“Later. Inside. Away from them.” Maya’s voice was a mere thread of sound.
Gedeon nodded his head. “Let’s get the hell away from here.”
“I’d like to know what upset Maya,” Gorya insisted, pinning the head of his security with a look that he rarely, if ever, had given him, reminding him he was the boss.
Gedeon refused to budge. “I’ve been around the Amurovs for years, working through private contracts with your family and now as head of your security. You don’t forgive enemies. You don’t abide human trafficking. And spies in your midst? Especially around your women and children?” Gedeon shook his head. “If we’re playing this smart and we want to get any other information from them, it’s best you don’t question them or get your answers until we get inside, away from them. You’ll need to be in complete control.”
“I’m known for my complete control,” Gorya countered, lifting his head to stare at the four men with glittering eyes.
“It’s true,” Kyanite agreed. “Rogue loses it, but Gorya stays calm.”
Rodion nodded. “Known him since he was a kid. Always the voice of reason when his cousins were losing their damn minds.”
Matvei rubbed his chin. “I don’t want to add to his arrogant-ass ego, but he is the one always in control, Gedeon. Back in the day, when Fyodor and Timur would tear down the world, no matter what, Gorya stayed cool.”
Gorya nudged Maya with his shoulder.There you haveit, baby, eyewitness testimony. These things you accuse me of can’t possibly be true.
She was too pale for his liking. Whatever the four leopards had revealed to her had made her sick, triggered too many memories. He wanted to change the subject. Make her laugh for a minute. Give her time to recover while they gathered up the leftover items from their impromptu picnic.
You have an atrocious temper. I have no idea how you managed to hide it from everyone.
Despite the trauma, she was willing to let him lead her. How had he ever gone through life without her?
Have you considered you’ve been wrong all along, blaming me, when clearly the culprit for those foul moods is Rogue?
Rogue gave an inelegant snort. He thought Wraith may have sent a small curl of amusement as well, but if so, it was so fleeting, he couldn’t be certain. Gorya tucked Maya under his shoulder without looking toward the four men. The temptation was there. They’d put that haunted tension back in her mind when the four of them had finally managed to push past it. He didn’t, because when it came to his woman, his atrocious temper bordered on rage.
His comment earned him Maya’s laugh. The sound was golden in the sunshine. It blended in with the way the birds sang to one another and the squirrels chattered. Nature moved all around them, adding to the beauty of the afternoon. They were walking through various groups of men, looking for traitors, something he would have done with Gedeon. It would have been a grim walk, although he would have looked easygoing and casual. Inside, he would have felt dead, the way he’d gone through most of his life feeling. Dead with enough of that rage Maya teased him about. He needed violence the way others needed air. Now, with her, everything was different.
Gorya glanced down at the top of her head. Sheappeared so small and delicate, but he knew she was every bit a warrior as the men surrounding her. She was pure steel. At the same time, she made his life fun. An adventure. He had a reason to live. And she’d saved Rogue. Hearing that laugh of hers was worth every bad moment he’d ever gone through.
She tilted her head back and looked up at him.You’re choosing not to see the broken and damaged parts of me.
I love those parts. Those are the parts that allow you to live with me. You would never have looked at me twice, nor would I have been able to live with you.
Another smile broke out on her face and flashed through her mind. She knew what he said was the truth. The reason they worked was because they fit. They could make concessions for each other. With all four working together—Rogue, Wraith, Gorya and Maya—they had a real shot at living their life together.
They spent a good portion of the afternoon walking through the gardens and trees, making certain to check every single one of the security people brought on the property by his cousins. The only traitors they found were the four strangers. Gorya felt very satisfied that the plants hadn’t had the time to set up any of the crew members he knew and liked so they could be blackmailed into helping them betray those they worked for.
It wasn’t difficult to set up a festive room for the security teams to enjoy the baked goods from Evangeline’s now famous bakery. Everyone loved the pastries from her shop, and setting up a long buffet table seemed normal to most of the security guards. Fyodor was generous with his teams, as was Mitya. Both had been in security themselves and took care to see that their men were paid well and lived in good conditions. They were treated with respect and, for the most part, as family.
Gorya gave the men in the room his easy, charming smile, keeping their full attention on him once he enteredthe room with Gedeon at his side. They’d left the women behind. He thought it best to handle this without any of them being close, especially Maya. He didn’t want that trigger, not when he had the reports from both her and Gedeon of what these four strangers’ leopards had revealed to them. He didn’t want the men to see that each of the exits was blocked by his security force. His security did so casually, but if one really paid attention, they would see that it wouldn’t be easy to get out of the room.
Evangeline’s baked goods helped, no question about it. Her scones, cookies and pies were sought after, and with platefuls of them set out like a banquet for the men to feast on along with pots of coffee, they probably thought they’d hit the jackpot. There was no reason for their leopards to feel uneasy either. No one had threatened them in any way. Gorya had created a festive atmosphere.
His cousins had thrown a party in his honor, and he’d merely extended that festivity to the security of each of those who came to celebrate. He greeted those he knew by name, asking how they were, spending a little time with them so it would seem natural when he got to the four men who were strangers to him. Two of the men under suspicion were on Timur’s crew and two on Sevastyan’s crew.
Gorya had thought the Amurov family would have been off-limits to anyone in aggressive takeover bids. Krylov had shown no signs of respecting them. He wasn’t afraid of taking them on. That meant he believed his allies in Houston and Panama were more than a match for them. That would have to come up in a discussion with his cousins and their allies. They would need as much information as possible.
The young man wolfing down the cinnamon-and-apple coffee cake wasn’t much older than Jeremiah Wheating. He had dark hair with lighter streaks of blond running through it, as if he spent a lot of time in the sun. He didn’t have the scars on his throat that Jeremiah had, but his eyeswere harder, the lines cut deeper into his face. His eyes were green with an amber tint. As he approached, Gorya saw the man’s leopard assessing him.
Gorya kept his energy low and friendly as he held out his hand. “I’m Gorya Amurov. I don’t believe we’ve met yet, although Timur mentioned you were on his crew.”
“Ian Razor.” He had a firm handshake.
Gorya flashed another quick smile. “I see you appreciate Evangeline’s coffee cake. I think that’s how she ensnares all of us.”
“You could be right. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything that tastes quite so good. If I keep eating it, I’ll have to double my training.”
