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)
3
“EVERYTHING is still quiet, Mitya,” Sevastyan reported. “No signs of any Russians trying to come in legally or illegally for the moment. I’ve got people watching in every place they might slip through.”
“Lazar will send his spies first,” Mitya said, leaning back in his chair. He sat in front of the fireplace, in his favorite chair. It was big enough to accommodate his size. Solid. He was all roped muscle, a true leopard shifter, larger than most but so well-proportioned that at first one didn’t notice how extremely strong he appeared.
Sevastyan nodded. “I have no doubt. There’s no way he would come himself unless he was certain you are weak.”
Mitya looked up at his cousin, at the expression on his face. “Meaning?”
“The woman. Ania Dover. If you persist in your pursuit of her, Lazar will have found your weakness.”
Mitya switched his gaze to the flames dancing in the fireplace as he pressed a glass to his forehead. Sevastyan was right. He usually was. Mitya’s father, Lazar, would never forgive his desertion. He would be forever branded a traitor, and in their world, that was a death sentence. To have his own son desert, the one he’d trained to take over the lair, was the worst crime Mitya could have committed. Lazar was a cruel, vindictive man, and he would never stop until he punished, destroyed and then killed his son in retaliation.
“I’m well aware of this, Sevastyan. I struggled with my decision, but I cannot hold my leopard in check for much longer. I need Ania close to me. I’ve considered keeping our relationship private, but in the world of leopards, private doesn’t work. She has to be leopard or Dymka would never react the way he does. She is most likely getting close to the Han Vol Dan. Her leopard will rise, and Dymka will not tolerate any other male near her.”
A woman rarely knew of her leopard’s existence until she entered the Han Vol Dan, a time when her cycle matched that of her leopard. That allowed the leopard to rise to the surface and claim their shared form. Dymka, his male, was already enamored with Ania’s leopard and she hadn’t even shown herself.
Sevastyan sighed, pushed his fingers through his hair and dropped into the chair opposite his cousin. “I was afraid you’d say that. Her family is complicated. As you know, they own the property just bordering yours. About two hundred acres. Most of the hillsides here are planted with grapes, but they aren’t in the wine business. They have a very successful business maintaining cars for the wealthiest clients in and around San Antonio. If a driver is needed, they often will drive for the client. They’re sought after and are paid top dollar.”
Mitya nodded and put his glass down. “The Dover family. I heard of them from Jake Bannaconni. He has a contract with them to maintain his cars. He told me about them. He said there were rumors that the grandfather or father occasionally worked for the Caruso and Anwar families out of Houston years ago.”
Sevastyan nodded. “Those rumors would be true. They were both known for their driving skills, and the families hired them as couriers to get packages from one place to another when they knew someone—make that the police—might try to stop them.”
“So on the edge of the criminal world but not really in it,” Mitya said.
“They knew they were working for criminals,” Sevastyan pointed out.
“Who do you have watching Ania?” Mitya asked.
“Kiriil and Matvei. I trust them with my life and yours, so they are watching over her. Not that I like giving up two of my best men.”
“I appreciate that you sent them. I need her, Sevastyan. I need her in my life soon. Did you do as I asked?”
“Yes, the dinner will be ready in an hour. We can take it over to her home. She’s there now, but Mitya, that isn’t the end to the story. That accident she said her grandparents and mother were killed in? That was no accident. Someone ran them off the road. The Dover car was traveling at a high rate of speed, as if it was being chased. Witnesses claim there was another car that appeared to be trying to run them off the road, but a third car was actually what clipped them and sent them into a spin, and the car rolled so many times witnesses lost count. All three occupants were dead.”
Mitya was silent a moment, turning the facts over and over in his mind. It sounded like a classic hit. They’d set up the Dover car. While the driver worried about the car chasing him, the other was in position to take him out. “Did they do something to anger either family? Like steal from them? Talk to the cops? Anything?”