The next morning, the car glides through the city streets while I’m tucked into the backseat beside Konstantin, every inch of his body a ma to mine even as I try to pretend he’s invisible.


    Thank God Caleb wasn’t out front when he came to pick me up. One run-in was more than enough. Hopefully after seeing the possessive beast that showed up at my door, he got the message loud and clear.


    Konstantin sits close enough that his scent—wood, spice, leather—wraps around me, making it impossible to ignore him. I can feel his stare, heavy and greedy, burning into my skin.


    But I refuse to look. The less attention I give him, the better. He likes the chase. He lives for it. And if he thinks I’m just another easy game, he’ll be very disappointed.


    “We have a very busy day ahead.” A strong handnds on my thigh, like he doesn’t need permission to touch me.


    If he was anyone else, I’d have broken his hand by now.


    When I nce over, I instantly regret it. His navy suit molds to his body like a second skin, stretching over hard biceps and a broad chest I have no business thinking about. One of those arms could easily pin me down while he…


    I shift in my seat, crossing my legs and squeezing. He catches the movement, his eyes gleaming. God help me, it only makes me hotter, and all I feel now is the shame thates after I get these thoughts about thest man I should ever want.


    “I left a list on your deskst night,” he goes on. “I expect it to bepleted before the end of the day.”


    “Won’t be a problem, sir.” I let my mouth curve into a faint smile just to needle him.


    His nostrils re, and his gaze drops to my lips without even trying to hide it. I shift again, desperate to relieve the ache blooming low and deep in my core.


    In the next second, his arm slides around my waist, dragging me further into him with startling force. I’m flush against his side, the heat of his body searing straight through my dress. His hand cups my jaw, thumb grazing the corner of my mouth.


    “Does your rule about no kissing still stand, or will you finally let me taste you?” he murmurs, rough enough to sandpaper my willpower away.


    I blink up at him, the memory of what I told him slicing through my haze of desperation.


    No kissing. Kissing is too intimate. Too dangerous. Kissing is for people who mean something.


    Konstantin means nothing.


    “It stands,” I whisper, but it sounds like a lie even to myself.


    “Ty ubivayesh menya.” He fists my hair with a growl, a low and primal sound rumbling straight through my limbs.


    My thighs press tighter, but it’s useless. I’m already burning for him.


    I tell myself it’s theck of sex. The adrenaline. The deceit. But deep down, I know the truth.


    It’s him. Konstantin Marinov is a living, breathing addiction.


    And the worst part? He knows it too.<hr>


    The soft ck of keys fills the silence of Konstantin’s office as I work through thetest task he texted me:piling an updated list of hotel acquisitions and sending it to some offshore ount managers for review. Easy enough…especially considering the span of his empire.


    Casinos. Hotels. Investment portfolios sprawling across half the damn world. All tied together neatly under the pristine name Marinov Global Holdings.


    If only people knew what kind of bloodstained hands held the reins. The monster beneath the suit. The one who smiles in one breath and stabs you through the heart with the next.


    As I focus on the screen, movement outside the ss catches my eye. Three men pass by, walking in a tight formation like a pack of wolves.


    And I know immediately who they are: Aleksei, Kirill, and Anton. Konstantin’s brothers. They’re unmistakable. Tall, sharp-eyed, all of them carrying the same dark, dangerous air Konstantin wears like a tailored suit.


    Their eyes zero in on me, like they’ve found their next target. Aleksei’s eyes narrow as he jerks his chin toward the door, signaling for his brothers to follow him.


    They have no idea I know just as much about them as I do about their older brother.


    Like the way Aleksei murdered a rival gang member only to get away with it.


    Or the way Kirill tucks in his nine-year-old son, Lev, with the same hands he uses to murder a home full of people. The child whose mother left him when he was two after he was diagnosed with autism. But some people aren’t meant to be parents. I know that well.


    Anton, though? When you stare into his brown eyes long enough, it’s like there’s no soul within them. Like it’s been drained out of him, or maybe he was born without one.


    Maybe they all were.


    All I know is, if they ever find out, any one of them wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet through my head.


    As soon as they march inside, I’m ready for whatever questions they haveing my way. It’s why they’re here, I’d bet anything. They stop just short of the desk, and I offer them a polite smile even while my insides twist with vitriol.


    The whole family is poison. Not one redeeming quality about them.


    “Who are you?” Aleksei demands, his Russian ent thick with his contempt.


    “Hi there.” Asshole. “I’m the new personal assistant. And you are?” I tilt my head innocently, pretending I don’t wanna run them through the meat grinder.


    Kirill steps forward, the skull and rose tattoo that spills from the base of his neck to the side of his head flexing with the clench of his jaw. “Where’s Tanya?”


    I shrug lightly. “Mr. Marinov just hired me. You’d have to speak to him about that.” I sh a fake smile. “I’m just following orders.”


    For a moment, none of them move. Aleksei’s re rakes over me, thick fingers sliding through his perfectly coiffed strands, but I don’t dare flinch. It’s what they want me to do.


    Anton says nothing, though. He doesn’t need to. His dead-eyed look tells me everything: he’s already imagining a dozen ways to bury me if I ever slip up.


    Aleksei steps closer to my desk, knuckles tapping once against the edge.


    “You won’tst long,” he says, cool and detached.


    I don’t n to. Just need enough time to do what I came to do.


    “Thanks for stopping by.” I throw on a sweet, syrupy expression, and his eyes turn violent.


    It almost seems like he’ll say something, but then they all turn and march out, their footsteps heavy against the marble floor.


    I force myself to breathe normally, waiting until they’re out of sight before leaning back in my chair. Hopefully I don’t end up dead by sundown. I know exactly how cruel each one can be. How much blood stains their expensive shoes.


    But it’s all worth the risk. And when Nate walks out of that prison a free man, I’ll disappear from Konstantin’s world like a ghost.


    Stick to the n, Emilia.


    And whatever you do…


    Don’t fall for the devil holding the keys to your brother’s freedom.<hr>


    KONSTANTIN


    From my office, I watch the security feed on myptop, arms crossed loosely over my chest as my brothers corner her like a pack of hunters sizing up prey. Tessa doesn’t flinch.


    I like that. Very much.


    My eyes zero in on Aleksei as he leans in and stares like he’s ready to skin her alive. But she doesn’t let him get to her.


    My mouth curves. A woman like her would belong perfectly in my world.


    The fact that I’m making life ns where Ms. Monroe is concerned is very…unusual. But I’m not one to fight destiny. I let it take me where it’s meant to go, and if she’s where I belong, then I will wee it.


    The door opens without a knock, and I already know who it is. Aleksei strolls in first, followed by Kirill and Anton. They each take a seat around the conference table, and Aleksei’s eyes narrow, like I’m hiding something.


    “Kto ana?” Who is she?


    “What do you mean?” I give him an indifferent stare. “Just a new girl I hired. Is that a problem?”


    Kirill sneers. “So you fired Tanya for no reason? Without even saying a word to us? She’s not just some girl. Don’t give me that shit.”


    Of course there was a reason, but they don’t need to know that. They’ll think something’s wrong, that I’m losing my touch. Because I’d never have done what I did, hired some girl I knew nothing about, just because I couldn’t get her out of my mind. Even the thought makes me sound pathetic. And I’m far from it.


    Leaning in, I re at him. “I do not owe any of you an exnation. In case you’ve forgotten, I run this family.” I m a curled fist into my chest. “Me. Do not question my decisions again.”


    Aleksei’s and Kirill’s anger simmers in their irises. They hate to be reminded that I’m in charge of every aspect of our enterprise. I call the shots, and everyone else obeys. Anton simply stares, his dark eyes giving nothing away. But I know what he’s thinking.


    Are you investigating her? Is she a threat?


    The rest of the world may not be able to read him, but we can.


    Rising up, I head for the bar on the far side of the room, pouring myself a drink before returning to my seat.


    “She’s someone who caught my attention.” I meet their gazes one by one as I take a long sip of my vodka. “And when something catches my attention, I keep it close until I decide what to do with it.”


    Aleksei raises a brow. “That’s a dangerous game, brother.”


    I smile—an easy, lethal curve of my mouth.


    “When have you ever known me to y it safe?” I take another drag of my drink. “And speaking of danger, are you still following that prosecutor? What’s her name again?”


    “Fiona.” Kirill chuckles darkly under his breath, leaning back against the chair.


    “Ah, yes, the lovely Fiona. How is she?” Of course I know her name. We all do. “Is she still trying to put you in prison, or has she moved on to murder?”


    Aleksei’s anger radiates from every pound of flesh.


    “What do you n to do with her?” I ask. “Continue to stalk her? That isn’t polite, brother. Maybe invite her to dinner. So she can properly meet the family.”


    Hisugh escapes like a threat, a smug look on his face. “I know her every move before she does. And when I finally y my cards, she’s not going to see it. Because that woman…” He cracks his neck with a faraway look as though he’s picturing her. “She will get what’sing to her. I’ll make her pay for it with blood.”


    “You sound like you have a crush.” Kirillughs with a cold stare.


    “She’s thest woman I would ever touch.” Alexsei’s jaw clenches like he’s ready to rip Kirill’s head off…and I just had this office cleaned.


    “Kogo ty obmanyvayesh?” he scoffs. Who are you kidding?


    “Enough of that. Love will wait. We have business to discuss.” My tone sharpens.


    “I don’t love?—”


    I cut him off with a single stare. He groans, but shuts up. Because they know exactly why I called them all here.


    “Do we have a n to take out the DeLuca crew yet?” My vision darts between them.


    A beat of silence follows. We all want them gone. Erased, like they were never here to begin with. They shouldn’t even be as big of a problem as they have been in the past few months. They’re only a small-time New Jersey operation, and we were getting along just fine until they pissed it all away.


    Encroaching into territories they have no business touching. Unprovoked attacks on Marinov-aligned businesses that I know they’re connected to. Missing shipments. Whispers of alliances being formed with our other enemies.


    Kirill’s mouth tightens. “We’re working on it.”


    “Work faster. I want it done soon, and I want them to know it was us.” I roll the words slowly over my tongue.


    Anton speaks for the first time, voice low and t. “It will be done.”


    The mere fact that the DeLuca crew is still breathing down our necks like they think they have a shot? Uneptable. But this also has to be done right, and I know my brothers will get it done.


    “They’re like weeds.” I adjust my cuffs. “Cut them once, they grow back uglier. You want to kill the root, not the leaves.”


    Aleksei’s mouth tips up into a cold grin. “You want us to dig deeper?”


    “Yes.” I lean back, threading my fingers loosely. “I want to know exactly who they’ve been talking to. Who’s bankrolling them. Who’s got delusions of grandeur.”


    Because someone does. And if it ties back to anyone bigger, anyone stupid enough to think they can challenge us? Well…they’ll be dealt with the same way we deal with everything else.


    Ruthlessly. Efficiently. Without mercy.


    Anton gives a short nod, rising to his feet while Aleksei pushes off his chair, already pulling out his phone to start making calls.


    Kirill lingers a second longer, his eyes flicking toward the door before they zero in on me.


    “She’s pretty,” he says almost idly. “Let’s hope she’s not as fragile as she looks.”


    “She’s stronger than you think.” I lean forward, zeroing my attention on him. “And if any one of you touches a hair on her head, I promise you won’t live to regret it.”


    Kirill’s mouth curves into something dark. “Ostorozhno, brother. It almost sounds as though you like her.”


    He strides out after the others before I can get a word in.


    But that’s not what this is. I don’t just like her. I’m infatuated, and that is quite the predicament.


    When the door clicks shut behind them, I turn back toward the monitor showing the live feed of my office. Tessa’s still there at myputer,pletely unaware of the danger she’s in, what my brothers are truly capable of.


    But if they touch her, it’ll be thest thing they ever do.