Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 141532 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 708(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141532 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 708(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Mitya tucked the little notebook into an inside pocket and took her hand. He brushed a kiss across her knuckles. “Even if they try, Ania, who has the best driver around?”
She flashed a grin at Sevastyan. “You heard, I get to drive.”
“Only if we get into trouble,” Mitya hastily qualified. “We have things to finish. I need to be inside you. If feels like forever since I last fucked you, kotyonok.”
She glanced at Sevastyan. He always acted like he couldn’t hear what Mitya said, but leopards had acute hearing. His cousin was walking ahead of them, making certain there was no danger in front of them. She tried not to react to Mitya’s raw declaration. He was all about sex, and he didn’t try to hide it. She liked it. She did. Okay, she loved it. But . . .
“Has it occurred to you that I could be like Evangeline and have problems, being sick? Or like Jake Bannaconni’s wife and have trouble carrying?”
They were halfway down the stairs and Mitya stopped abruptly. “What does that mean, baby? What are you trying to say?”
Sevastyan was at the bottom of the staircase and he stopped as well, glancing at her and then looking away as if that would give them privacy.
“We wouldn’t be able to have sex, Mitya. And then what would you do? You can’t go more than a couple of hours before you want to start all over again.”
Immediately he framed her face, his thumbs sliding along her neck. “Is that what worries you, Ania? I want sex with you as often and in as many ways as I can have it, but not at a cost to you. You’re tired, or sick or having trouble carrying our baby, then we don’t have sex. If we can’t find other ways to take that edge off, then I’ll look forward to that moment when we can. There won’t be sex without you, Ania. No other woman. Believe it or not, I went a lot of years without when Dymka made it clear he was getting to the point he would wait for my release, so he could leap out and kill my partner.”
She made a face. “That leopard of yours needs a good clout to his ear.”
Sevastyan made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snicker, but she couldn’t be certain. He never changed expressions.
“You understand what I’m saying to you, Ania? Never worry about that. And never worry if you aren’t feeling up to what I want to do. Just say so.”
“I can’t imagine that happening,” Ania admitted. She was so up for anything, especially in the car, where he seemed to be just a little out of control. And she loved it.
* * *
• • •
THE small notebook was passed around the table, and each man skimmed it fast. Drake and Joshua were the last two to read the contents. Mitya watched them closely. He’d had his woman in the car on the way to his cousin’s home. It wasn’t a great distance, but he’d managed to make the experience spectacular for both of them.
The drive to Fyodor’s wasn’t a huge distance for Elijah or Jake either. To Mitya’s shock and maybe horror, the two men had brought Eli Perez, the former DEA agent, with them. He worked for Jake Bannaconni now, but Mitya was extremely uneasy in his presence. The others seemed to trust him in the way they did Jake, as if he were a part of their partnership.
Joshua and Drake had to take a small plane from New Orleans to get there, so it gave the others an opportunity to read the notebook before they arrived and just skim it again at the table. Timur and Gorya read it thoroughly, and Sevastyan went over it one more time before the meeting was called.
“This looks very personal,” Drake said. “Aimed at me. I’ve got an enemy, and he’s after all of you and our coalition in order to get at me.”
“What about the name that’s been crossed out. Carrieri? Do you know someone by that name? Someone you or Joshua crossed that could be out for revenge?” Mitya asked.
Joshua and Drake looked at each other, frowning, obviously trying to remember. Joshua shook his head. Drake answered. “I had so many clients over the years, and so many kidnappers. I’ll look over my records, but the name doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Amory didn’t realize we’ve formed an alliance,” Elijah said. “He’s guessing that Drake and Jake might be co-conspirators, but he doesn’t know for certain. Mostly he speculates in order to cast suspicion.”
“We discovered items on the men we dispatched that would make the world think that Mitya had shot Antosha. There were other items that would cast suspicion on others of us here at this table. Any friend of Drake’s or Joshua’s is being targeted,” Sevastyan said.