Page 49 of Claim Me

“No other choice. I’m going to check out what had been accomplished,” I told him. The entire situation was messy as fuck.

“Fuck, Kazimir. We don’t need an expansion in another goddamn city. What about Marissa? Will she consider buying you out?”

I laughed. “She’s a concert pianist, brother. She has no desire to run a resort and casino. Do you honestly think she could get a decent loan? Not a chance.”

“Then sell it outright.”

The stench of stale coffee assaulted my nostrils, all but vaporizing Marissa’s sweet fragrance. I shoved the cup aside. “That’s not what Charlie wanted.”

“Then what do you want to do, split your time between Vegas and Seattle?”

“I don’t know yet. What I won’t allow to happen is for Popov to get his hooks into the resort. Or into Marissa.”

Mikhail issued his low growl as he did when he was irritated. “You can’t fight Popov on your own.”

“No, but I can remind him that he was responsible for several deaths. I’m certain he wouldn’t like that to be shoved into the open. From what I’ve read about his organization, he’s already in trouble with the DEA, the CIA, and hell, the FBI. He doesn’t need a murder rap with a huge shipment coming in.” Thoughts on what I’d do with the shipment were also spooling in my mind. We’d been out of the illegal arms business for at least fifteen years. Keeping and selling them wasn’t an option.

However, there were others.

“Shipment?”

“Two million in weapons coming from good ole Mother Russia.” Popov’s plan was decent. Force Jameson into a business deal where the Russian would remain a silent partner, which would keep the Feds off his back. A perfect scenario, only Jameson hadn’t taken to being threatened kindly.

Which had gotten him killed.

If I had to guess, I’d say Charlie hadn’t realized just how deep Popov’s claws had been prior to his parents’ death. I’d study the files on the flash drive in more detail later when there was time. The overview was enough to secure my next move.

And to allow me to know just how dangerous the situation was.

I shifted screens, glancing at the recent purchase. Maybe I was fooling myself that an old dog could learn new tricks, but at this point, I needed something other than work to stimulate my mind. I already had stimulus for my body. As I flipped through a couple of pages, I sat back in my chair, studying the art depicted on the screen. I’d done so several times, although it would seem my brain’s capacity was limited on this dark and gloomy morning since I couldn’t remember shit.

He whistled. “Well, that is something. The street value will be quadruple that.”

“I know. An investment he doesn’t want to lose.” I lowered my hand, mimicking what I could see on the screen. Hell, I sucked at this.

“I’ll tell you the same thing you told me a few months ago. Don’t do anything stupid. Nothing is worth risking your life for.”

An electric charge hit me in the face and I quickly minimized the screen. Her sweet fragrance alone gave her approach away.

As Marissa walked into the room, I was forced to take a deep breath. She’d opted for black jeans and a stunning violet sweater, which brought out her eyes. I was momentarily lost in studying them. She stood with one hand on her hip, her other around a coffee cup. She was pensive, studying me exactly the way she had at the hospital.

Last night had been almost a dream, but the lingering aftereffects were more difficult and invasive than I’d been prepared for.

“Yeah, Mikhail. Sometimes there is.”

“Just remember you don’t want Popov as an enemy.”

“We’ll talk more later after I’ve determined what I want to do.”

“Fine. If you need more men, let me know.”

“Will do.” What my brother didn’t know was that Popov had already created another enemy the moment he’d had someone put several bullets in my friend’s chest.

And he had threatened Marissa. It didn’t matter the circumstances. Vladimir would learn several valuable lessons. At least my morning had been productive. I’d discovered the detective’s home address. How convenient. He had the day off.

What hadn’t been productive was the time the soldiers had spent scouring the city. They’d learned very little other than that Popov had a tight hold on the area, and many loyal people. That meant there was no one in town that could be trusted.

She didn’t move any closer and I wondered if keeping her distance was trying to provide some space for her to think. “Am I interrupting?”