Page 26 of Mafia King’s Dangerous Vow

Nikolai looks up from his desk as I walk in. “This should be interesting,” he says immediately. “You have that face.”

“What face?”

“The one that says you’re about to justify something stupid with logic.”

I ignore the chair he gestures toward.

“Tamara wants to keep working.”

Nikolai looks almost entertained. “And?”

“And I told her she can work from home.”

“That go over well?”

“She didn’t throw anything.”

He raises an eyebrow, silent.

I exhale sharply. “I need to know whether continuing her business is manageable from a security standpoint.”

Nikolai looks like he’s deciding how gently to call me an idiot. “Of course it is,” he says finally.

I frown.

“Her schedule’s predictable. Locations can be secured. Frankly, monitored movement is easier than a resentful wife trapped in a penthouse.”

“She’s not resentful.”

Nikolai gives me the dignity of allowing me to correct myself.

“She’s furious,” I admit.

“There we go.” He stands and moves toward the windows overlooking the city. “Keep her locked up long enough and she’ll start treating this marriage like a prison sentence.”

“I’m trying to protect her.”

“No,” Nikolai says calmly. “You’re trying to eliminate uncertainty. That’s not the same thing.”

I dislike the accuracy immediately.

This morning Tamara expected me to take one more piece of her life and call it necessary.

I did.

“You don’t need her love,” Nikolai says. “But you do need cooperation, and you won’t get it by making her life smaller every time you’re afraid.”

Afraid. I would rather he called me controlling.

I pull out my phone and call Yuri.

“Boss?”

“Set it up,” I say. “Security protocols for Tamara’s business. Transportation, site coverage, client vetting. I want her operational again as soon as possible.”

“Understood.”

I hang up.