Taken By the Bratva Boss by Sarina Hart

Chapter Twenty

Leon

Imiss her. Her smell. Her smile. Her gorgeous body.

She made the house brighter, and now it’s dark, humorless. And even Anna is in a bad mood because she misses her too. She hasn’t painted or colored or even drawn a single pony on the wall. And we’re going through nannies again, like I have an endless stream of options.

Adrian walks into my office without a glance, but under his arm he has a brown envelope. The police file on the car bomb that killed McGrath. But his face is lacking its usual smile, the glimmer of mischief.

I take the envelope. “The kid came through.”

Instead of answering, he pulls out his phone. “Leon, we have a problem.”

These aren’t five unusual words. In my line of work, there’s always a problem. The big ones make it up the food chain to me. The smaller ones don’t. Even if he hadn’t brought it up, I would know this is a big one. His face leaves no question.

“All right.”

He turns the screen of his phone to me and there is a picture of Olivia and the kid loading what looks like boxes into a truck. “So?” It’s outside her apartment building. She’s moving. Big deal.

“Yeah.” I haven’t asked a question, but he turns the phone to himself and shows me a second picture. A license plate.

“A, I’m not the fucking DMV. Why do I need to see a license plate?” I’m not in the mood for more dramatics. What is it with these guys lately?

“Read the fucking plate, Leon.” He pushes the cell at me again and I take it from his hand this time.

I glance then stare then slam the phone on the desk. “What the fuck is our little computer guru doing driving Connor McGrath’s F150?” My blood is boiling. “I’ll kill that little fucker.” And I’m not fucking kidding. There’s a gun in my desk and two more in my car. By the time I’m done with the little shit, he’s going to be holier than the fucking pope.

Adrian follows me out. “He just moved to a new apartment. One of McGrath’s complexes just outside of the city.”

And the hits kept on coming.

“Do we have eyes on him right now?”

“No.” At least he has the good sense to look abashed. Ashamed. Apologetic.

But I’m a ball of rage. I move around him, slam him into the wall. “What? How the fuck can I kill the little bastard if we don’t know where he is?” Someone is going to die today. I’m too angry to be particular about who it is.

“If he isn’t there, we’ll set up and wait.” He’s the calm, rational one. Especially for a guy with my forearm crushing his windpipe. But this is too close. If her little friend is working for Connor, no way she didn’t at least know about it. She fucked me in every way she could.

I let Adrian go and breathe out. Panting. Huffing. My anger comes out of me in short bursts of air as I follow Adrian to his SUV parked in front. When I climb inside, I hold out my hand. “Let me see the fucking picture again.”

“There’s a bunch of them.”

I flip through looking for…and there it is. A hug. He’s touching her. Has his arms around her, and her head is flat against his chest. Jealousy whips through me, back and forth from my gut to my chest and back again.

I see red. Rage. Fury. Betrayal. And if I don’t do something, it’s going to kill me.

But instead of letting it out, I pull it back. save it. For them. “Put someone on finding her. I want her waiting for me at the warehouse when we’re finished here.” I hand him his phone and stare out the window. I’m a fucking fool. I almost let myself believe I was falling for her.

For a liar.

Someone who would touch me with such reverence then stab me from behind.

Fucking fuck!

Adrian handles the car like he does every other thing in his life. With precision. Speed. Any other day, I would appreciate it. Today, I want him driving like his life depends on getting me there.

Before I issue an order to speed up, I sit back and think. I need to do this well. Do it right. The kid is a dead man, but I need to make it count. I need to send him back to Connor in little pieces. But first, I need to know what he knows. How close he is to McGrath. How much she knows and told him.

The traitors will be dealt with.

We pull up to a modest duplex. Streets of them. Winding paths. If it wasn’t for the innocent lives, I would blow the whole fucking thing up. The anger is so strong. I’ve been lied to. Betrayed on such a scale I can’t even comprehend.

Adrian knows what to do. Steps out of the car, makes his way around to the back. He will shoot first and question later, but he aims for injury, not death. And that’s fine with me.

I knock on the front door instead of busting in. I don’t break it down because there’s no reason.

But when it swings open and she’s standing in front of me, my fury multiplies. “Olivia.”

Her eyes smile along with her mouth, and fuck if she isn’t the best actress I’ve ever seen. “Leon.” Her tongue slips along her lower lip and my cock twitches. My body doesn’t understand betrayal. But my gut does.

Of course, she fucking lives with him. Where else would she be? But I smile, tilt my head because two of us can play this game of hers.

“Come in…” She swings the door open and steps back and for a second, I think about it. “Jake’s gone so…”

Of course he is.

“I was thinking we could go for a ride.” I nod to the SUV.

“How did you know I was here?” And there it is. A flicker. A shadow in her eyes. “Jacob tell you?”

She knows damned well he didn’t, but I nod. Liars. Both of us. “How about that ride?”

Her fake smile is in place once again, and I can’t believe how real it looks, how hard the tug in my gut is, how much I hate her and want her and still… like her. Too much.

“Let me just get a jacket and my phone.”

“Yeah. Definitely bring your phone.” I want to see the evidence I know will be there. She’s not devious enough to play this game well, to know to delete things I can use against her. Her fucking wide-eyed innocence—the thing I’d liked so much about her—is going to be the downfall of Olivia Hudson.

I wait quietly while Adrian, who has checked the house for Jacob, comes around and climbs back into the car. He gives me a subtle head shake as he passes.

When she appears on the porch, I’m careful not to touch her. I don’t know that I can without punishing her and giving myself away.

“I’m glad you came by.” She smiles up at me as I open the door for her.

“Yeah?” She won’t be in a minute. Not smiling. And not glad.

I slide onto the seat beside her, and Adrian starts the SUV. This time, his driving is slower, more acceptable so as not to draw attention. Later on, I’ll bring a woman back here to the house and drop her off, kiss her at the door and leave. No one will miss Olivia for days. Because no one will know she hasn’t been brought back.

“Yeah. I’ve missed you.” She whispers the word because she’s suddenly shy in front of Adrian.

“Have you?” I smile at her like I’m not seething inside and hold out my hand. “Give me your phone.”

“What?” She’s holding it, looks down where her fingers curl around the screen.

“I’ll give it back.” I close my fingers and open them again, and she hands it over after she unlocks the screen. I didn’t need her to. I know the code, but it’s okay. The phone is going in the lake before day’s end.

I slide through the messages in her text app until I find his name then scroll through the conversations.

Jacob: What are you doing there? It’s not safe.

Olivia: We need information. Do you have a better idea?

Jacob: He’s a killer.

Olivia: Don’t worry. I’ll keep you updated.

My guts are boiling. The texts are from the day I gave her the phone back. The day I decided to trust her. Like a fool.

A fool who thought with his dick and now has to kill because of it.