Did the eejit think I was magic? I took my mother’s advice and breathed deeply before answering. Think twice, speak once, and all that.
The door to the conference room burst open.
The lackeys shot from their chairs, ready to defend their superiors. I was about to yell at the pieces of meat and forbid the muscle from acting stupidly inmyplace of work because there was no way in hell there was a threat here, when I caught the scent of strawberries.
It happened quickly.
I shifted my gaze. My heart stopped beating.
It was her.
She was here.
And the look on her face made the devil inside burn with a killing rage.
Igor said something that made her wince. I didn’t catch it over the roaring of my pulse in my ear. The feeble organ in my chest had come back to life with vengeance.
“Gabriella.” I wanted to reach for her. Wrap her in my arms. Shield her from whatever terror drove her to my doorstep.
You’re safe, little bird.
I prayed to any saint listening she saw the promise in my eyes.
But no, hers were wild. Unfocused. Gabriella glanced at me, then shrank against the thick glass door as if it would shield her.
Her voice fucking trembled. “I need to talk to you.”
“I’m listening,” I whispered under my breath.
The billion-dollar deal became inconsequential in an instant. The chess game of moving illegal capital, of washing dirty money, didn’t matter. There was only her.
“Little girl,” Pierre said in that nasally voice, “we’re in a meeting.”
Yes, a meeting that fucking ended the moment she came. My wife needed me. Business would wait. That was how things worked.
I stopped myself from rising, realizing that I needed to command the situation from a place of authority. My arms ached to hold her, but these eejits would see any public display of affection as a weakness.
My molars ground together with enough force to crack.
“Either come and suck my dick,” Igor laughed, “or get the fuck out.”
And the bratva captain just signed his death warrant.
“Get out,” I barked.
My words had the opposite effect.
Gabriella shrank into the door. She took a tentative step back, but her wild gaze landed on me. She was so fucking strong. The fight kept her there, kept her from darting away. There was a plea swirling in those whiskey depths.
The black, thundering organ in my chest answered it.
Whatever she needed, I was here. I would destroy any threat, drain my accounts to pay the price, or just…hold her.
The men at the table didn’t move fast enough.
I realized too late the confusion. Words tangled in my throat as the explanation that I meant her to stay and the underworld players to go couldn’t come out fast enough.
“Now,” I snarled. “I said, this meeting’s done.”
