"Get back to the casino immediately," I snap, cutting him off. "I want you here in twenty minutes."
"Yes sir." He ends the call as I throw my phone onto the desk hard enough that the screen cracks. Arseniy is dead and my guard is missing, which means either Saveliy was one of my moles or he's dead too. Either way, the Kozlovs just escalated this situation and I can't afford to ignore it. We have to go on the offensive.
Tatiana's cousin is dead only hours after she begged me to protect him, and how the fuck am I going to tell her that? She only just started to trust me and I've already failed her. Theamount of anger I feel when I think of that makes me pick up my chair and throw it across the room. It smashes into the bookcase and sends books toppling all over the floor, and the only reason the shelf doesn’t fall is because it's anchored to the wall.
My phone rings and I snatch it up without looking at the caller. "What?" I snap, unable to control my temper at this point. This is about to explode everywhere and I can feel how out of control I’m getting. My brother wasn’t wrong when he told me all of this was getting to me. It just took me too long to see it for myself.
"We need to talk." Yuri's tone is crisp and he's not mincing words. I expect him to bite my head off for the extra guards or maybe tell me to stop taking advantage of his men because I sent Oleg out on an errand, but he says, "Are you sitting down?"
"No, I'm not sitting down. Does it sound like I'm sitting down?" I'm so angry, I'm not thinking straight. "What is it?" He'll be pissed when I tell him what happened, but I have to hear his news first.
"We got a credible threat to the man you're harboring in the hospital. Vadim thought I should call you right away."
My heart sinks and some of the rage fizzles out as I right my chair and drop into it hard. "Tatiana's cousin is dead… Cardiac this morning." Pressing my eyes closed, I brace myself for the outburst when he hears me say, "And Saveliy is missing—vanished and left his phone behind before guard change."
"He what?" I hear typing in the background, probably looking up the man's GPS he uses to track all of our soldiers.
"I said he's either the fucking mole and killed Tatiana's cousin, or they got him too." I press a hand to my face then pinch the bridge of my nose as Yuri spews out a string of profanities.
"We have to handle this immediately. It's gone too far now and?—"
"I'm handling it." I run my hand through my hair. "I'll find out what happened to Saveliy and?—"
"You're not handling it." Yuri cuts me off. "You're out of this now, and I'm taking over. We have to secure the casino and get that woman out of town. She's placed a target on all of us."
"I've got security locked down," I protest. No way I'm letting big brother come in like he's gonna rescue anyone. This is my show. It's my casino and it's my call.
"You think she's the one they're coming after now, Dimitri?" he shouts, and I know exactly what he's aiming at now. I shrink inwardly as I hear our father's tone ride my brother's words. "They're coming for you next. Do you not understand that? You're harboring her from them, and they know the two of you have a bond. When they kill the mother—and they will—they'll come for you. Do you think I want to attend my own fucking brother's funeral?"
I stand up and walk to the window overlooking the casino floor to watch people moving around and let his words sink in. They're like a needle bursting the prideful balloon of my ego. Am I really willing to die for this woman? Is that the line I'm drawing in the sand? Or am I just stupid enough to put a target on myself and let them kill me? Because they'll surely go after her next.
"What do you want me to do?" I ask defeatedly, though I know what he'll say. He's already said it a few times.
"Send her away." Yuri doesn't even hesitate. "Get her out of the city until we've cleaned up this mess and get her out of your fucking head. The way you're acting right now, you're gonna getyourself killed, and if that happens, I'll have to light up the whole Russian countryside to end it."
"I can protect her here—" I start, but he cuts me off.
"No, you can't," Yuri snips, then I hear him sigh. "You’ve proven it, dammit." There is a silence, then he says, "Little brother, our father would give you the same advice. It's clear you love this woman, but they will kill her and they will kill you because you are close to her. She has to go now. Just until it's safe."
I press my forehead against the cold glass and close my eyes. "Where would she even go?"
"Moscow…" Yuri's already thought this through. "I'll call Rurik. He owes us a favor, and he's got properties all over the city where she can hide. We'll send her with an escort and keep her there for a few weeks while we handle the Kozlovs."
Everything in me rebels against the idea of sending Tatiana away. I just got her in my bed. I just got her to stop fighting me and started seeing glimpses of what we could be if she were really mine, and now to send her away means to risk losing her.
But if keeping her close means she could die, then I have no choice.
"Call Rurik." The words feel like glass as they slide across my tongue, lacerating my hopes and dreams. "Set it up for today. I'll have her ready to leave within the hour."
"You're making the right call." Yuri sounds relieved. "I know you don't want to hear it, but?—"
"Just make the arrangements." I hang up on him because as much as I know this is the right choice, I'm livid. I hate it and everything it means, and I don't want to think about it at all. Ijust want to turn my anger into fuel for this fight that helps me destroy Malcom Kozlov and anyone who works with him or for him.
I stand at the window for another minute watching people gamble away their money while my world falls apart. Then I force myself to move toward the elevator. I have to tell Tatiana she's leaving and convince her it's for the best. And I have to do it without telling her about Arseniy because if she finds out he's dead, she'll refuse to go anywhere.
When I unlock the door upstairs, I find Tatiana on the couch eating toast and watching the morning news. She's wearing one of my shirts and her hair is still damp from the shower.
She looks up when I walk in and smiles. "That was fast. I thought you'd be gone longer."
