? With you? On accident?”

“I have a regular girl who brought her.”

Brittany. The tramp in the short skirt last night. She had all the markers of a whore. Why had it not occurred to me that she worked for Dimitri?

I take in a deep breath. “It’s a mistake. Honeyeh belongs to me.”

Dimitri tsks, his finger waving. “This is America, my friend. She is free to sell herself if she wishes, just like you are free to just take my best casino.”

Ah. So this is about me.