“Agreed,” Edwina said.“About his mother.We should tell her the truth.Tell her that Smirnoff has kidnapped Mikhail, and we’re trying to retrieve him.We want to keep her safe.She strikes me as courageous and likely to march up to Smirnoff’s gates to demand an audience with her son.”
“Edwina is right,” Gregory said.“Sasha should remain at home.If Smirnoff grabs her, he might exploit her to control Mikhail.”
“Who is gonna tell Sasha?”
“One of you should,” Edwina said.“She thinks Mikhail married Smirnoff’s daughter.It’s best to keep me out of the messaging until we retrieve Mikhail.We can untangle the issue once Mikhail is safe.”
“I’ll call Sasha back,” Ivan said.“Although she’ll have questions I can’t answer.”
“Do your best,” Edwina said.“She’ll have faced problems when Mikhail’s father changed the direction of the family business.I bet she’s mentally strong.She’s a shifter, right?”
“Yeah.She won’t be happy about her father-in-law’s interference.They don’t play nice together,” Gregory informed Edwina.
A trace of bitterness took Edwina unaware.Mikhail meant everything to her.He was her mate, the one her leopard craved.Edwina felt his absence like a nagging tooth, yet she couldn’t shout to the world about their marriage.She shoved the emotion aside as a waste of brain power and focused.
“This is what we should do.Tell Mikhail’s mother to stay out of this issue, or it might end up getting Mikhail killed.Inform her we have an excellent security team on the job, and the minute Mikhail is available, he will call her.”She paused and forced herself to carry on.“Tell her he’ll contact her in the morning.”
“But what if we can’t—” Ivan started.
“We will.The longer Mikhail is in Smirnoff’s hands, the greater the possible damage.We don’t know what the drugs will do to his feline, and we shouldn’t wait to find out.Ivan, I’ll contact Roscoe while you’re speaking with Sasha.”
“Edwina is right,” Gregory said.“We can’t let this continue.What if one of the Smirnoff family discovers his otherness?”
23
Mikhaildidn’ttrustBridgetbut understood her resentment, her desire to brush him aside and claim leadership of her father’s business affairs.
However, their marriage—that raised questions.If she disliked him, why had she married him?They had separate rooms.Why?Smirnoff wanted grandchildren and made no secret of this.The hard knot in his belly contracted, and Mikhail came to a decision.
Information.
He urgently required intelligence because everything about his position had his senses prickling.
Last night everything had become too much—he’d panicked and slashed the big cat with his knife.Heat collected in his cheeks when, in hindsight, the animal had seemed more curious than threatening.
Other things puzzled him.Why did he feel like a prisoner if he was part of the family?The guards were always loitering, even manning the office door, when Smirnoff had Mikhail closeted with him going through business matters.So many things didn’t add up.Should he ask his father-in-law or his wife?Since she’d tried to kill him, he couldn’t trust her.Oh, she’d told him she’d work with him, but what did he know?His brother-in-law was easier to read.He wanted Mikhail gone and didn’t care how he achieved this feat.
Hell, all of this made his head hurt, but knowledge was the key.It was time to snoop, eavesdrop, and gather intelligence; failing that, he’d resort to nosy questions.Time to make nice with the aunts and uncles who treated him like an exotic pet.That had been weird, too.
But right now, he thought he’d start with his wife and ask why they weren’t sharing a room like a typical married couple.
Decision made, he went in search of Bridget.He had an enticing carrot in mind to sway her to his way of thinking.Now it was time to see if she’d bite.
“Wemovetonight,”Edwinasaid.
Roscoe frowned at her for a long time, lengthy enough to make her skin prickle and her feet want to shuffle.Edwina refrained from the last with difficulty and remained silent despite her urge to burble in defense of her statement.
“Why?”Roscoe asked.
“Because the longer Mikhail stays in that house, the greater the danger.He didn’t recognize either of us.That worries me.”
“What if he refuses to leave?”
Edwina froze and realized her mouth had dropped open.“He won’t.”
“He attacked you last night and returned with the guards once you’d escaped,” Roscoe said.
“If Mikhail were in his right mind, he wouldn’t do that,” Edwina protested.“I’m sure he’ll acquiesce once he realizes the situation.”
