Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
She’d run. Likely tonight, if the children didn’t delay her. I knew enough to know if they waylaid her, she’d never disappoint them by taking off immediately unless it was an emergency. I wasn’t worried, though. She could disappear when she wanted, but I’d been following her for most of her life. Watching over her. Protecting her.
Falling in love with her.
I took a deep breath in and held it. Letting it out slowly, I did my best to center myself. Venus was the only person in my life who could shake my control. I’d die for my brothers in Grim, but I was always in control. The mere thought of Venus in danger or even remotely at risk was enough to send me into a killing rage. Always had been from the moment I saw her. I tried to keep my distance, to do what I’d been ordered and nothing more, but I couldn’t. Not then and certainly not now.
I headed back to the common room and down the hall to Sting’s office. I needed some time with him and Wylde. Zaitsev was not getting away. If Venus wanted him to die, he was already dead. He just didn’t know it yet.
“Any luck?” I queried as I stepped into Sting’s office. The other man sat with his booted feet propped on the desk with his fingers laced together over his stomach.
“Wylde’s been at it since he realized Zaitsev was on the move again. Said he’s got a decent idea where he’s headed but needs a few more hours to be certain.”
“Will it be somewhere he stays put? I don’t want to go on a wild goose chase.”
“Yeah. That’s why Wylde wants more time. He says he and your guys at Grim Road think they’ve found all his safe houses. Once they’re sure, Wylde said they could force him to one of them and lock him down. Then you and Venus can take out the trash.”
I liked this plan.
“You know, she’s just as likely to kill you as she is to let you help her kill Victor Zaitsev.”
I grinned at the thought. “Oh, yeah. She’s gonna fight me, but honestly, Sting, that’s half the fun.”
Sting chuckled. “You’re one sick bastard.”
I shrugged. “Can’t deny that. Guess I like the adrenaline rush.”
“Yeah? Let me know how you like it when that rush gets you killed.” It was more an amused comment than anything else. Sting knew me well enough to know that, if I’d decided I wanted Venus, I’d never give her up. She might not accept me now, but we were further along than I expected at this stage. Granted, I had moved at a glacier’s speed up until now, so even though it probably seemed fast for her, for me it had been literally a decade in the making. Something I needed to remember as I navigated the minefield that was Venus’s heart.
Sting’s gaze shifted slightly, the levity fading from his eyes, the gravity of our situation not lost on either of us. “Be careful, man. This isn’t just about whatever game you’re playing with Venus. Zaitsev is dangerous, and not just to her. He’s a threat to everything she holds dear. Wylde found out that much about him. Seemed it was very difficult to get what he did. At first, anyway. He said he thought there might have been some kind of outside interference helping him find information about the guy, but he wouldn’t say who or what he suspected.”
I nodded, the weight of responsibility settling on my shoulders. “I’m not underestimating Zaitsev. I know what he’s capable of. I watched him sell Venus to the state when she was a girl so he could have some pull inside. He didn’t know it at the time, but the FSB knew exactly what he wanted to do. It was a major reason her handlers in the FSB sent her for the kind of training they put her through. Not only did they see her potential, but it made Zaitsev easier to control. All they had to do was make him think Venus was feeding him whatever intel he wanted. Then they controlled the narrative.”
“I take it the man has enough money and/or power to make him a threat to the state?”
I shrugged. “Hard to say. I think he’s simply an oligarch with more political sway than someone was comfortable with. Likely because of how he makes his money.”
“Selling skin.” Sting stroked his beard a couple of times.
“Yep. Could be they wanted to make sure he kept his business dealings private, if you know what I mean.”
Sting nodded. “Someone wanted a warning in case he decided to name names. That way, they had time to kill him before he embarrassed anyone enough to make waves.”
“Most likely. Though I suspect it had more to do with people outside of the country. People whose political and social standing in Europe and America could affect how the rest of the world treated their country’s leaders.”