“It’s possible. They’re always doing something somewhere,” he said. “But it could be something else entirely.”
I had a sinking feeling while I was watching sappy movies with my wife; Luigi was recruiting new men to help overthrow me. It was time to bring down the hammer. Just not today.
“Keep me informed. If it has a single whiff of the Petrovs, find a way to stop it. Call me back if you need to, but only if it’s necessary.”
I hung up and found Lilia skittering across the room to casually sit on a bench, acting like she wasn’t listening near the door a second before.
“Naughty,” I said. “Not quite worthy of handcuffs, though.” When she scowled, I laughed. “Now tell me what you want to do today. Anything at all.”
“Anything?” she asked.
I waited while she pondered, not sure what to expect. She wasn’t interested in material things, so I didn’t think she’d suggest shopping. Unless it was at some dusty old bookstore. If it made her smile, I could bear it.
“Can I do my job?” she asked, finally. “All I need is a computer.”
I snorted. “Nice try.”
She looked hurt, then pissed off. “If I promise all I’ll do is log into my work site, you should trust that’s all I’ll do. It’s been more than a week, almost two. Pretty soon, I’m going to miss my deadline.”
Was she actually serious? It seemed like she genuinely wanted to do her job, for whatever reason. When I asked why it was such a big deal, she eagerly explained.
“It’s pretty much the best job I could ever ask for,” she said. “I get to read books before they come out, and even help make them better.”
“So you want a computer so you can catch up on your editing,” I reiterated. She nodded, looking as innocent as a newborn baby.
Did I trust her? Probably not. Some part of me wanted to, but it wasn’t the part I usually listened to.
“Your conscientiousness is commendable," I said. She beamed. “But what the hell do you even need a job for?”
The bright smile slid off her face like it never existed. “What do you mean by that? I really hope you’re not going to say something stupid, either.”
Lilia was in fine form, as feisty as when I insulted her beloved classics. “It doesn’t seem very important to have a low-level, low-paying job that takes up your time, when you’re married to someone who could buy that publishing company.”
She closed her eyes and breathed out slowly, as if she was silently counting to ten. “Oh, that was even stupider than I feared. How dare you? Low level? It’s a respectable, honest job that you could never do, and I’m good at, and I like it.”
“But you don’t need it.”
She laughed bitterly. “Because I’m Mrs. Bocharov? As if this marriage is real or will last longer than the time it takes you to figure out how to use me to hurt my family.”
Part of that statement she spat at me was the truth, and it still hurt like a brick to the face to hear it from her mouth. But the other part? That pissed me off. “Our marriage is very real,” I said, slowly and concisely. “And it will last.”
“Until my cousins find me,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. Her eyes blazed fire.
“You’re awfully confident about that,” I said. “I’ll remind you of it on our fiftieth wedding anniversary.”
“You won’t live that long,” she hissed.
Ouch. Was that a crack about being older than her? Or was she just that certain her family would find her? Fury raged in me, but mostly because she was right, and I was the one fooling myself. One way or another, things would come to a boiling point. And it wouldn’t take fifty years.
So much for a fun and carefree day with my wife. We stared at one another, reflections of each other’s rage in our eyes. As mad as I was, I couldn’t bring myself to raise my voice to my previously sweet and shy bride. Even though it was me she was snapping at like a street dog, it pleased me to no end to see her coming out of her shell.
I finally looked away first, gusting out a sigh of pent-up frustration. Since there was no winning until things settled down, I stormed out to figure out what in the hell my people were doing at the border.
It was time to knock some heads and then gather my trusted people to figure out a solution to this problem, which I had been putting off to spend more time with Lilia. I had to get my own house in order, then deal with the Petrovs, so I didn’t have to worry about what she and I both believed to be true. They’d find her and take her from me, and I could not let that happen.
She was mine, and I would be keeping her. We’d make it to that anniversary if I had to kill half of my organization and everyone in hers. But would it be worth it if she hated me?
Chapter 21 - Lilia
