Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
I swing around and bare my gritted teeth at him. I’m about to tell this asshole where to go when the door opens, and a very handsome man in a suit walks in.
“Miss Masters?”
I take in his nice suit and shiny shoes. “Yes?”
“Agent Garrett Michaels with the FBI.” He gives me a smile that’s right off the pages of a magazine. Perfect white teeth. Dimples. “Is this gentleman harassing you?”
Immediately, Zell’s back straightens. “What the fuck—?”
“Leave.” The FBI agent doesn’t bother to look at him as he issues his dismissal.
But Zell puffs out his chest, ready to take on the alpha dog that’s just walked into the room. “Now listen here—”
Agent Michaels swings his bright blue eyes in Zell’s direction, and they’re blazing with blue fire. “No, you listen here, you fucking ass. I could hear you squawking like a fucking goose all the way down the goddamn hall. This woman is a witness, not a suspect. You hear me? Now, how about you take your little notebook and pen, and go find someone else to annoy. The FBI has jurisdiction on this case, meaning you’re no longer needed.” He walks to the door and opens it. “That’s your clue to leave, asshole.”
Zell opens his mouth but closes it again when Agent Michaels levels him with a look of warning.
Put in his place, Zell retreats out of the room, looking butthurt. But not before he issues a threat. “You’ll be hearing from my supervisor.”
Which doesn’t faze the FBI agent one bit.
“I look forward to it. Don’t forget to tell him my credentials. Agent Garrett Michaels. Badge number 0266625D.”
He closes the door and turns back to me.
“Thank you,” I say to him.
He gives me a smile. “You okay?”
“No, Lev and Igor were hurt, and possibly a third person, and no one will tell me if they’re alive or dead.” My emotion surges forward, bringing tears. “Please, are they dead?”
My hand slides to my belly.
Bracing myself.
Agent Michaels’ face is all hard lines and a square jaw, but it softens in the presence of my tears.
“Lev is alive and sedated. He’s going to be okay.”
The relief rushes over me like a shower of warm water, and I let out a rough exhale. “Oh, thank God.”
I rub my belly and let out another deep breath.
“And Igor?”
“He’s alive. But he’s critical. The odds aren’t good.”
My relief is quickly followed by a wave of sadness for the friendly giant.
I think of him and Enya in the garden and their stolen glances in and around the mansion. Enya is going to be brokenhearted.
“There was a third person,” Agent Michaels says. “He died instantly. He must have been the one to open the car door and take the full force of the explosion. Do you know who it might be?”
One of Lev’s men?
Lev mentioned he was going to start training a new driver for me. Could it be him?
I shake my head. “I’m sorry, I don’t know.”
“Identification is going to be difficult. Considering he’s in parts in the morgue.”
I frown at Agent Michaels’ insensitivity. But I figure you’d have to be a little desensitized as an FBI agent.
“I need to see Lev and Igor,” I say, sliding off the bed and reaching for a blanket to wrap around my shoulders.
“You need to rest,” Agent Michaels says. “It’s been a big twenty-four hours, and you’ve got the baby to think about.”
I spin around to look at him. “How do you know I’m pregnant?”
He smiles and it’s not as nice as it was when he first walked in. Now it seems a little… fake. “I’m the FBI. I know everything about you, Brooke Rachael Masters, born June 20 to Ivy and Michael Masters.”
My spine begins to tingle, and I swallow thickly. I don’t think Agent Michaels is the ally I thought he was. “What do you want?”
“I just want to talk.”
“I need to see Lev.”
I try to move past him, but he puts out a hand to stop me.
“In time, you can see him, but before then, you and I need to talk.”
Frustrated, I snap. “Sorry, but I’m all talked out about the explosion tonight.”
I’m going to find Lev, and no one, not even this blue-eyed titan, is going to stop me.
“I don’t want to talk about the explosion,” he says, removing a tray of nicotine gum from the breast pocket of his jacket and popping a piece of gum into his mouth.
I look at him, surprised. “You don’t?”
He shakes his head, and those bright blue eyes sharpen on me.
“No, Miss Masters. I want to put Lev Zarkov behind bars for his crimes. And you’re going to help me do it.”
4
LEV
It hurts like a motherfucker.
I’m riding a wave of pain when I wake up. The pounding in my skull feels like I’m being pistol-whipped. My eyelids are heavy and hard to open, and when I do, all I can see is hazy white light. I move, and every muscle in my body protests.