“That’s right. And I plan to pay proper homage.”
Chapter Five-Atlas
It’s been two days since our dinner date, and Cecilia Batiste hasn’t left my head for even one of them.
Two days, and I’m still replaying the way she looked at me across the bed, sweaty and spent and so fucking gorgeous. Like she was one question away from peeling back my skin to see what I’m really made of.
Two days, and I’m still regretting allowing her to leave.
My uncle’s voice buzzes in my ear through the Bluetooth, droning like a gnat.
I stare out the tinted window of my armored SUV, the skyline of Jersey City rising ahead, sharp and slick as a blade.
“Are you paying attention, nephew? These bastards are the reason our fortunes have dwindled! They shut your father out when they should have brought him in?—”
“My father lost his fortune on their deal, you lost yours with bad investments. But I got you, Dimitri. I know what I must do,” My tone cuts like glass.
“The deal must be ironclad?—”
“I know my job. Don’t call me again. I’ll update you when I have news.”
“Atlas—”
I hang up.
Fuck him.
Arrogant prick.
He’s lived comfortably off the family name his whole life, never risked a damn thing.
It was my father who built something from nothing—who believed in alliances, who gambled on men like the Volkovs and the Furys—and who paid for that mistake with his life.
The deal they stole from him would have made our family untouchable. Instead, he died with nothing, but rage left in his chest.
I carry that rage now. I wear it like a second skin.
But even as I think about revenge, my mind drifts back to her.
Cecilia.
The way her curls framed her face under the moonlight that shone from the windows of my hotel suite.
The way she challenged every word I said.
The way her laugh—rare and sharp—made something in my chest crack open.
Fuck. I should have kept her there. In my bed.
But maybe it’s better this way.
Distance keeps me sharp.
Desire makes men sloppy.
The SUV stops in front of The Den—the Vipers’ fortress. It’s all glass and steel, with enough cameras to make the Pentagon jealous.
I step out, my bodyguards flanking me, and walk inside like I belong here.
