Page 69 of Black Ledger

Severin Volkov. He wore a perfectly pressed suit with navy blue accents. Unfortunately, he looked dashing.

But then he always had.

“I am not early,” I said. “I am precisely on time.”

“Ah, I see.” He smiled, and his gaze latched onto Nika. “I’ll take it from here. I wanted to get to know my new fiancée.”

A flat-out dismissal of Nika. Hmm, Severin really didn’t trust the Morozovs, did he?

Nika pinched her lips into a flat line before responding. “Of course. I’ll get back to work then.”

Severin smiled and nodded. “Yes, good.”

I tipped my head up to view him better; he still hadn’t come down. “Should I meet you up there then?”

“Yes, if you would.”

I rubbed my hands down my jeans—they were unreasonably damp today—and started up the steps.

It felt like, with each step, my heart slammed into my ribcage like a bird trying to escape a cage.

Step.

Slam.

Step.

Slam.

Step.

Slam.

It felt as if I were walking to the executioner’s block. Except, I was the executioner here. I was the predator, infiltrating my prey. I was the dangerous one.

But tell that to my overworking fucking heart.

When I reached the top of the stairs, I plastered a bright, fake smile on my lips.

“Thank you for coming,” Severin said, leading us farther into the house. But that was the last thing he said until we had been led into the primary suite and to a door leading to another chamber within it. “Is it okay if they stay out here?” His gaze touched my guards.

“Are you planning to ravage me?” I laughed. “Yes, it’s fine.” I motioned for my guards to wait for us.

Severin placed his hand on a scanner, and what sounded like seven locks clicked open. He turned the handle, led me into the room, and clicked the door shut. It was a personal surveillance room. Monitors clung to the walls, showing footage from cameras throughout the complex, as well as from clubs in New York City, construction sites, the docks, and so, so much more.

It was a spy room.

Documents were also laid out on a conference room table, and file cabinet after file cabinet lined the walls.

A computer sat at the center, seemingly connected to everything.

“I know it’s unorthodox to ask someone I barely know to help me with all of this. This was my father’s secret room. But despite the paranoia and intense level of surveillance, it’s all a mess. Reports contradict other reports. Half of my companies keep separate books. Logs are missing, and nobody can tell me where the money comes from or where it is going. Men have held positions for years just because my father liked them, not because they are competent. Some men have no documented responsibilities at all. I don’t know if I am looking at theft, disloyalty, or decades of mismanagement.”

I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth and scanned the monitors again. “So what you’re really saying is that it’s all a clusterfuck.”

Severin snorted. “Yeah.”

“And you don’t know who to trust.”