“Boss, there’s a Ms. Pavlov here to see you.” My spine stiffens and sweat breaks out across my forehead and the back of my neck.
Owen looks at me from the couches across the office with curiosity. “You need me to make myself scarce, Boss?”
My panicked eyes wheel to his. “No!” I clear my throat and try again, “No, I mean you’re fine. You can stay.”
Cormac watches me for another beat before nodding and walking out to get her. My brothers have no idea she’s involved in what happened. I told them I went to watch these fights that I’d heard about and was jumped. Of course they all acted like I was dense. Especially because Kieran almost died at a similar fighting ring years ago. They seemed to buy it and haven’t questioned me on it since, thankfully.
Natasha strolls into my office like she owns it with her two goons trailing behind her. She takes one look at Owen and waves her hand at him in a dismissive gesture. “You can go.”
Owen stands up and crosses his arms, “No. I actually don’t think I will.”
Cormac stands by the door and quietly shuts it behind him before moving beside Owen and mimicking his stance.
She looks at me and raises a singular eyebrow, “You really want to do this with them here?”
Pushing down the pain, I make damn sure my tone comes off indifferent and bored. “You really want to do this with them here? I’d think carefully about your answer. You’d do best to remember who the fuck I am and what the fuck I’m capable of. You’re on my territory.”
“What a vicious bite from such a little pup. Answer your phone, Declan. I’d hate to have to make good on my promises.”
I shoot to my feet, “Get the hell off my streets, Bratva scum.” Malice drips from every single syllable.
“See you soon…Beast.” She smiles as she turns, and she and her goons leave just as quickly as they came.
She called me Beast. It was a direct threat to Jake. He’s the only one who has ever called me that. She’s letting me know she isn’t happy with her new position on my ‘blocked’ list. Too damn bad for her.
“You okay, Boss?” Owen asks with a hint of concern.
“I’m fine. I need the room to make a few phone calls. Let Novikov know I’ll be with him as soon as possible. It should only take a few minutes.”
They both nod and walk out the door, but as Cormac pulls the door shut, he stops and watches me for a second.
“I’ll always have your back, Boss. No matter what.” And then he’s gone and the door is shut.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, my brain is practically short circuiting. Who do I call first? I’ve always called Rowan first for everything, but he doesn’t know what’s really going on right now. Besides, my fingers twitch to call Jake. I decide to shoot off a text to my brothers calling for a family meeting this evening before pressing Jake’s contact and bringing the phone to my ear.
“Hello?” His sleep filled voice filters down the line. I figured he was probably still asleep. He didn’t get in until later than usual this morning.
“Jake.” The tremor in my voice is clear. She fucking shook me. I just couldn’t let my men see that.
“What’s wrong?” He’s alert now as I hear the sheets rustle and him sitting up in bed.
“She was just here. She knows about us, and she’s pissed.”
“Fuck this, Dec. I’m done with her shit. I never thought I’d say this, but we need to tell your brothers.”
My free hand comes up to my head and rubs at my still tender temple. “I know. I know, I just texted them and called for a family meeting this evening. Do you want to come? There’s things you still don’t know. To be honest, I don’t think I can say them out loud more than once.”
“Yeah, okay. Do you want me to meet you at your houseafter work? I can come up to the office now if you need me to.”
“No, it’s fine. I have a few more meetings before I’m done for the day. I’ll just meet you at the house.”
“Yeah, okay. Call me if you need me?” He lets the question hang in the silence.
“Yeah, and I’ll text you. Go back to sleep, Chaos. I just needed to tell you.”
“Call me anytime you need to. Bye, Beast.”
“Bye, Chaos.” I smile as I hang up.
