Page 62 of His to Own

Gregory shoots me a glare before storming out of the restaurant.

“He’s probably going to fuck everything up,” I comment. “He’s so angry, the moment he finds this Aleksander Baranov he’ll kill him. And we don’t know who he is.”

“I’ll look into it. Before Gregory can fuck everything up. Don’t worry.”

I shrug and lean back in my seat. “I still think you should have dealt with Gregory and made me your main partner. You don’t need him.”

“Killing Gregory is not an option. How will it look to my other men if I kill the people I made alliances with? It’s not happening.”

“Always so practical. How disappointing.”

Nikolai gives me a hard look. “Don’t do something stupid yourself, Maxim.”

“I won’t.” I have other things on my mind beyond just this new mafia man causing problems... like Elena’s teacher. Olga Romanov is her name. Easy to find that information when you can bribe someone at the school to give you the file on any professor you want.

Once my meeting with Nikolai is over, I arrive at a simple brownstone home in the heart of the city. This Olga Romanov makes good money. Must have tenure.

Now, I have no intentions of killing this woman. She’s not a threat to Elena like Sergei and Mikhail were. But I need to get her out of Elena’s life. I will not let Elena fail at school – not when it means so much to her.

I knock on the door and Olga answers. She recognizes me right away. “You. You’re Miss Karetov’s husband.”

“I am. I’m flattered you remembered me.”

“What are you doing here… at my home?” Her eyes flick to the side to see if anyone is on the street. It’s late in the evening on a weekday. The street is silent.

“You’re going to leave Elena alone.”

“Why would I do that?”

I tilt my head to the side. “Why do you have such a problem with her?”

“I don’t have a problem with her. I just expect excellence in my students.”

“I think you’re lying.” I step closer to her and she tries to shut the door but I don’t let her. I shove the door open and enter her house.

“I am calling the police. Get out of my house.” Her hands shake as she tries calling the police but I snatch the phone out of her hand and throw it to the ground.

“Why do you have a problem with my wife? Tell me. Now.”

“Because her father paid for her spot,” she blurts out. “I hate trust fund babies. They never work hard for anything because they were always given everything.”

“Most of those students have rich parents. It’s the most prestigious school in the entire country. Why take it out on my wife specifically?”

She opens her mouth to reply but nothing comes out.

“Tell me,” I growl.

“I don’t know! I just don’t like her.”

“So you’re bullying her to make yourself feel better? What kind of teacher are you?” I tower over her and she whimpers, clearly afraid. Good. I want her to be afraid.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“You’re only sorry because I’m here and you’re worried I’m going to kill you. But I’m not going to kill you. I am here to tell you that you’ll be getting a call from the dean tomorrow and he’ll tell you that you’re fired.”

“But I have tenure. I can’t be fired.”

“Oh, you’ll be fired. And then you’ll be out of Elena’s life and you won’t cause her to fail. I won’t let her fail. I just thought you should know. Oh, and if you go to the police with this…” I give her my most charming smile. It’s made women drop their panties for me time and time again but right now, Olga is not aroused. She’s terrified. “I will make sure you never open your eyes ever again.” I pick up her phone and slip it into my pocket. “I can’t leave any evidence behind. You understand.”