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The morning air in my home office was still, save for the quiet hum of the city beyond the tall windows. Sunlight streamed through the sheer curtains, casting golden streaks over the dark oak desk where I sat.

It was a Saturday morning, and all I had to do today was tidy some documents on my computer and make a compilation of all the business deals we’d struck in the last couple of weeks.

The call with Egor had been going on for five minutes as we caught up on business and everything else related to the Bratva. Neither of us had any interest in the other’s personal life, and quite frankly, we had no reason to.

He was married, and I was…. Well, I was a bachelor whose thoughts had been occupied by his prisoner for over a week now.

It’d started the night of Antonio’s gala event—or maybe even before that.

I hadn’t seen much of Giselle these days. It seemed she had been pretty intentional about avoiding me since that night, and I’d given her as much space as I thought she needed. I wasn’t certain I could go on like that.

Her very existence was a torment to my soul, yet I ached for her presence like my life depended on it. In one word, I was fucked.

“I heard you’re parading Peter’s girl as your fiancée,” Egor said over the phone. “You even took her to Morozov’s party.”

He wasn’t very pleased with his findings; I could tell from the gravelly tone of his voice as he said it.

“Dah.” Yes. I leaned back in my seat, my fingers drumming against the desk. “It’s nothing but a show.”

He was silent for a moment.

“Have you found out anything about the Tyfun-1?” he finally asked. “It’s the reason you’re putting on this show, isn’t it?”

I exhaled slowly and raised my hand to scratch my temple. “Nothing yet. The girl is smart. She wouldn’t give up information that quickly.”

“It’s been two weeks, Andrei,” Egor countered. “That’s enough time to find out if she knows anything.”

“I’m certain she does. Given it’s her lifeline, I’m sure she’s holding onto it for dear life.” I exhaled slowly. “I’ll get the information out of her soon enough. It might take a little more time.”

“We don’t have time. The longer the shipment is out there, the sooner those vultures will find it. We’ll incur losses and lose partners.”

“That won’t happen,” I promised, keeping my voice even. “We have the girl. They can’t find it without her. We need to earn her trust first. She won’t give up anything if she perceives us as enemies.”

Egor sighed. “Her father worked for us. She’d be a fool to think of us as enemies.”

I inclined with a nod. “That may be true, but he also hid the shipment from us, and his last text about it was to her. I’m sure she suspects he must’ve had his reasons. She thinks he didn’t trust us.”

Giselle was too stubborn and clever for her own good. She was loyal to her father despite him having thrown her into a life-or-death game before his passing. I couldn’t quite tell if that was bravery or foolishness.

“I think you’re too soft on her.”

I chuckled. “Soft? She’s not the type of woman who would break under pressure. Earning her trust is the only way to get her to talk. Besides, she’s only a tool I’ll toss to the side after all of this is over.”

“And you’re confident this approach of yours will work?”

I glanced at the sparkling bottle of water I’d placed on my desk earlier. “I am.”

“I’m not a fan of it. We’re men of honor, and we don’t play with a woman’s feelings,” he said plainly. “Make sure it ends as soon as it can.”

I remained silent.

For now, I couldn’t see an end to this game between Giselle and me, and it was against my code of honor to make a promise I couldn’t keep, especially to the Pakhan .

Egor must’ve suspected the reason for my silence. He cleared his throat. “There is something more going on between the two of you.” It wasn’t a question. He knew. He could tell.

I’d never been the type to make excuses. I usually switched tactics if one didn’t work in my favor, no matter how cruel it seemed. But here I was, choosing the easy way out with Giselle.

“Finding the Tyfun-1 is more important than whatever’s going on in my private life,” I said icily. “We should keep our focus on it.”

I couldn’t see him, but I could’ve sworn Egor’s brows furrowed when hearing me say that. “In this case, what goes on in your private life determines whether or not we find the shipment. If the girl becomes a liability, I’ll have no other choice.”

I gritted my teeth, and my chest flared with rage. I kept it under control, though. I knew how things in this part of the world worked and how liabilities were cut loose. I’d been at the executing end a couple of times, so it was rational for Egor to give a warning like that.

Still, his threat awakened something in me—the need to protect her even from my own family.

“She won’t become a liability,” I said, my tone sharp and leaving no room for discussion.

There was a brief pause before Egor exhaled a slow sigh. “I’ll take your word for it. Have Dobryn keep an eye on the other rats, just in case they somehow get their hands on it first.”

“I will. If someone got their hands on it or has gotten close to finding it, we would know. They’d be in a hurry to get it onto the black market, and the news would spread like wildfire.”

“Let’s hope you’re right,” Egor muttered. “And about the girl, you better be careful. You said she wouldn’t become a liability, and as much as I trust you, it will be dangerous for the wrong woman to have you wrapped around her finger.”

My jaw ticked. “Giselle is not the wrong woman. Her father worked for us for years. And like I said before, all of this is a show.”

Egor didn’t miss the edge to my voice. “Is it? You’ve never hesitated before. Don’t go soft on me now. If she betrays us and gives the information to the wrong person, it’ll be a lot of trouble.”

My grip tightened on the phone.

“She won’t. I’ll make sure of it,” I assured him. “I’ll get the information we need soon, before anyone does. She’s under my protection, so no one can get access to her.”

He made a low, thoughtful noise. “I’ll trust you. Remember, whether or not we find the shipment is in your hands.”

The line went dead.

I heaved a sigh, setting the phone down on the desk.

This call was clearly a warning. Egor wanted to make sure I had Giselle under control and not the other way around. He was Pakhan , and I had to get the information I needed from her before his patience ran out.

I ran a hand over my jaw, my muscles tense with frustration.

I hadn’t lied when I said all of this was a show because that was exactly what I’d planned for it to be—nothing but a show to get the information I needed from her.

The plan had been to use her. It still was, but there was also something else lurking beneath all my schemes and manipulation tactics. It was my attraction toward her, which had now molded itself into a weakness of mine.

I should’ve spent all of my time thinking of new ways to manipulate her and get the information quicker. Making a map of how I planned to use her to retrieve the shipment was more important. Instead, all I could think of was her.

My attraction to her was poison, and it would be the death of me soon. I knew it, yet I couldn’t resist her, especially since that night after the gala.

Sex never meant much to me, but I couldn’t forget the way she pressed against me, the feeling of taking her virginity and making love to her.

Normally, I would’ve lost interest in her after two weeks had passed, and she did everything she could to avoid me. But it seemed that only made me even more drawn to her.

No woman had ever avoided me the way she did. They would usually become clingy, clamoring for my attention and love.

But not Giselle. She didn’t even care that we’d shared some intimacy, and that was driving me insane.

I needed to remind her that she wouldn’t be able to avoid me forever.