Page 11 of Doubts of the Egoist (Egoist #3)

Yugo circled the wide hardwood desk and slumped into the deep chair.

The late summer sun pervaded the office with lazy drowsiness, creating an atmosphere not conducive to solving problems or working.

It was quiet, as if nature anticipated the change of season.

Only a fat black fly buzzed hysterically against the glass, though the window beside it was wide open, letting in the intoxicating scent of herbs exhausted by a long summer.

Like the fly, Yugo felt trapped in the room, even though the exit was only a few steps away.

He pulled a smartphone from the inside pocket of his jacket and glanced at the screen. His brow furrowed as he saw four missed calls—one from Greg, three from Tobias.

“Huh, you really did call…” he muttered to no one in particular. He called Greg, pointing to the guest chair in front of him with a curt jerk of his chin, offering a poor attempt at hospitality. As soon as he heard a ‘yes’ through the speaker, he said, “Come to my office. Now.”

He slipped the phone back into the jacket pocket as he leaned against the soft backrest and grabbed a cigarette pack from the desk.

If there was one good thing about Tobias’ visit, it was the opportunity to smoke, now that Kuon wasn’t around.

With his eyes still healing, anything could cause a corneal rejection, even cigarette smoke.

For someone who usually smoked a pack a day, holding back was pure torture.

The sparkwheel screeched under his thumb, and the flame caught the cigarette tip, sending the first swirl of aromatic smoke into the air. Taking a greedy drag, Yugo loosened the knot of his tie and undid the top button of his shirt, releasing the inner tension with a long, smoky exhalation.

The door opened silently. The bulky man sidled into the office as if trying to cause as little disturbance as possible or hoping to go unnoticed. As soon as Greg’s deep-set black eyes locked on Tobias, he scowled.

Is it a surprise to you? Interesting…

Tobias turned to the newcomer, chin lowered in a silent greeting.

It was a little insulting that, while Tobias did everything he could to get on Yugo’s nerves, his jokes with Greg were almost toothless.

An air of respectable neutrality always surrounded them.

Due to the age difference between Yugo and both men, it barely bothered him when he was young, but this behavior was getting on his nerves more and more as the years passed.

Greg nodded too, straightened his shoulders, clasped his hands behind his back, and stood still, staring somewhere over Yugo’s head, probably at the unfortunate insect.

“So, what brought you to my bedroom, Tobias? Did you miss me that much?” Yugo asked, looking directly at his right-hand man, trying to make Greg utterly uncomfortable.

Taking care of security and making sure no strays snooped around the mansion was one of Greg’s unspoken duties, or so Yugo had always assumed.

Greg’s throat spasmed, but his expression remained blank. Only the baggy jacket tightened around his shoulders, betraying his discomfort and causing the thick fabric to crease under his armpits.

Tobias chuckled, and his pale, almost colorless eyes zoomed in on Yugo, unblinking. “That too. Besides, I wanted to be one of the first to witness the return of the prodigal son.”

“Who told you that?” Yugo asked, his fingernail jabbing into the brown cigarette filter, but otherwise not a single muscle in his body tensed.

“A little bird brought a rumor on its tail.”

“Your chicken coop is starting to get on my nerves. As my military adviser, what would you suggest I do to stop the annoying clucking? Would breaking a few necks quiet the noise?”

“It should. Don’t forget to pluck them well. You don’t want feathers in your broth.” Tobias lifted a shoulder, eyes gleaming with amusement. The bastard enjoyed the banter. “Do you want me to pick some suitable birds?”

“Although I know of your affection for the feathered kind, you are not a n ornithologist. It would be a tragedy if you accidentally mistook my hawks for chickens. Greg will manage.”

“Ahhh… Got it.” Tobias turned to the man standing behind him. “That’s why you ‘ringed’ that peahen. Ornithologist, huh? When is the mating season again?”

“I’ll send you an invitation to the wedding,” Greg deadpanned.

“Ah, thank you very much. I’ll buy you a chicken incubator. That should come in handy in an ornithological family.”

Greg jeered, “I would expect nothing less.”

“Enough with the bird talk, or for the rest of your life you’ll receive your payments in the chicken equivalent.

” The men chuckled. Yugo had to click his fingers a few times to draw attention to himself, already feeling exhausted.

He never expected Tobias to play his cards face up, but this metaphorical conversation still irritated him. “So everyone already knows?”

The blond’s attention snapped back to Yugo. “Lucky for you, not everyone. But that won’t last forever.”

“Do me a favor; stop the rumors from spreading further.” Yugo’s tone cooled a few degrees and, for a long moment, they studied each other with new intensity.

“Fine, but don’t expect your honeymoon to last forever, even if I keep my mouth shut. Also, a word of advice, a cop in the family is a bad omen.”

“A former cop,” Greg corrected.

“Potayto, potahto…” Tobias rolled his eyes.

“Since when did you become this superstitious, you apostle of purity? We had you for years; so far, no bad luck has befallen us.” As soon as the mockery fell from Yugo’s lips, the dangerous contents of Tobias’ hard drive, stolen by Mio, flashed into his memory. Or not…

Tobias’ “yet” echoed his thoughts as the pale face stretched into a toothy grin. “Call it professional intuition. Anyway, I have something else to discuss.”

“What’s stopping you?” Yugo glanced at his watch. “Your five minutes are running out.”

Tobias rolled his eyes as he relaxed in the guest chair and drawled in a single breath, “There was a series of attacks in Kabul and an attempted assassination of the President of Afghanistan, Baha al Din Salah, this morning. Consequently, the Al-Amin group was declared an international terrorist organization. So, the United Nations decided to strengthen its position in Afghanistan and support the legitimate president. You would have known this if you weren’t so busy.

But who can blame you? Puppy is adorable. ”

“Mind your own business, Tobias.” Yugo cut him off with a raised hand as his gaze shot to Greg to confirm the news. The side of his wide mouth twitched as Greg gave a curt nod.

Great. I can’t even have a morning off without all hell breaking loose.

For a long moment, Yugo remained silent, digesting the information. He took another lazy drag, rolling the smoke on his tongue. The bitter vanilla completely erased the sweet aftertaste of Kuon’s lips, helping him concentrate.

Supporting radical rebels had always been risky, but providing weapons to a universally recognized terrorist organization was nearly suicidal.

Also, he didn’t want Ahmad Amin to achieve his goals.

He liked things as they were. The imposition of Sharia law was a dangerous product of the paranoid mind of an aging man who had sunk into grief after the execution of his favorite son, Ali.

Sharia law for Afghanistan could mean that all the poppy fields would be burned to the ground, hence no heroin for Yugo. He couldn’t let that happen.

A swirl of white cloud escaped his lips as he bit the side of his thumb, sinking deeper into his thoughts. “Did you recruit Ahmad’s secretary?”

“No, but I have other sources.”

“Never mind. Ahmad has other sons, doesn’t he? I suppose you already have an opinion about them?”

Tobias’ eyes narrowed to slits, as if Yugo had touched on another unpleasant subject, but his lips curled into a thin smile.

“Yes, two more sons. Hasan, the oldest one, is thirty-six. He is loud, narrow-minded, and stubborn. He would bend over backward to please his father, but the only thing Ahmad thinks he’s capable of is washing his car.

If I were you, I wouldn’t put my eggs in his basket. ”

Yugo raised a brow. “What about the other one?”

“Kais, twenty-eight years old. Until recently, he had little interest in politics or business. He studied economics at Oxford for two years, got kicked out for indecent behavior, and finished his MA through distance education. He’s more interested in women and pleasure than anything else.

Unlike his older brother, he’s not repulsed by Western culture.

But—” Tobias lifted a finger in a theatrical pause, “—though he’s quite smart, he’s Ahmad’s least favorite son because he’s not religious, reliable, or traditional.

He shaves, wears Western clothes, gambles, drinks, and spends his daddy’s money on whores.

Some say he even has a harem. He thinks with his dick, so he’s not very trustworthy if you ask me. ”

“Just like you,” Yugo deadpanned. Greg brought his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat, fighting a grin.

“Worse.” Tobias snorted, clearly unoffended. “Anyway, Ahmad would rather leave his empire to one of his daughters than Kais.”

Yugo nodded, acknowledging the challenge. “Still, I’d like you to start working on him, since we don’t seem to have any other options. You said his interest in the business is growing?”

“Yes, but don’t be mistaken. Kais is only interested in it because it promises the means to obtain what he deems desirable.”

“What does he want?” Yugo’s eyes narrowed.

“Pretty but useless things and enough power to get them.”

Tobias’ vague reply didn’t tell Yugo much, so he shrugged it off.

“Like everyone else. Whatever his motivation, I’d like to exploit it. By the way, did you fulfill the last order?”