Champagne Venom (Orlov Bratva, #1)(65)

But even after that show of force, Petyr sent a car to crash into us. Just so he could kill Misha.

Now, he’s here, and I don’t have thirty-two guns. I don’t even have one gun. What I do have is Misha’s baby in my belly. And somehow, I don’t think that will do anything to endear me to Petyr Ivanov.

“We have to go,” Rowan echoes, as if I don’t already know that.

The moment we step out of the coffee shop, I doubt my decision. Maybe we should have stayed put. I could have called Misha to come get us.

But that could have put him in danger.

My one solace is that we’re on a crowded street. There’s very little Petyr can do openly, right?

Right?

“Where is he?” Rowan whispers in my ear as we start walking down the road. “Do you see him?”

“No. I—”

“Hello, ladies.” Petyr steps out of the alleyway between the coffee shop and the building next door, a warm smile plastered across his gaunt features. “How funny, running into you here.”

I can feel Rowan tense by my side. I know enough about her past to know that she has a fear of angry men. I put myself in front of her and stare Petyr down.

“It’s not so funny when it’s planned,” I growl. “I hate to break it to you, Mr. Ivanov—”

“Call me Petyr,” he says warmly. “Please.”

I glare at him, hiding how taken aback I am by his boldness. “If you’ll excuse us, Petyr, we have to get back to work.”

“Surely, you can spare a few minutes to talk to a friend.”

“For a friend? Sure,” I agree. “But I don’t see any friends here.”

“You wound me, Ms. Masters,” he says. “But perhaps you’re right. We’re not friends. Yet. I have a feeling we could be, though.”

“Not as long as I work for Misha Orlov.”

“That’s true. The man you work for is dangerous.”

I snort. “He is dangerous?”

“You saw what he did that day on my property. He had dozens of guns pointed at me. All while I was unarmed.”

“You threatened him!”

“A natural reaction to being cornered, don’t you think? Or did you expect me to bend over and play dead? I have my pride, Ms. Masters.”

“Is that why you sent that car to crash into us?” I demand. “To soothe your wounded pride?”

He lifts his chin in defiance. “I had nothing to do with that crash. It was an unfortunate coincidence.”

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” I say. “I believe in powerful men and their egos, though. I know what you did. What you’ve done.”

“You have heard his version of what I have done. Maybe one day, you’d like to hear mine.”

“What I would like is for you to get out of our way and let us go about our day,” I snap.

His eyes flash, and I can see the anger there. But I can also see that I’ve made an impression.

Apparently, he assumed I would be an easy mark. Some damsel he could intimidate by merely showing up.

He assumed wrong.

“Listen, Paige—”

“I think she made it pretty clear that she’s done talking to you, Petyr.”

My head swivels in the direction of Misha’s voice. He’s standing on the curb, radiating fury and barely held-in violence.

“Well, well. Now, this is an unexpected surprise.” Petyr turns to face Misha. “Who would have thought that Misha Orlov would come to the rescue of a lowly secretary? Unless, of course, she’s more than she seems.”

“Walk away, Petyr,” Misha snarls. “Or so help me God, you will never walk anywhere again.”

For a moment, they just stare at each other. I can feel Rowan shaking by my side. I grab her hand and hold on as tightly as I can.

Finally, Petyr drops his gaze. “This is not the time or the place. But one day… soon.”

Petyr backs away and Misha takes the opportunity to grab me by the arm and pull me along after him.

He doesn’t relax until we’re back inside Orion. Even then, the intensity in his eyes tells me that he’s far from being calm.

“Rowan,” I say in a strained voice, “why don’t you head on upstairs? I’ll be there in a moment.”

She glances one last time at Misha and then hurries off, taking my laptop with her.

I turn towards Misha. “Thanks for that. But how did you know where we—”

“What the fuck were you thinking?” he explodes at me.

I jerk back, shocked at the tone of his voice. Not to mention that we’re still in the lobby. The receptionist and security officers on duty are all fighting not to look at us.

Misha must realize the same thing because he grabs my arm and drags me into one of the elevators.

The moment the doors close, he turns the full force of his gaze on me.

“This is why I insisted you have a driver and fucking security. So that Petyr fucking Ivanov can’t just fucking walk up to you in the fucking middle of the fucking street.”

“Why are you mad at me?” I yell back. “How was I supposed to know that he would track me down?”

“Because the man is unhinged! Because he will stop at nothing to get at me. You are carrying my baby, Paige. If he figures that out, then you will be his first target.”