Tempted & Taken (Men of Haven #4)(94)
Deadpan and without so much as a blip to his casual demeanor, Sergei turned his gaze on Jace. “I accomplish my task.”
“That’s shite,” Axel said. “A hit this big, one you’ve put a nice lass like Darya at risk for, there’s gotta be something sweet for you in the end.”
Silence filled the loft.
Sergei held utterly still for long seconds until he turned his gaze on Darya, something Knox could only describe as approval shining behind his eyes. “You’ve chosen well in your new life.” He folded his hands in his lap, a refined movement a father from some upper-crust family might take before he lectured a disobedient daughter. “Perhaps you could give me a minute with your protectors, moya zvyozdochka?”
Darya studied him a moment, then slid her attention to Knox.
Knox squeezed her hip, hoping she’d take the gesture as the encouragement he intended it to be. Yeah, it was her life and future that was predominately on the line, but if what Sergei had to say was bad enough to keep it a secret from a woman he considered a little sister, then Knox damned sure didn’t want her exposed unnecessarily. He glanced back at Sylvie and Ninette and motioned toward his suite. “How about if you two help Darya get the rest of her stuff unpacked and figure out what else she needs from her apartment.”
For once, neither Sylvie or Ninette added any snarky quips to Knox’s not-so-subtle direction. But then, Sergei wasn’t one of them, and one thing his mothers would never do was undermine family in front of a stranger.
With a soft kiss that went way too fast for Knox and a brotherly hug for Sergei, Darya made her way to Knox’s suite, Ninette and Sylvie trailing right behind.
The door had barely shut when Sergei spoke. “You are correct. My reward is significant.” He paused and stared out the row of windows overlooking the industrial district and I-45. “I was educated in the United States. You have much here to appreciate.”
Always impatient with unnecessary theatrics, Beckett chimed in. “Not seeing how that ties to any kind of payback.”
Sergei dragged his attention away from the windows and locked on to Beck. “It ties because I want to make your country my home. Dispatching Ruslan will earn me the right to start my own family. Here, in the place of my choosing.”
Well, fuck.
Not exactly the gory info bomb he’d expected after politely asking Darya to leave the room, but still a bomb all the same. Especially since family in Sergei’s context didn’t mean a wife and two-point-five kids.
Jace cocked his head. “So, you’d be branching out.”
Sergei nodded. “Indeed. And I would be indebted to the men who aided me in doing so.”
“You can’t seriously think I’d trade Darya’s safety to earn future payback.” Knox said.
“The payback, as you call it, would be a benefit, yes. But you forget who would benefit the most.”
Darya.
Sergei didn’t have to say it. Everyone in the room knew Ruslan had to be eliminated to make her safe. Still he kept going. “No more running. No hiding. Her name could be her own.” He grinned and tilted his head as if throwing down the ultimate dare. “Or yours.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
One thing Darya had learned about Dallas weather in the last many months was that it had a way of keeping you on your toes. True it wasn’t as cold as Russia, but it wasn’t predictable like San Diego either. More like a passionate child with a penchant for moodiness.
Curled up on the buttery soft leather sofa in Knox’s home office, Darya stared out at the slate gray clouds coating the horizon. Where most of the day had shone with sunlight and heat so fierce it made the air waver off the tar-covered rooftop across the street, a powerful cold front had forged its way through near six o’clock, spawning a round of thunderstorms so fierce the thunder made the whole building shake. Now rain pelted the windows and every few minutes shards of lightning pierced the landscape.
The patter of Knox’s fingers against his keypad served as a constant white noise. Almost nonstop, he’d been glued to his computer, pausing only long enough to check on her and stretch his legs. Even during his brief intermissions, his mind was obviously still at work. Never in the time since she’d worked with him had she seen him this focused. This fixated on one thing.
And she hated it.
Hated knowing that whatever he was buried in was because of her, but more so because she missed his lightness. His quirky sense of humor and razor-sharp wit.
Damn Ruslan.
Stretched out lengthwise on the sofa with her elbow braced on the back, she fisted her hand and pressed it against her mouth. Her whole damned life had been one defensive maneuver after another. First rebounding from her mother’s loss. Then running from Ruslan and losing Yefim and JJ. True, she’d been shocked and a little terrified when Sergei had shared his reasons for leaking her existence to Ruslan, but the more she thought about it, the more she saw the wisdom in his plan. For once in her life, she had the chance to take the offense instead of mere reaction. There was power in that. Freedom.
She shut her laptop and slid it onto the chocolate leather ottoman beside her. From her place across the room, she couldn’t make out any of the code displayed on Knox’s computer screens, but she’d bet their future he was looking for a way into Ruslan’s networks. Some foothold that would give him the advantage he needed to make her safe.