Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
I check my phones while she uses the bathroom. Then I look out the window, not far from the streets of Moscow, where I was orphaned. I remember who I was. I remember who I am now. The Romanov family took me in when I had no one. When I had nothing.
Vera Ivanova is the daughter of my enemy.
A plan begins to grow in my mind, taking on a life of its own. I suspect I know exactly how to work this angle…
“I’m tired, Markov,” Vera says. I look over my shoulder to see her sitting on the edge of the bed, phone in hand. She’s taken off her shoes and changed, now wearing a pair of sweats and a tiny tee.
I didn’t know sweats and a tee could be so damn sexy. I intentionally let my gaze roam a little longer than’s respectable. Just enough to let her know I see her and fucking like what I see before I can reel myself in.
“Are you tired?” she asks, making a gesture for sleeping and patting the edge of the bed. “You’re a big guy, and I don’t move in my sleep. You can’t sleep on the floor. Rest here, and I’ll sleep on the edge of the bed.”
I shake my head as if I’m fighting it. Resisting. I will be in that bed tonight, and I will be up close and personal.
After we have a better lock in place.
“Alright, then,” she says on a yawn. “You do whatever it is bodyguards do, and I’m going to take a nap.”
I turn away from her as she lays down and opens up the book app on her phone, but not long after, I hear her phone plop to the bed with a little thump. She’s fast asleep.
I take the opportunity to check in back home.
How are things going? I’ve tracked you to the campus
We’ve arrived. All good so far. I’m working on building trust with her so I can get closer to where I need to be. Have you found the location of where the rest meet in Moscow?
The plan is for me to find where the rest of the men of the Ivanov Bratva meet in Moscow. According to the brief texts I’ve received, they’re disorganized at best. We have a small window of time, but it’s enough for me to find out what I need to about Petr Ivanov.
If anyone suspects who I am, they’ll conveniently disappear, like the real Markov. Many things could go wrong, but I’m prepared to pivot.
I end my conversation with Aleks and pull out the screen mirroring app.
The first thing I notice is that she hasn’t progressed much further in her book. For a woman as intelligent as she is, it’s a little interesting.
That’s when I notice the highlights.
Vera has highlighted certain sections of the book. Maybe she’s been rereading them?
Maybe I need to read them.
My eyes grow wide as I take in the highlighted portions of the book, and I feel my lips curl into a smile.
His hand curls at the back of my neck.
His warm hand rests on my upper thigh, a possessive touch. . .
“Beg to come, little girl. Don’t you ever come without Daddy’s permission.”
“Disobey Daddy again, and I’ll take you over my knee, young lady.”
Vera Ivanova’s a kinky little girl, and I aim to use that to my full advantage. I’m hard as hell just learning about what she likes, imagining what I could do to her. The fun we could have.
How much of what she reads is fiction, and how much would she actually like?
To follow through with this type of thing, I need to build trust with her.
Kolya taught us years ago that one of the ways to garner trust from an enemy was to use the slightest bit of truth to color a lie. Use your real first name. Speak something from the heart. Reveal a bit of your weakness and human nature is such that people will believe you are trustworthy. It will appear you’ve exposed your full hand when, in reality, you’ve only shown a few cards. Just a shadow of truth.
Slowly, I’ll reveal just enough for her to let her guard down.
I’m going to break this woman’s heart, but it’s the only way forward.
I will do whatever it takes to bring my family justice.
No matter the cost.
CHAPTER SIX
Vera
Someone’s shaking my shoulder. I’m dead asleep, warm and cozy in bed. It feels so good to sleep. Why is someone waking me in the middle of the night?
I open my blurry eyes and see a tall man standing over me. I’m completely overshadowed by the breadth of his body. I jerk back and gasp.
What the hell?
Caught between sleep and waking, I startle and flail. Tangled in the sheets, I almost fall out of bed. Just in time, he bends and catches me. I’m immediately aware of his clean, woodsy scent and the warmth and confidence of his touch.