Page 60 of His Forbidden Obsession

I snorted. “Ivanov is a monster.”

“He is, but I was hoping he would be a useful monster.”

We shouldn’t be working with a man like that,” Rafael said.

A cutting look from Remington silenced him again. “Speaking of people with no discretion or the ability to value their life. I’ve warned you enough, Rafael. Show respect and be obedient, or you will go exactly where I plan to send Dimitri and Ivanov.”

“So we’re taking them down?” I tried to ignore the fact that he’d threatened my brother’s life. I doubted he was serious.

“We are. I discovered why Ivanov was willing to make such a deal with Dimitri. Nikolai is certainly a beautiful young man, but Ivanov has many avenues for procuring his toys.”

I started to speak, but Remington shook his head. “You’re getting my help with Nikolai. Don’t push me.”

I dug my fingernails into my palms. I wanted to grab Remington by the collar, yank him up, and punch his smug face, but I needed him. How could I keep Rafe from popping off if I couldn’t control myself? “What does Ivanov really want?”

“Dimitri has made a connection with the Lopez family. He has a direct line to Carlos himself. If he can cut a deal to sell weapons to them, his profits will skyrocket.”

“Fuck me,” Rafe said.

“Right.” Remington had no argument there.

“So Ivanov wants in on it,” I said.

“Exactly. He’s offered money for the marriage contract, and he’s contracted Dimitri’s wife and his daughter, trying to lure them in. He plans to destroy Dimitri and take over his business.”

“We can’t let Ivanov have that kind of power. Think what he’d do with the Lopez connection.”

“I know. That’s why we’re going to take out both of them and anyone else who chooses to stay loyal. I have no love for the Kozlovs, but I’d rather see Boris in control of the local Russians than Ivanov. And if we blow this up, the Lopez family will stay far away from the heat.”

“So how will we accomplish this?” Dante asked.

Before Remington could answer, a crash had all of us jumping up and pulling out our guns.

At the sound of our weapons cocking, a young woman stepped out from where she’d been hiding in the hallway. “I’m here as a friend,” she said, her Russian accent thick.

“A friend who was spying on us. Who are you, and how the hell did you get in here?” Remington asked. We kept our guns raised but made no move toward her.

“I’m Alina Ivanov, and I came in through the kitchen door. I told your guard I was the cleaning lady.”

“You escaped from your father?” I asked.

“Yes. I used the same trick I did before. Some people never learn.”

Rafe laughed, and I slapped his arm to shut him up.

Alina stared at him. “You have a monkey.”

“He belongs to a friend.”

“We’re not discussing that now,” Remington said. He pulled out his phone and called his head of security. I got the sense the kitchen guard might not survive the night. When he ended the call, he said, “Have any of you met Alina before?” We all shook our heads. “So how do we know you’re who you say you are? Do you have a way to prove your identity? Or a reason why we shouldn’t shoot you right here?”

“I know your family plays by old-fashioned rules. You don’t shoot unarmed women.”

Remington looked at Dante. “Check her for weapons.”

She sighed but submitted to the search. Dante made his search quickly. “She’s clear.”

“I can tell you a lot of things about my father. His plans. His past crimes. I would’ve killed him if I could have, but I couldn’t do that and get away.”