Chapter 27: Chapter 27

Some changes happen gradually: a slow evolution from one state to another. I know that when I look back now on the path my life has taken, and seeing the past versions of myself I have shed along the way.

But other changes do happen overnight.

Sometimes quite literally.

One night, I was still sleeping alone, in my own bed. The next night, I wasn’t the only one in it.

Since then, Annika in my bed has become an every night thing. Or Taylor. I don’t know what to call her anymore. It’s become increasingly clear to me that the woman staying in my home and sharing my bed really is two different people. The first is the girl I married fifteen years ago. The cold, closed-off, quiet and uncertain teenager who mumbled “yes” to a promise neither of us wanted to make.

The woman whom I wake up next to every morning now is someone else altogether. Bold and confident. Tenacious and unflinching. A woman who faces the world on her terms and tells it exactly how to behave. A woman who looks me in the eye and says precisely what she’s thinking, no matter the consequences.

It’s infuriating. But it’s also refreshing. And it’s become something I look forward to. A challenge, to keep me sharp and on my toes.

So yes, she’s two people: the one from the past, and the one in the present. Before, she was Annika, and now, she’s Taylor. So for the last few days, that’s the name I’ve been using with her. At first, she was surprised. But she also couldn’t hide her smile whenever I said it. And goddamn if I don’t enjoy that smile. So I’ve kept saying it.

But then there’s another overnight change.

One little word that I never once intended to or thought about saying out loud. But out it popped, with no way of putting it back in the box.

Love.

It wasn’t preceded by an “I” or followed by a “you”. But still, it’s…out there.

Come what may.

“Boss.”

I look up from my desk as Milos steps into my office.

“Got a second?” I nod as he plops down in one of the chairs across the desk from me, a manila folder in his hands. “There’s two things we need to discuss.”

I frown. “Is this a bad news first or good news first thing?”

He grimaces. “They’re both shit. One involves a meal, though, if that helps.”

Milos clears his throat as he drops the folder in front of me. I reach for it, but he keeps his finger pinned on it for a moment.

“Can I speak freely?”

“By all means,” I grunt.

My friend inhales slowly. “Is there a reason you haven’t just asked her who she met the other night?”

I have, in fact. Once. But instead of saying a name, she looked me in the eye and asked me to drop it. She asked me to trust her and said it was merely someone who might have answers to parts of her past.

And I agreed to let it go.

I do trust her. But that’s not why I agreed.

I agreed because I already knew who the fuck she’d met. I just needed confirmation of it.

I nod at the folder under Milos’ finger. “Can I assume you’re about to ‘surprise me’ with cleaned-up night-vision shots of Kenzo Mori sitting in my rowboat talking to my wife in the middle of the night?”

Milos scowls darkly. “You fucking knew?”

I say nothing as I slip the folder out from under his finger and flip it open. Sure enough, the somewhat shit images taken by a security camera on the shore have been run through a computer program that uses AI to clean up photos, giving me a clear shot of the man sitting in the bow of the boat, talking with Taylor.

Kenzo.

I know they were just talking. I know from the photos he didn’t touch her, aside from pulling her out of the water, which not for nothing is enraging enough.

But I don’t trust him. Specifically, his interest in her. And I sure as fuck don’t like that he somehow had access to her and got her to come meet him in the middle of the night.

In a bathing suit.

Insecurity? No. Jealousy? Perhaps. A murderous sensation that some other man was sneaking around in the night to meet up clandestinely with what is mine?

Fuck yes.

“Our guys are trying to track him down⁠—”

“They won’t,” I grunt.

I don’t know Kenzo that well. But I know enough to be sure that if he doesn’t want to be found, he won’t be. The man is half Viking and half samurai. He can charge at you with a goddamn axe and a battle cry, or he can slit your throat from the shadows before you even know you’re dead.

I exhale. “But try anyway. If nothing else, he’ll know he’s being tracked, and it’ll occupy a sliver of his attention.” I drum my fingers on the desk and raise my eyes to Milos. “What was the other shit news? Involving a meal?”

“You and Annika have been invited to one. Dinner, specifically.”

“With?” I ask curiously.

His face darkens. “Vadik Belov.”

Fuck.

“Obviously, this is where I advise you what a terrible idea it would be for you to get within shooting distance of that fucker,” Milos mutters. “After the other night.”

I turn to look out the doorway to the veranda and the ocean beyond.

“We don’t know⁠—”

“Drazen,” Milos growls. “We know.”

The men I killed after I found them chasing Taylor through the dark the other night were hired guns—mercenaries from the Russia-based Werner Group, made up of ex special forces from all over the world. Contractors who’ll do dirty work for the highest bidder.

They’ve got two positions vacant after the other night.

“They were obviously hired by Vadik. They knew the island, they knew how to get past security⁠—”

“To be fair, she knew how to get past security,” I grin at him.

Milos doesn’t look remotely amused.

“Don’t let other influences in your life right now cloud your judgement, Drazen,” he mutters. “You know what I’m talking about.”

Busted. I stand from my desk and walk over to the doorway out to the veranda.

“You’re probably right, Milos. It probably was Vadik. What we don’t know is why.”

“Simple: he hates you,” Milos mutters. “He hates your family. I mean, he was the one who gave the order all those years ago, Drazen.”

“Yes, but he doesn’t know that I know that.” I turn to look at him. “And it doesn’t explain why would he choose now to try and…”

“What, take you out?” Milos growls. “Because why not? No offence.”

I shake my head. “But it wasn’t me he was trying to take out. They were after her.” I look at him sharply. “When’s this dinner?”

“Tomorrow.”

I grimace. “Fine. I’m going.”

“Drazen—”

“We can assume it was Vadik who sent those men the other night. Maybe because he knows now that I know about his involvement with what happened. Or maybe he guesses why I want to join the Table. But we don’t know any of this for sure. I’ll need to sit down with him and look him in the eye to figure that out. So yes, I’m going.”

“The invite is for both of you…” he begins.

My jaw clenches. “Well, she’s not coming. Obviously.”

Milos arches a brow. “Vadik is a dumb fuck, but he’s not stupid…if that makes sense. If you come without her, he’s going to wonder why.”

I scowl. He’s not wrong. That’s a red flag Vadik will see a mile away that I don’t trust him, and he’ll throw up walls accordingly.

“Fine,” I grunt. “She’ll come along. But a contingent of men will come with us.”

Milos nods. “I’ll go with a team⁠—”

“Not you.”

He looks at me curiously.

“I need someone I trust on the outside.”

“Just in case?” he smirks.

“Just in case.”

My gaze swivels sideways in the back of the Range Rover. But as it rumbles down the road from the private airfield to Vadik’s massive summer house on the Black Sea, I’m not looking at the pristine beaches or the ocean beyond.

My gaze is firmly settled on something much closer in the foreground.

Taylor.

She’s in a stunning black gown that looks painted onto her body. It’s somehow both elegant and tasteful while also being outrageously sexy and alluring.

Or maybe that’s just her. Maybe she could be wearing a garbage bag and I’d be thinking the same thing.

Either way, she looks gorgeous. Her hair is up in a high ponytail, her long red locks tumbling down to her delicate neck. She looks perfect.

Almost.

“Taylor?”

She startles, smiling in that way I’ve gotten so fond of when I say her name.

Taylor.

“Here.”

I hand her a little velvet box, watching her brows knit.

“What’s this?”

I lift a shoulder. “Just a little something sparkly for the evening. Not that you need it. But Vadik is the sort of man who’s easily distracted by…” My eyes drag up to hers. “Just open it.”

She does, and her eyes widen.

“Drazen…”

She pulls out the diamond-studded silver bracelet with the large six-carat diamond centerpiece fitted to the band. Her eyes fly to mine.

“I can’t wear this.”

“You can, and you will.”

“This must’ve cost a fortune⁠—”

“There have to be some benefits to being forced to marry an international crime lord, right?”

Her lips twist into a smirk and her cheeks flush as her big blue eyes lock with mine.

“Some,” she shrugs, grinning.

I fasten it around her wrist just as our car pulls up to the gates of Vadik’s summer house with our entourage behind us. His men wave us all through, and we drive to the massive stone steps leading to the double doors of his estate.

I pull my gaze away from Taylor and look at the lavish home, manicured grounds, and garage full of priceless sports cars I know Vadik is fond of collecting.

I smile to myself.

I’ll enjoy slicing Vadik’s eyelids off and making him watch as I burn this entire estate to the ground one day soon.

Vadik greets us at the front doors, all affable, glad-handing host as he welcomes us into his home.

“Please! Come in!” the fucker chuckles as we step inside.

Yes, the Werner Group mercenaries I killed the other night when they were chasing Taylor were almost certainly hired by Vadik. But I’m not sitting at the Iron Table yet. If I accuse him of that without concrete proof, he’ll be able to twist it against me. In fact, by the very laws of the Table, Vadik would be able to initiate a majority vote for all the families to declare me a persona non grata. Even to declare war on me.

I loathe the idea of bringing Taylor into this house, or anywhere near this asshole. But I need that proof. I need something to connect him to the mercenaries.

It’s not like I expect to find something sitting out on the dining table. But Milos picked some of his best guys to accompany us tonight. A few of them are cyber security experts, too.

“It’s so good of you to accept my invitation, Drazen,” Vadik smiles at me. “With you almost sure to be voted onto the Table soon, I thought we could take this time to become better acquainted. To become friends.”

I smile back at the snake. “Of course, Vadik. And thank you for your generous invitation.”

He grins before clearing his throat and nodding at my men as they follow us up the stairs into the house. “I’m afraid I can’t allow your men to enter my home armed, though.”

No shit. That’s why I had them arrive armed to the teeth. Distract him with one weapon, so he doesn’t see the other one.

“Of course,” I smile before turning to my men and nodding. They know the drill, and they allow Vadik’s men to take their rifles and sidearms, stowing them in a locked gun case.

What Vadik’s men don’t take, because the component parts are being smuggled into the house inside boot heels and hidden pockets, are the wireless hacking tools that my men will be using to crack Vadik’s home network and glean everything they can.

“With your permission, I’ve prepared a side room for your men while we dine,” Vadik says with a wide smile. “With some of the finest vodka from St. Petersburg for them to enjoy,” he chuckles good-naturedly. “If that is all right with your boss, boys!”

I smile in amusement, nodding to my men. “Of course! Enjoy our host’s gracious hospitality, please.”

My men grin and elbow each other excitedly.

It’s all an act.

Vadik leads Taylor and I into a sumptuous sitting room with walls of bookshelves and elegantly masculine leather furniture. A blonde girl who barely looks legal smiles awkwardly at us as we enter. I remember her as Vadik’s “date” from the gala.

She looks just as happy to be here now as she did then.

“You remember Polina, yes?” Vadik chuckles lecherously as he grabs the girl’s ass and brings her closer.

“Of course,” Taylor says warmly, smiling at the poor girl. “So good to see you again. I love your dress.”

Polina smiles shyly back. “Thank you. And your bracelet is beautiful.”

Taylor grins genuinely as she glances back at me. “Thank you. It was…a gift.”

Vadik chuckles. “Oh, this one knows all about gifts,” he snickers, rubbing Polina’s ass again as her face pales. “A necklace here, an apartment in Paris there, fancy clothes…” He grins salaciously, turning to wink at me. “And in return, she gifts me that tight little body and any hole I want, whenever I want it.”

Fucking pig.

Polina looks mortified as she drops her gaze to the ground.

“A toast, perhaps?” Vadik says, clapping his hands together as he walks over to the bar cart. He picks up a bottle of—holy shit, 2003 Petrus. He turns to grin at me. “You’re a wine man, I hear?”

“I have moments.”

“Then please, I insist. You open and pour for us. I don’t know how to pour fine wine. I’m but a poor Russian who grew up swilling bathtub vodka,” he chuckles.

“It would appear you can afford some impressive bottles now,” I smile tightly.

He grins back. “Indeed, Drazan. Fortune has favored both our families.”

I resist the urge to break his face against the nearest flat surface.

Fortune didn’t favor my family. This piece of shit’s betrayal and greed destroyed my family.

But I push the impulse away, turning to focus on Taylor. On her eyes as they meet mine. On the soft curve of her lips, and the feel of her hand as it slips into mine and squeezes.

She knows what I’m thinking and feeling.

I take the bottle from Vadik and open it, letting it breathe. Vadik hands out glasses to the three of us and himself, smiling as I pour the wine.

“To new friendships, and more fortune for us all,” Vadik grunts, lifting his glass. I wait with mine halfway to my lips, watching as Vadik and Polina drink first.

Poisoning us ten minutes after entering his home with eight of my men just down the hall would be bold and reckless even for this fuck. But you never know.

Taylor and I glance at each other and drink our wine as well, savoring the insanely smooth and bold flavors.

“Now, I was hoping you and I could…” Vadik shrugs. “Discuss some business before dinner that is maybe best talked about without the company of our dates.”

I glance at Taylor.

“Oh, Polina and I would love some girl time, right?” She beams as she turns to Polina. “Without the men,” she laughs plastically. Fuck, she’s good at this.

“Y—yes,” the girl stammers, forcing a smile. “Of course.”

“Come,” Vadik nods with his chin for me to follow him out of the room. “We can go to my study. Bring your wine.”

I glance back at Taylor. Before I know what I’m doing, I’m pulling her into me and leaning down to kiss her softly.

“Have fun,” I murmur.

“You too,” she breathes.

Vadik chuckles, patting my shoulder in a way that makes me want to punch him in the throat as we walk away down the hall.

“Quite miraculous for you to have found her again, Drazen.”

I smile and shake my head. “There was no finding necessary; she wasn’t ever lost,” I shrug. “We were young when we got married and had things we each wanted to do. We’ve…reconnected,” I murmur.

“Just in time for a vote onto the Table with the very woman who was godmother to your ‘not lost’ wife’s father.”

He’s digging. Prying. Poking to see where there’s a weak spot.

He won’t find one.

I laugh as I clap him on the shoulder, like we’re good buddies.

“You’ve been watching too many spy movies, my friend,” I smile.

Vadik eyes me coolly. Then he grins. “What can I say. I’m a sucker for old Bond films.”

“What sort of Russian does that make you?”

He snickers. “A rich one who cares not for politics, just getting paid.” He turns to me. “You know, since you’re such a wine man, I’d love to show you my collection. Before business.”

I feel myself grinning widely.

“Sounds like a blast,” I chuckle.

The fuck. I’ve never once said “sounds like a blast” in my fucking life. And why am I smiling so hard?

“This way, then!” Vadik says, leading me down another hallway. We step into a lavish room with glass walls, behind which sit hundreds of temperature-controlled racks full of wine.

“Fuck me,” I whistle.

Vadik laughs. “You haven’t seen the best part. Come!”

He gleefully walks over to a table. He looks at me like a kid showing off his new Christmas present and twists the lamp sitting on it.

“You’ll love this.”

Behind him, one of the walls of glass slides backward and then to the side, revealing a staircase and a stone archway leading down.

“This up here?” He snorts. “Good enough for stockbrokers and CEOs. But for men like us? With power like ours?” He gestures with his head. “Come. I’ll show you the really good stuff.”

“If there’s not a bathtub still cranking out vodka down there,” I chuckle, grinning widely, “I’m going to be very disappointed in you, Vadik.”

He roars with laughter. “I think that Petrus is going to your head, my friend!”

I chuckle as we start down the stairs. Then I frown as his words ripple through my subconscious.

I think that Petrus is going to your head.

I think so, too. And I’ve only had like four sips.

When we reach the bottom of the steps, I’m even more confused. When I turn to glance at Vadik, the lights blur. Trails of color tease across my vision.

My feet feel like they’re sinking into the ground beneath them.

What the fuck is going on.

“Are you okay, my friend?” Vadik’s not smiling now. There’s just a cruel, thin smirk on his face. “You look unwell.”

“I—something I ate…”

“We haven’t eaten yet.”

I shake my head, feeling like the very air is pushing down on me. Like the color balance of the whole world is off. Like I can see those colors.

“The wine…” I mutter, turning to stare into my glass. It throbs and bulges like a soap bubble, suddenly getting huge in my hand before shrinking back down.

Vadik chuckles behind me. No, in front of me.

Fuck.

“I think maybe you should sit down, Drazen.”

Something slams into the back of my knees. I crash to the floor, the glass shattering as I blink in confusion at the trails of light and color. I look around, only now realizing that we’re not in a wine cellar. There’s no wine here at all…

My eyes lock on shapes in the corner, and my blood goes cold.

Not shapes. Bodies.

It’s all eight of the men we arrived with not twenty minutes ago, all dead.

I try to scramble to my feet. But my legs aren’t working. All I end up doing is rolling around on my back like a flipped-over beetle. Vadik and three of his men grin at me ghoulishly as they stand over me.

“Don’t blame yourself, Drazen,” he growls. “This isn’t your fault. It’s mine. I started a job fifteen years ago, and I made the mistake of not finishing it. Now, I’m correcting my mistake.”

No.

I try again to lunge to my feet. But it feels like I’m moving through maple syrup. One of his men laughs as he uses his foot to push me back to the floor. It feels like I’m melting into it.

“And don’t worry about your wife, Mr. Krylov,” Vadik smiles coldly. “She’s in good hands….”

I roar and try and lurch up. But I can only lift my head maybe an inch before the floor sucks it back down.

The room turns neon purple with blue dots drifting through it. The dots turn to eyes.

Her eyes.

Watching me fade. Watching me sink into the depths as the lights swirl and flicker around me and the floor swallows me whole.

“Enjoy your trip, Mr. Krylov….”