“What do we do?” I ask.
“Youdo nothing,” he replies, his eyes meeting mine. “I’ll keep you safe. No harm will ever come to you, not while I’m alive.”
Right now, I’m not worried about myself. Leonid is who I’m concerned about. I know how dangerous his life is, and as much as he thinks he’s invincible, he’s only human at the end of the day.
Bullets can penetrate him. A knife to the chest would kill him. The thought of him getting harmed terrifies the shit out of me.
I’d rather see his annoying face every day and argue over dinner than see him in a casket.
“And you?”
He presses two fingers to my chin and tilts my head up so I have to look at him. “I’m not dying anytime soon, baby. Not until we’re both old and gray.”
I’d like to believe that, but I can’t shake off the worry clawing its way up my chest. Vasili has declared open war, and he won’t back down until either he or Leonid is dead.
Chapter Seventeen
Leonid
The smell of blood always lingers after a fight. It doesn’t matter how many men scrub the floors or how much bleach they use. Blood always leaves a mark, though it’s not always where people can see it.
I step over a shattered piece of crystal from the chandelier and survey what’s left of my foyer.
The bodies are gone, and even though the floors and walls have been mostly wiped clean, the stench of death still haunts the house.
It’s a reminder of Vasili’s arrogance, and that will eventually be the cause of his death.
He didn’t send those men to kill me. No. He’d be stupid as shit to think he could get rid of me that easily. He sent them to make a statement. He wanted to let me know my home wasn’t far from his reach, and that he could infiltrate it whenever he wanted.
Weeks ago, I would’ve sat back and enjoyed the show. I wouldn’t mind what he could or couldn’t infiltrate because the more he crossed me, the more fun I’d have putting a bullet in his skull.
But that doesn’t excite me now.
It enrages me because Elena could’ve gotten hurt tonight. My wife was less than thirty meters away from armed men moving through my house, and the thought of what could’ve happened if Petrov hadn’t alerted me on time makes something dark twist inside my chest.
“Sir,” one of the cleaners calls as he approaches. “The east hallway is finished.”
I nod once, and he quickly disappears.
I put Elena to sleep thirty minutes ago. She’d been too shaken by everything tonight that I couldn’t let her stay awake a moment longer after we both took a shower.
Mikhail and Artem went with some of my men to deal with the police after disposing of the bodies, and Igor is wherever the hell Igor wants to be. I can’t say for sure where he went off to, and that’s the least of my worries right now.
I spent millions of dollars on my security system, and if Vasili could breach it that easily, it means there’s someone on the inside working for him and giving him information.
Elena mentioned one of the mercenaries had gone straight to the home office, which means he knew exactly where to look for her.
There’s a mole in my circle, and I need to sniff the bastard out.
I head straight for the security room, and the steel doors swing open. To my surprise, Igor’s already here.
He glances at me. “Mikhail called. I came as soon as I heard what happened.”
The two men on duty when those bastards invaded my home scramble to their feet and mutter greetings like they’re afraid of what I’ll do to them for neglecting the duty I pay them for while my wife was almost killed right under their noses.
I’d love to punish them, but that can wait for another time.
Six monitors display feeds from around the estate. Igor’s already reviewing the footage. He looks exhausted as fuck, and I’m guessing I probably look worse.
