THE FIXER

“Any word from Galina?”

“Sasha spoke to her. She’s fine, just lying low. She’s with Viktor.”

“Viktor who?” Ravil looks suspicious.

I shrug. “He was just a brigadier. I think he played bodyguard to Galina and Sasha. Who knows, maybe they were lovers.”

“Ah.”

“How are things shaking out in Moscow?”

“Leonid Kuznetsov and Ivan Lebedev both are claiming power. Whether they will divvy up Igor’s cells or one will kill the other remains to be seen.”

“Hmm. My money’s on Leonid, how about you?” I remember the cell pakhan. He was smart and ruthless. A little too greedy, a little too proud, but he’d make a decent leader.

“Same, yes. He’s asking for our support.”

“Did you give it to him?”

“Yes. I’d rather deal with him than Ivan. That man is unreasonable.”

“Agreed. So it doesn’t seem like Sasha or Galina were part of this coup? Have you heard anything?”

“No one seems to care. Other than the initial call when I heard Galina was missing, no one’s mentioned her again. No, I don’t think they were part of it.”

I exhale a breath I’d been holding since Ravil first called with the news when we were in California. “Thank fuck.”

“Yes.” Ravil considers me. “She’s becoming more willing?”

I remember the image of my beautiful bride on her back this morning, her legs over my shoulders, moaning my name. “We seem to be getting along.”

Ravil’s lips twitch. “Good. That’s better for everyone.”

“Tell me about it,” I say drily. For a while there, marrying Sasha felt like a prison sentence. I know she felt the same way. “I’m keeping her on constant watch until Dima’s worked out some kind of alarm system to let us know if any bratva member enters this country. Even without Sasha in the picture, it will be a good mechanism to have in place.”

“Yes. We don’t need Ivan sending someone over here to install his own team in our place. I already upped security on the building the moment Vladimir was killed.”

I nod, unsurprised. Ravil is a smart man.

“Sasha won’t try to run again?”

She might. I’m not dumb enough to think I have her tamed or that she trusts me. We seem to be getting along, but I know firsthand how she can flip on a dime. Still, when she ran, she didn’t run far, and she knew I’d follow. In other words, she didn’t run in earnest, she was just making me work.

“I can handle her.”

The bedroom door opens, and Sasha comes out in her running shorts. “I’m going for a run.” She has that haughty air about her that she had when I first brought her back.

“Not alone, you’re not.”

She ignores me and walks to the door. “Better hurry, then.”

Fuck me. I’m already in my running clothes because I anticipated her desire, but I scramble to grab my keycard and wallet. I catch her in the hall outside the penthouse, wrapping an arm around her waist to drag her back to me. “Hey. Hey. What’s the deal?”

When she fights me, I nail her up against the wall and pin her wrists beside her head. “Caxapok. What happened?” I try to look at her face, but she’s looking through me. I drop my face into her neck and nuzzle. “Why are you making me work? What did I do wrong?”

Her breath rasps between us for a moment. “What were you saying about me?” There’s accusation in her tone.

Aw, fuck. I rewind, trying to remember what I’d said to Ravil. What she’d heard.

I hold her wrists firmly and pin her with my most direct stare. “I was not being disrespectful, I swear on your father’s grave.”

She makes a scoffing sound and starts to look away, but her gaze bounces back to mine. She’s unsure. I don’t know what made her so damn insecure. A half an hour ago, we were in post-coital bliss, her tucked against my side purring. But I get it. Nobody likes to be talked about. It probably perpetuates that feeling that she’s not in charge of her own life.

“Ravil asked if you were going to keep running. I said I could handle you. I’m sorry. I did not mean to fuck this up. Did I hurt your feelings?”

I press a kiss to her temple, her cheek. Her nose.

“How are you going to handle me?” she asks sullenly. She’s sulking, but I can tell whatever barrier she’d thrown up is dropping.

“Hey.” I shift in front of her when she looks away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything other than that if you run, I’ll chase. You already know that, don’t you, lyubimaya?”

“Why was he asking?”

I narrow my eyes. “What’s this about?”

“Don’t gaslight me. I want to know why you two were discussing me.”

I release her wrists and straighten, realizing there’s something more seriously amiss here. She’s genuinely worried about something.

“Ravil’s my pakhan. We were discussing business. You’re part of our business now. If someone comes after you, Ravil’s cell-my cell-will be the ones who have to take care of it. That’s all.”

She swallows and nods, but I’m not certain I convinced her.

“Listen, I know it’s hard to trust. This marriage blindsided both of us, and your whole life changed in an instant. I’m sorry about that. But I’m not planning any more surprises. I’m not going to make decisions on your behalf unless it’s to protect you. You have my word.”Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

The fight goes out of Sasha, and she leans against the wall like it’s holding her up.

“Are we okay?”

She nods, but it looks a little shaky.

“You still want to run?”

Her nod quickens. “Definitely.”

I hit the elevator button and gesture toward it when the doors immediately open. “After you, caxapok.”