Page 47 of Konstantin

Ruthlessly. Efficiently. Without mercy.

Anton gives a short nod, rising to his feet while Aleksei pushes off his chair, already pulling out his phone to start making calls.

Kirill lingers a second longer, his eyes flicking toward the door before they zero in on me.

“She’s pretty,” he says almost idly. “Let’s hope she’s not as fragileas she looks.”

“She’s stronger than you think.” I lean forward, zeroing my attention on him. “And if any one of you touches a hair on her head, I promise you won’t live to regret it.”

Kirill’s mouth curves into something dark. “Ostorozhno, brother. It almost sounds as though you like her.”

He strides out after the others before I can get a word in.

But that’s not what this is. I don’t justlikeher. I’m infatuated, and that is quite the predicament.

When the door clicks shut behind them, I turn back toward the monitor showing the live feed of my office. Tessa’s still there at my computer, completely unaware of the danger she’s in, what my brothers are truly capable of.

But if they touch her, it’ll be the last thing they ever do.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

EMILIA

“Why the hellhave you not been at work?” my friend Fiona snaps through the phone before I can even say hello. “First you rent a new place, now this? What’s going on?”

I sink into my couch, letting the cushions swallow me. Every muscle in my body aches. Konstantin had me running nonstop today, like his personal schedule was a war campaign and I was his foot soldier. I sure as hell could’ve done without the heels.

“Emilia!” Fiona’s voice cuts through my haze. “Are you even listening to me?”

Shit.

I press a palm to my forehead, trying to come up with a response that doesn’t include,I’m working sort of undercover for the Bratva boss whose brother you tried to put in prison.

That would go oversowell. If I had a choice,I wouldn’t have even told her about my new place, but that would be impossible to keep from her.

“The boss told me I needed some time to cool off. You know how rough it’s been after what happened with Nate.” The lie tastes sour on my tongue.

The silence on the other end says everything. She knows me too well. Knows when I’m hiding something. And Fiona’s the last person I want digging too deep.

Before I can change the subject, a knock rattles my front door.

“Hold on. Someone’s at the door.”

“It’s me. Open up.”

My stomach dips. Of course it is.

I hang up and drag myself to the door, already bracing for the lecture I know is coming. Fiona doesn’t let things go. Especially when it involves me doing something reckless. But she should be kinda used to it by now. She’s known all the shit I’m capable of since college.

But I can’t let her try to stop me like when we were younger. I’ve already gone too far. Ihaveto finish what I started, no matter the cost.

The knock has barely faded when I open the door, and there she is: Fiona Clark, all fire and fury and ready for war. It’s no wonder defense attorneys hate her. She has a reputation of being a hard-ass in the courtroom, and out of it too.

Her green eyes narrow the second she sees me, arms crossed over her chest, long brown hair cascading over her shoulders like a weapon.

“Gonna invite me in.” She doesn’t even bother making it a question.

I step aside, and she walks in like she owns the place, heels clicking with every step, her entire body radiating with suspicion. She heads straight for the leather couch, but doesn’t sit down. The silence stretches, heavy and expectant.