“Don’t touch another woman.”
Apparently, she was too.
“There’s only you, Mandy.”
With a derisive snort, she hung up.
In the moment of silence, something bright cut through the poison in my veins. Jealousy was good. It meant she cared. Even if it was just a fraction. It was there.
I pocketed the device and rose. There was more work to do before I could leave—before I could go home. To her. My wife.
Letting out a strangled growl, I sat hard on the chair.
“As I was saying.” Alexei leaned forward, smile tipping up his lips. “It’s simple. You have something he wants. And if that profile picture is anything to go by, he’ll do a lot of things, crazy things, to have a taste of that sweet little pea.”
The grin on the Russian’s face was a spark to the dynamite fuse inside me. One little spark. I lunged across the desk, grabbed the fucker’s tie, and yanked him forward.
Alexei planted his hands on the desk, but otherwise didn’t make a move to stop me.
“Don’t you every speak about my wife like that again,” I snarled.
The bastard chuckled. “Got it. Message received.”
I gave him a jerk. He choked, but I released him a second later. Flexing and fisting my fingers, I walked for the door.
“V, wait up!” Alexei called, standing and slinging the backpack over his shoulder.
Pausing, I turned—
His fist crashed into my jaw. Pain ricocheted through my skull, and I put my arms out to keep my balance.
“Threaten me again, and I’ll pummel your scrawny ass.” Whistling, the pakhan sauntered past me, opened the door, and headed into the warehouse. His crew looked up, but then just as quickly, they all had better places to focus their attention.
***
If traffic was good, I would make it back to Boston in under three hours. One of the nifty devices my wizards made for me kept the State Patrol occupied. Not only would the piece of technology warn me of their presence, but it would forge a call to the cops, sending them away from my location. It was perfectly safe to top out my bike on the expressways, which cut the travel time down by an hour.
There was just one stop I decided couldn’t wait.
I parked in front of the shop, stepped under the neon glow, and pulled the gloves from my hands. Opening the door, I went straight to the back, to an open booth where my favorite artist waited, scrolling through her phone.
She looked up and popped a bubble. “You’re late.”
“I’ll pay double.”
With a tinkling laugh, she sprang from her chair and plucked a pair of sterile medical gloves from the box. “Let’s go, then!”
I sat on the malleable chair, spreading my left hand over the armrest. This had been a long time coming. Did I see this moment playing out differently in mydreams? A different ambiance? Certainly. But Amanda was going to know how serious I was.
If jealousy was all she could give me right now, I would take it. But she had no reason to feel it.
As the tools whirred to life with a flick of a switch, I jerked my chin to the black backpack on the floor. “Is that mine?”
“Yep, everything you need is in there.” The artist bent over me, tipping her head from side to side as she considered my hand. “Can’t believe there’s any clear skin left on you, V.”
I grunted. “Get on with it.”
“Ass,” she teased.
