Page 70 of Marked By the Mob

Eduard’s fingers work me slowly, circling my clit with just enough pressure to make me squirm. His other hand slides up to cup my breast, thumb brushing over my nipple through the thin fabric of my bra.

“I want you,” he says roughly. “But you need rest.”

“I needyoumore.”

That’s all the permission he needs. Eduard pulls my underwear down my legs and tosses it aside, positioning himself behindme. His cock slides through my folds, teasing, before he pushes inside with one slow thrust.

I gasp with pleasure. He’s thick and hard, filling me completely, and the angle has him hitting deep. Eduard’s hand grips my hip as he starts to move, slow and deliberate, making me feel every inch of him.

“God, you feel perfect,” he groans against my neck.

“So do you,” I breathe out.

His pace is unhurried, almost lazy, like he has all the time in the world to take me apart. His hand slides between my thighs, fingers finding my clit and rubbing in tight circles that make my toes curl.

The pleasure builds slowly, coiling tight in my belly. I rock back against him, meeting each thrust, chasing the release I can feel just out of reach. Eduard’s breathing quickens, his grip on my hip tightening as he drives deeper.

“Come for me,” he murmurs. “I want to feel you.”

His fingers press harder against my clit and my orgasm crashes through me, my body clenching around him as waves of pleasure roll through me. Eduard follows moments later, his cock jerking inside me as he fills me with his release.

We stay like that for several minutes, tangled together, our breathing slowly returning to normal. Then Eduard pulls out carefully and tucks me against his chest, his arms wrapped around me.

“Sleep,” he says softly.

This time, I don’t argue. I let my eyes close and drift off with his warmth surrounding me.

When I wake, the afternoon sun is streaming through the windows. Eduard is still beside me, his breathing deep and even. I slip out of bed carefully, not wanting to wake him, and pull on fresh clothes before returning to the laptop.

My mind feels clearer after the rest. I dive back into the files, cross-referencing Hayes’s activities with the auction investigation timeline. Everything points to him. The motive, opportunity, and the benefit he gained from my disappearance.

But then I find something that makes me pause.

A request filed by Hayes three weeks before my sting operation. He asked for access to auction-related financial documents, specifically the shell companies connected to Baltic Logistics and the other networks I’d been tracking.

The request was denied.

I stare at the screen, my pulse quickening. If Hayes was working with the auction organizers, why would he need to request access to their financial records? He would already have that information. And why would his request be denied?

Unless he wasn’t part of the conspiracy. Unless he was investigating it himself.

My hands shake as I pull up more files, searching for anything that might explain the denial. I find a memo from Langford’s office, brief and bureaucratic, stating that the financial documents were classified under a separate investigation and access was restricted to essential personnel only.

Langford restricted Hayes’s access.

The realization hits me like ice water. If Hayes couldn’t access the financial records, he couldn’t have coordinated my capture with the auction organizers. He didn’t have the information he would have needed to sell me out.

Which means it wasn’t Hayes.

And it wasn’t Cole, whose arrest for minor charges proves he was just a scapegoat.

I lean back in the chair, my mind racing. If it wasn’t Cole or Hayes, then who the hell set me up?

31

RURIK

The morning light cuts through the bedroom windows in sharp angles, illuminating Emma’s face as she sleeps beside me. Her dark hair spreads across the pillow in waves, and her breathing is deep and even. I watch the rise and fall of her breasts beneath the thin sheet, the soft curve of her waist, and feel something tighten in my chest that has nothing to do with desire.