“Quinn.” Aleksei saying my name snaps my focus from watching things that don’t matter back to him. He’s holding his hand out to help me from the car, but there are too many people around. I flip him off, ignoring the small snap of his energy when I pass by.
I refuse to touch him. I want to, though, and I make that very obvious when I turn, putting my back to Sergey and the office to face Aleksei.
He notices and relaxes, burying his hands in his pockets and adding more distance between us. “How are you feeling?”
“Not a hundred percent.”
“It’s about to get worse,” he offers quietly, before changing the way he holds himself and speaks.
He’s acting the part because he knows we’re being watched.
I feign boredom as he speaks, though it’s hard because I’d like nothing more than to stop fighting the magnetic draw to him.
He snaps his fingers, a reminder of where we are, but also because I clearly wasn’t doing great at pretending.
“Sergey wants you to sit in on the meeting with Olga and Catalina. They’re helping him in the import and export side of what you saw last night at your reception. If I was there, itwouldn’t have happened. He purposely sent me out on business last night because he knows I fucking despise what he’s doing.”
A subconscious weight lifts. I didn’t want to doubt our bond, but as handsome as he is and as amazing as he smells, I know you can’t judge an Alpha by scent match alone.
Now I just need to establish if he simply condones it, or if he is driven to try to eradicate the abhorrent practice like I am.
As I walk away, Sergey is watching us both from his seat, but Aleksei jogs to catch up and holds his phone out, forcing me to a stop. “This man is dangerous, Mrs. Petrov. If you see him anywhere, run.”
I curl an eyebrow for show. “Who is it?”
“Dmitri.” And what Aleksei said stirs back memories of just a few days ago.
He reads my distress easily, his presence brushing against me like a lover's touch before he acts the part again. “He was in Sergey’s inner circle until they had a falling out. They are now enemies. In a lot of ways, Dmitri is similar to Sergey, so you need to be careful.”
“Similar?”
“Obnoxious, power-driven, dangerous. He will do anything to get a foothold in the Russian underworld. He is responsible for sending the men to our home and attacking you. Make sure you are familiar with what he looks like, Quinn, because earlier today he was on social media, taunting Sergey, suggesting he’s coming for round two.”
“Oh, Jesus, this is exactly what I don’t need.” I take a long exhale through gritted teeth, frustrated it’s just one thing after the other since I arrived.
A small smile hits his lips but disappears as fast as it appeared. “You’re right, this is the last thing you need. And it’s definitely not what I need. Anyone messes with you, and I’ll be blowing my cover for the world to see you are mine.”
I nearly reach for his hand. “Like with your brother just now in the car?”
He growls, “Exactly like that.”
I feel Sergey’s attention on us, so I roll my eyes and look at Aleksei with indifference, but I fill my voice with sugar and spice. “Let’s not sweat the small stuff. Honestly, I can handle your brother. He’s just a pig, like most Alphas in the mafia.”
He looks almost offended at the generalization, making me amend what I said. “At least some of them? Although, I’m starting to see that not all Alphas are the same.”
I try to make him feel better, but by the increasingly loud rumble of discontent fast spilling from his chest, I’m not doing a great job.
I start walking towards Sergey. “What on earth, Aleksei? Don’t do that,” I whisper out of the corner of my mouth as we get nearer the office.
Sergey’s phone interrupts us, and he answers, inadvertently giving his brother and me a little more time.
“Don’t look at any other Alpha, including Sergey, for a while, and I’ll be fine. I wish I was joking right now. I sound psychotic. I sound likehim.”
Inside my head, I’m giggling and preening like a lover would over his admittance. I turn and stop where I am, putting a hand on my hip and acting snooty, talking intimately, though. “I’m all for healthy obsession, Aleksei.”
I raise my chin, readying to leave. Before I make a few steps, the noise he’s making changes into something very different. Something I like hearing from my Alpha.
I lock down the giddy way Aleksei makes me feel as I walk through the door and into the office where my husband waits. Sergey uses his finger to point where he wants me to sit while he talks loudly on his phone. Given the crescendo of his voice,and the way his scent intensifies, it doesn’t seem like it’s a good phone call. Which amuses me to no end.
