Page 129 of No Longer Mine

“But instead of eating breakfast, you came in here to teach me how to play and then you seduced me. No more spicy antics until you have food in you.”

Chapter Fifty-Three

Dimitri

After some reluctance,I got Scarlett fed. She told me she had to deal with Oliver today, so she went to get dressed. I remained downstairs so we didn’t end up doing the opposite of what we were supposed to. Thankfully, it was the weekend, which meant I didn’t have to deal with politics for an evening, but I knew Alexei would be calling me soon enough about our father.

Fully dressed now, I stretched along her couch and waited patiently until a buzzing sound sounded nearby and my curiosity got the best of me. I patted the cushions until I unearthed the phone that was causing the buzzing. It was a small, black flip phone.

I flicked it open and a text appeared.

Oliver

Are you ready to get back into the field? I have another job for you.

I frowned. Another job? I fired off a quick text back.

Me

Still injured.

Oliver

Wait, what happened?

Me

I was shot?

The phone rang immediately. I clicked the answer button and waited for him to say something. He didn’t.

“It’s Dimitri.”

He let out a relieved sounding chuckle. “You were shot? Or are you fucking with me?”

“Scarlett was shot. She didn’t tell you?”

“No, she forgot to mention that. When?”

“When she was going after my father.”

“Shit.” He let out a breath into the phone. “Where is she? How bad was it?”

“It was shallow. She’s upstairs getting dressed. She knew you were going to send her on another job, didn’t she? That’s why you two were seeing each other today?”

He let out a sound that resembled a hum. “Not exactly. I told her we had a few bids, but she told me she didn’t know when she was going to get back in the field. I wanted to see her today because there’s something that needs to be discussed in person.”

“Oh?” I paced back and forth in her living room, sure to run a hole through the floor if I kept it up.

“You’re more than welcome to come with her, but this isn’t something I’m going to tell you before I tell her.”

“Do you agree with her going back to work after learning about her little mishap with a bullet?”

He cleared his throat. “Dimitri, I mean this with as much respect as I can muster… She will do whatever the fuck she wants to do. I can threaten to quit all I want to but we all know that if she needs me, I’ll be there. The reason I do this is so she doesn’t get herself killed.”

He had a point. She wouldn’t just stop because someone else wanted her to.

“What are you doing?” I turned around to the sound of Scarlett’s voice and snapped the phone shut.