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)
I carefully extracted myself, taking care of her nails. Venus mumbled in her sleep, her brow furrowing. She bared her teeth and hissed. Sounded angry. I had to stifle a chuckle. My little shortcake was a tad grumpy if you disturbed her sleep.
Once out of bed, I pulled my pants over my hips and fastened them. The frenzy before had been fucking mind-altering. I hadn’t even managed to get my damn boots off. I went to the bathroom and did my business before brushing my teeth. Took me ten minutes. Might have dragged it out a bit.
I opened the bathroom door slightly so I could keep an eye on Venus. Our relationship was still new. I had no doubt she’d try to make light of it later out of self-preservation. She’d likely try to bail on me at the first opportunity. I glanced in the mirror and a deep sense of satisfaction filled me. Venus had, indeed, dug her claws into me. I even turned around to admire the scabbed-over scratches on my back. Painful? Yep. Worth it? Also yep.
Before I could call Giovanni Romano back, my phone rang. Sometimes, it was fun to poke the bear.
“You’re an impatient bastard, Giovanni.”
“Where’s Venus?” It was more of a demand than a question.
“Asleep.”
“Hurt?”
“Nope.”
“What about Victor Zaitsev?”
“We’re hunting him. Shoulda had him, but he set a trap for us. He knew we were coming.”
There was a silence. Then, “Why is Venus not answering her phone?”
“Told you. She’s asleep. Been a long couple’a days.”
“She always answers her phone.” Giovanni almost sounded angry. He definitely wasn’t happy.
“Not anymore. Not when she’s sleeping.” It was a bold claim, but one I would stand by. She was not going to be at Giovanni’s beck and call, no matter what tech he supplied her with.
Again, there was a pause before Giovanni asked the question I’d been waiting for. “What’s she to you, Piston?”
“Everything. She’s mine.”
“She know that?”
“She’s not answering you, is she?”
“Christ, man. I hope you know what you’re doing. Ulyana isn’t a woman you want to fuck around with. If you’re not serious, you’re going to hurt her more than you can possibly imagine.”
“Oh, I can imagine, Gio. I’ve known her as long as you have.”
“What do you need?” So like Giovanni. There was never a transition with him. The conversation always went from one topic straight into another. He got the information he needed, then moved on.
“I need to know where Zaitsev is. The Tzars and Grim’s tech guys had him pinned down, but he still managed to get around us.”
“Victor Zaitsev is cunning and, more than that, he’s paranoid. Too many years of drugs and booze. Unfortunately, Venus was under his control before his mind started going. She’s his stepdaughter, the one he intended to be his ace in the hole.”
“A plant inside the Federal Security Service.”
“Yes. The FSB.” I could hear keys clicking in the background as Giovanni did some shit with his computer.
“Zaitsev was content to leave Venus alone after she and Millie escaped. He figured it was better she was a continent away from him because once the woman sets her mind to something, there’s no stopping her.”
“That’s not new information, Gio. Give me something I can work with.”
“He’s tracking Venus.”
Everything inside me stilled. My gaze went to the sleeping woman in my bed. “What the fuck do you mean?” My voice was soft and low, but there was no doubt Giovanni heard the menace there.
“Just what I said. He put a tracker in her before he sent her off for training. It’s old.”
“Does Venus know?”
“No. At least, she probably didn’t realize what it was at the time. Small dose of Propofol and she’s out while they put a tiny tracking device in her deltoid.”
“Why not take it out of her?”
“I wasn’t sure at the time how dangerous it would be. I’m still not. Believe me when I tell you I’d prefer she not have it. That fuckin’ tracker is the reason I sent her out into the field. I wanted her as far away from the estate as possible. I found it a couple months after she got here. She was the best at what she did already, so sending her out was the best option.”
“For you?”
“For her, Piston. I sent her to one of Cain’s partners in ExFil. She was there for a special mission. It’s how she met Thorn, which was a happy coincidence I can’t take credit for. Worked out for the best, though. She and Thorn got along from the very beginning.”
I was starting to see red. If Giovanni knew but Venus didn’t, that meant he was using Venus for more than just testing new tech. I took a calming breath. “Why did you give Venus those contacts, Gio?”
“There is no one like Venus, Piston. She’s the best at what she does. Even El Diablo thought twice about crossing her back in the day.”