His fists drop to his sides. “I don’t really have a choice, do I? Either I take on this untrained asshole or risk pissing off not only the most powerful bratva in the country but also one of our largest clients.”
Vincent shrugs again. “It’s not like that. You don’t want him, don’t take him. But…” He meets Brady’s gaze. “Liev Kovalyov is anything but untrained. You don’t stay alive in his position without being very good at watching for threats and being able to defend yourself.”
Brady scans the four of us, his eyes stopping on Vincent and me before turning to Elizabeth, who has a peculiar look on her face. “What do you think? It’s your client.”
“Obviously, I don’t know your business as well as you do,” she says carefully. “But I trust your sister and Vincent, and if they think he would be a good fit, I’m okay with it. Like Sera said, it’s temporary. He’s not leaving the bratva forever.”
My brother blows out a long, harsh breath. “Fine. Tell him to be here tomorrow. I want to meet him before I commit.” Hejabs a finger at me. “But if I hire him, there’s no fraternization between employees.”
I roll my eyes as Elizabeth bursts out laughing, and even Vincent’s shoulders are shaking with suppressed humor.
“Why are you laughing?” Brady asks her through his teeth.
“Pot meet kettle,” I smirk when Elizabeth can’t answer because she’s laughing too hard. “Pretty sure youfraternizedwith Elizabeth when she was a client.”
Brady’s lips twitch. “If I’m the pot, does that make you the kettle?” He turns narrowed eyes back on me. “Are you admitting that youwantto fraternize with him?’
“What? No.” Damn, I walked right into that one. “Whatever.” I shrug. “I’m not interested in Liev.”
Lies. Lies. Lies.
The man makes my panties practically incinerate every time he touches me. And now we are going to be working together. I crush the little thrill in my stomach.
No, we’re not. He’ll be on assignment, and I’ll be here.
He'll be on a close-proximity assignment with a supermodel. The flutters in my belly disappear.
Fuck.
11
LIEV
Brady isn’t bothering to hide the fact that he doesn’t want me here. I’ll give him credit. Standing at the end of the conference table, arms folded across his chest, the look he’s giving me would probably intimidate most people. But most people didn’t grow up the way I did.
Other than Brady, the only other people in the room are Vincent and Brady’s fiancée, Elizabeth. I’m not exactly sure what her role is, but I know enough about her reputation to respect her intelligence.
I don’t think the wink I gave Sera as I walked through the main area of Elite Security is the primary cause of his agitation either, but I’m sure it didn’t help, if he even saw it. It might not have been the smartest move, but despite the cool look on her face as Sera stood in one of the many doorways watching my arrival, I noticed her picking at her nails. She was nervous.
For me?
The thought that her concern for me might make her unhappy was both unacceptable and deeply comforting. Other than Alex and my mother, I’m not sure anyone has ever cared what happened to me before.
“I don’t want you here.” Brady doesn’t waste time getting to the point, ignoring Elizabeth’s groan. “However, I seem to be the only one who thinks you aren’t suited to this kind of work. My sister claims she owes you, and I don’t want her owing anything to the br?—”
“Sera doesn’t owe me—or anyone—anything.” I glare at him. It’s one thing for me to gently manipulate Sera into spending time with me, but I don’t want her brother holding this over her head. “No one even knows that I know her.”
During our brief phone call yesterday, when Sera told me her brother was willing to talk to me, she admitted she’d given him a vague story about an attempted robbery and that I had intervened.
“And she certainly doesn’t owe me for the other night. She was doing just fine on her own before I got there.”
I fight the urge to smile as I picture again my father and the wound in his neck. I would have loved to have seen the look on his face when he realized my Little Warrior had bested him. Leaning back in the chair, I let myself smirk. “I was just a bonus.”
“Sera said you handled it. What exactly does that mean?”
I inhale a slow, unbothered breath not breaking eye contact. “It means the situation was contained.”
I’m not going to spell it out for him.
