Page 17 of Claimed By the Boss

Two broad men in black suits walk in with stony expressions.

They don’t look like they belong here, and they don’t even pretend to blend in. They talk to each other in low voices, in what sounds like Russian. My heart rate spikes.

I feel the air in the room shift. Everyone is still working, but there’s a tension about them now, like they’re purposely trying to avoid the two men walking through. The kind of men who look like they belong in a mob movie.

One of them shifts, and I see the glint of a silver gun in his waistband. I swallow hard and try to remember how to breathe. They’re talking, but their eyes sweep the room constantly.

I’m not the only one who notices. The tension ratchets up instantly. Even Rick sits up straighter, his smirk gone. I force myself to keep my eyes on my screen, but my pulse is pounding in my ears.What the hell is this?

Security guards at the far end of the room are watching carefully but not moving, like they’re used to this. Like this is business as usual.

What the hell did I just sign up for?

6

DAMIEN

The moment I’m informed that two of Rurik Vasiliev’s foot soldiers have stepped into my building, I close the secure communication feed without ceremony. I dismiss the staff I’d been meeting with from the conference room and watch them leave, quick and quiet. My cousin Radimir is already waiting in the hallway, his broad shoulders stiff, his jaw set as if daring someone to cross him.

“They’re in your office,” he says calmly. “They refused to hand over their weapons.”

My fingers curl into a fist before I register it, and heat spreads low in my chest, a slow, deliberate burn.

“Then let’s go greet our guests,” I say.

We step out and head down the hall, past the private reception suite, to my office. Two guards are posted near the entrance. One of them nods as we pass, already reaching for the silent alarm beneath his lapel. He doesn’t press it yet. He waits for my signal.

The Vasiliev men are seated like they own the place. One leans forward with his elbows on his knees. The other sits back,arms crossed, pretending he’s not impressed with the view of Midtown beyond the panoramic windows. Both wear black wool coats over black suits, and both have an arrogant gleam in their eyes. This isn’t a visit. It’s a warning.

My assistant scurries to the door, her tablet hugged tight to her chest, her posture stiff. I can see an explanation forming on her lips, an unnecessary excuse, because it isn’t her fault these assholes barged into my office. What could she have done to stop it?

“You can go, Andrea.”

She doesn’t wait. She rushes out so fast the glass doors don’t have time to close before she’s gone around the corner.

The man on the left, Demyan, if I’m not mistaken, shifts slightly, enough to let the inside of his coat flare open. The silver glint of his gun catches my eye, exactly as he intended. He wants to intimidate me in my own territory. It’s a bold move. Idiotic, but bold.

“I assume you came here with a death wish,” I say evenly.

Demyan lets out a nervous chuckle. He clears his throat and sits up a little straighter. “We came with a message,” he says.

“Mm.” I tilt my head slightly. “And what message requires you to walk into my legitimate place of business carrying unlicensed weapons?”

The second man, Boris, speaks up, his voice low.

“This isn’t about business.”

“Then you’re even dumber than I thought,” I say, taking two slow steps into the room. “Because this,” I say, gesturing atthe space, the city, the skyline beyond the windows, “is my business.”

They both go still, eyes on me. I can feel Radimir tense beside me, but he says nothing.

“You want to warn me off Rurik,” I say, dragging a chair away from the table and sitting down with deliberate calm. “So go on. Say the words. Let me hear them.”

Demyan leans forward again. “If you touch him again, you’ll regret it.”

I smile, but it never reaches my eyes. “Interesting,” I say. “That Rurik isn’t man enough to say this to me himself.”

“You’ve made enough noise already,” Boris growls. “You hit the docks. You took out six of our men?—”