Rage floods through me. My hand moves to my gun.
"I wouldn't," Alexei says mildly. "Your guards are outside. So are mine. You shoot me, and we all die. Very messy. Very public."
He's right. Fuck.
"Touch my wife and I'll burn your entire organization to the ground."
"I believe you. Which is why I'm giving you this information instead of taking Gabriel's deal." He moves toward the door. "You have twenty-four hours to find him and end this. After that, I make my own decision about what to do."
"You're threatening me."
"I'm motivating you." He pauses with his hand on the doorknob. "Oh, and Adrian? Gabriel mentioned he has something planned. Something big. He didn't elaborate, but he seemed confident he could get to your wife whenever he wanted." He glances back. "Might want to tighten your security."
He moves toward the door, but something in the back of my mind ticks. "Wait."
Alexei stops. "Yes?"
"The Russian. Artem. The one who cornered my wife at the bookshop months ago. Before the wedding." I watch his face carefully. "You sent him, didn't you? To intimidate her. To send me a message."
Alexei's expression doesn't change, but I see it—the flicker of confusion in his eyes. Brief. Quickly masked. But there.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play stupid. A Russian thug shows up at Sera's workplace. Corners her. Scares her. Makes sure she knows she's being watched." I step closer. "No one else had reason to send someone after a book restorer. It had to be you."
"This supposed Russian," Alexei says slowly. "You got a name?"
"Artem."
Alexei doesn't flinch. Doesn't move. But I see the slight tic in his jaw. The way his eyes narrow just a fraction.
He knows Artem.
"I didn’t send him after your wife.”
"You're lying."
He looks away from me, and I sense something.
“If you fucking know something, Alexei, you better tell me.”
His brow raises. “Or?”
“Or I’ll fucking kill you.”
The threat is hollow, and he knows it.
But then, something changes. I see the moment he decides to give up whatever he knows.
“Artem Olov isn’t one of my men. But he’s one of the most dangerous mercenaries in Russia.”
Fuck.
CHAPTER 31
Sera
I've been staring at the same page for twenty minutes.
