Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
I take the packet he hands me silently.
I curse under my breath as I look over the transcript, the communication, the texts.
“They know she’s here…”
“They don’t just know she’s here, boss. They sent her here. She’s been working with Carlos Cabrera since before you met her. Do you have any evidence of her contacting him?”
A cold shiver runs down the length of my body. This can’t be happening.
“No, but…” My voice trails off.
Dmitri waits patiently.
“She’s been in touch with his sister.”
“I knew that.”
“But have you listened to what they said?”
I feel sick to my stomach.
“Her presence here is part of a larger tactical maneuver.”
I shake my head. “None of this implicates her. You’re making assumptions.”
With a frown, Dmitri shows me the record of a phone call. “Look, boss. This is a record of her phone call with Carlos.”
I look at the time stamp. The exact time I caught her hiding with her burner phone.
She said she was talking with Renata. She lied to me.
I nod. “Thank you. Have you told anyone else this yet?”
“No, sir.”
“Keep it that way.”
A shadow crosses his face, but he nods. “I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news.”
“You did your job.”
I leave.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Isabella
I wake up nauseous. I look around the room and pat the bed next to me as if to confirm what I already know—he’s gone.
While it isn’t outside the ordinary for me to wake up alone, after last night…
“Lev?” I ask, holding my breath while I wait for him to answer. My heart sinks. I look to where he normally plugs his phone in, but it’s gone.
My God, I was so tired last night. I sit up and sip from the cup beside me. It doesn’t help. I have a sour taste in my mouth, and my belly clenches.
“Lev?” I ask again, even though I know he isn’t here. I don’t know why I feel so alone. It’s so vast here, so empty and vacant. I rub my belly and, for the first time in my life, consider what it would be like if I did get pregnant.
Could I be? Birth control fails sometimes. I frown, wondering, as I head to the bathroom. But a few minutes later, after I’ve brushed my teeth and washed my face, I feel right as rain. Strange.
I bet it’s nerves.
I pick up my phone and text him.
Where r u
There’s no response. My gut tells me something is off. I’m staring at my phone, hoping for a response from him, when a notification of another text pops up.
Renata: Isabella, are you home?
I frown at my phone.
Yes. Why?
Home. This is home.
Carlos is gone. Javier is making his move. They are coming to you as planned. Do you trust Lev?
I hate that I have to think before I answer.
Yes.
But after last night… I am not so sure.
Do you know where he is right now?
I scowl at the phone. What is she doing? Renata is my best friend on the planet, but what the hell is she even doing right now?
No, why?
The little dots indicating she’s responding flick across the screen. They disappear. They come back, and I’m growing impatient.
What the hell is going on?
My sources tell me he’s with another woman. I know he is just a figurehead and a means to work with the Romanovs, but I wanted you to know. Be careful about trusting him.
Just a figurehead?
Just a means to work with the Romanovs?
He made love to me last night. He made me scream in ecstasy and marked my body with his teeth and hands. I’ve memorized the details of his body, the way his eyes grow stormy or hopeful, depending on his mood. I know exactly where he has the faintest glimmer of a dimple in his right cheek, a hint of a cleft in his chin, and how long his stubble gets when he doesn’t shave for a day.
I know the sound of his voice when he’s amused or angry or curious, or when he’s just at ease. I know the way he sleeps, with his arm tucked under his head and a gun on the bedside table because even in rest, he’s willing and able to defend me.
I know how he under-salts his food and over-butters his bread. I know how he tracks every penny that comes in and out of his bank account, even though he’s independently wealthy like all the Romanov men. He trusts no one and is always on alert.
I know what he wants. What he hopes. What he dreams, and how, most of all, he wants the normalcy of a family to come home to.
Just a figurehead?
Are we both being used by our families?
What woman?
I have no idea. Look into it.
Oh, I totally fucking will.
Okay, I will. Thank you. Are you alright?
I don’t know… Carlos is getting suspicious. He was wary last night. I spent the night at Gia’s.