My voice dropped. "What kind of trouble?"
"The police. They tried to seize it."
Rage flicked quick and bright, but before it could burst, Dimitri added, "It's been handled. We paid them off, and there was no loss."
I turned and faced him with an unreachable expression. "Who tipped them off?"
"We don't know yet."
"Find out," I instructed. “And when you do, make sure they never talk again."
"Yes, sir."
Dimitri left without another word.
With my office wrapped in silence again, my thoughts became louder in my head.
What does Isabella have up her sleeves?
Her calm and even pleasant attitude was too good to be true; I knew that much. She wasn’t the type to just settle. My mind went to my brothers’ warnings. Of course, they had fair points.
It was beyond frustrating to not know where a hit was coming from.
It shouldn’t be so hard to figure her out, should it?
When I got home that night, the house was quiet. Loosening my tie, I was hit with the soft scent of her perfume, and I knew she was there. She was sitting by the window, with her legs crossed, and she was wrapped in a red silk like temptation itself.
"Long day?" she asked without turning, her tone was calm.
I watched closely. "Where were you today?"
She raised an eyebrow. "I went shopping, and Emilia came with me."
"And before that?"
"I had an exciting breakfast and tea." She tilted her head in mockery. "Why? Are you keeping score? Is that jealousy or paranoia speaking?"
"Both."
She gave a soft laugh, standing up. "I didn't know you were keeping tabs on me, Mikhail."
"I keep tabs on everything."
"Of course, you do." She took a slow step toward me. "That's what makes you dangerous."
"And what makes you dangerous?" I asked.
She smiled. "The fact that you still have to ask."
My jaw tightened. "Don't play with me, Isabella."
"I'm not," she whispered, stopping right in front of me. "You're the one always trying to read me like a file. Maybe,I'm just a woman trying to breathe in your world of rules and shadows."
Her words twisted something inside me, and I wanted to call her bluff. But instead, I brought my hand to her chin. "You think I'll believe that?"
Her lips curved. "You already do."
Before I could speak, she kissed me slowly and deliberately. The kind of kiss that didn't ask for permission. It stole it.
