Page 71 of Masked Seduction

She’s hiding something. I know it as sure as I’m breathing, but I won’t push.

She’ll tell me when she’s ready.

Or she won’t.

Either way, I won’t chase her. Not tonight.

I take my drink and head upstairs to the second-floor office. It’s minimal—a long, modern desk, two guest chairs that no one ever sits in, and a massive oil painting of St. Petersburg in the snow I’ve stared at more nights than I can count. I keep the recessed lights dim, just enough to work by. The city glows below me, a living, breathing thing.

I hit the speakerphone. “Call Mikhail.”

The line clicks before Mikhail’s voice comes through, low and throaty. “Boss.”

“You get anything out of Agosti yet?”

“Not a damn thing. Nico’s stonewalling. Still saying the don’s too sick for visitors. Same bullshit as always.”

I slowly sip my whiskey. “Same story I’m hearing. You believe it?”

“No.” A pause. “You want me to escalate?”

I swirl the amber liquid in my hand, eyes on the skyline. “No. But I want a meeting. Tomorrow morning.”

“With Nico?”

“No. With Don Agosti.”

Silence. Then a soft whistle. “You planning to knock on the front door?”

“In broad daylight. We go in clean. No threats. No games. Just a visit.”

“Smart,” he says. “So if anyone starts shit, it’s on them.”

“Exactly.”

Another pause. “You want Denis to join us?”

“Yeah. Nine a.m. Tell him to meet us at the office. And bring a couple heavies but nothing flashy.”

“Consider it done.”

“Good. I want this handled before it turns into something we can’t walk back from.”

“Understood.” He hangs up without fanfare. That’s why I keep him close. He doesn’t waste my time.

I set the glass down and stare out the window, deep in thought.

This city never sleeps. Neither do the men who want to take it from me. But they don’t understand the difference between wanting power and being bred for it. I didn’t claw my way up from the dark just to lose ground to some pampered princeling shithead like Nico Agosti.

Still, something’s shifting. I can feel it. Like a storm pressing in behind the neon.

Jenna’s in the path of it now. Whether she knows it or not.

God help me, I’ll burn down half this town before I let it touch her. But that will only work if I know what I’m protecting her from.

I glance out into the night, the city alive with sin and secrets, wondering just how long she can keep hers from me.

And what it’ll cost us both when it comes out.