“Yeah.”She raised her eyebrows.“When were you going to tell me that you might have a traitor in the house?”
He rocked back on his heels.“Pavel told you.”
“Pavel told me that you trust him, which is why he’s been my designated babysitter.I connected the rest of the dots myself.”
“I won’t let anyone hurt you.”The thought of one of his men turning on him, doing something to harm Keira… He clenched his jaw.“When I find the traitor…”
“Oh yeah, I got it.Death and a painful one at that.”She didn’t sound too worried about it, which only made him respect her more.Keira went up on her tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.“I just wanted you to know that I know, and I’m not going to take any risks.”
“I appreciate that.”He hadn’t realized how worried he’d been about her doing exactly that until he heard her promise.Dmitri leaned back far enough to get another look at her, determined to lighten the mood a little.“I like this.”He ran his finger down the line where her blazer met the lace shirt underneath.
“Yeah, well, you bought it.”She gave him an impish grin, her seriousness gone in an instant.“Claudia and I have to deal with a couple more things, but I’ll be done inside of an hour.She’s more than capable of harassing the muscle into submission.”Keira stepped into him.“Tomorrow we have to play politics, wrangle my family, and avoid playing into the bad guys’ hands.Get done what you need to and come out with me.”
“Out.”
“Yes, out.Let’s just pretend for a few hours that we don’t have an evil empire to run and just be us.Pavel can playguard dog so no one gets any funny ideas, but I want it to just be me and you.”
The concept was more attractive than he could have dreamed.Just him and Keira, sharing a meal.In public.Dmitri couldn’t put his finger on why being in public made a difference, but it did.He wanted it more than he had a right to.“I’ll be ready by the time you are.”
“Perfect.”She leaned up on her toes and kissed him again, and then slipped out of his arms.“I’ll see you in a little bit.”
He waited for her to close the door behind her before he circled his desk and snatched up the phone.As expected, Aiden didn’t make him wait long.Dmitri barely paused for the man to answer to start in on him.“When I allowed your man into my home, I didn’t expect him to verbally assault my wife.”
A long pause.“You’re angry.”
The simmering rage that had struck the second he realized Keira could have been in danger in his own fucking home while hewasn’t thereboiled over.“You talk so strongly about family first, but that idea doesn’t hold up the moment one of your siblings steps out of line.She chose, Aiden.But she is still your sister, even if she’s married to me.If you can’t remember and respect that—and order your people to do the same—you won’t be in contact with her.”
“She ordered him carried out into the street like a bag of garbage.”Still Aiden kept on with that infuriating calm tone.It made Dmitri want to shred something.
“He cornered Keira in a fucking dark hallway and acted like she was shit on the bottom of his shoe.I don’t know how you operate within your household, Aiden, but inmine, we take care of ours.”He hung up before he could say something truly unforgivable, and sat back.
What am I doing?
He never let emotions control him, even within the relative safety of this house, let alone calling out to essentially announce that something had gotten under his skin.Never.And yet here he was, fighting the desire to drive to that piece-of-shit motel and beat some respect into Mark.
It wouldn’t work.Dmitri knew the type.Ex-military.Loyal to a fault.He could beat the man within an inch of his life, and it wouldn’t get through the thick barrier of training and loyalty.To try was insanity.
It didn’t change his desire to do exactly that.
He ran a hand over his face.Keira is fine.She’s not hurt.She’s not damaged in any way from the encounter… but she could have been.If Pavel hadn’t been close.If Mark was just a little more volatile.If, if, if.He could have hurt her.He could have fucking killed her.
The traitor still could.
Dmitri inhaled, held it for several seconds, and exhaled.She is fine.He couldn’t let what-if scenarios cloud his judgment.Keira was well, and if he locked her up for her safety, she’d never forgive him.He had to remember that.
It might be worth earning her hate to know she was safe.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Keira couldn’t quite believe she’d been so brazen to demand a date with Dmitri.It seemed immature now.Oh, please, husband, please take me on a date.They had so much shit going on, and little of it good, and she was dragging him off-site and distracting both of them.
“Keira.”
She turned to find him standing at the bottom of the stairs.He looked just as fresh and crisp as he had earlier, his suit jacket perfectly pressed, not a hair out of place.It gave her the silliest urge to rumple him a little, but she clasped her hands in front of her to keep from doing exactly that.“Hey.”
He frowned.“What changed since I saw you last?”There was a dangerous edge to his tone, as if he’d go to battle on her behalf against whatever had dampened her excitement.
Which was a problem, sinceshewas the issue.
