"Was she more than a friend?" Lyvana asked.
Julian kept one hand on the steering wheel and reached over with the other, interlacing his fingers with hers.
"We went on two dates, Lyvana. Nothing more. Our families knew each other, and there was a ti when my father dropped hints about a match, but it didn’t work out."
He glanced at her, a teasing glint in his eyes. "I hope you are not jealous?"
"No," Lyvana lied, looking out the window.
Julian chuckled, squeezing her hand. "Yes, you are."
"Well, she is pretty. And she’s a doctor. A very talented, very professional doctor who looks like she stepped out of a shampoo comrcial."
Julian laughed at her description. He didn’t let go of her hand. Instead, he brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
"She is a doctor," he agreed. "But she’s not you. Actually, if I rember correctly, the second date ended early because I told her I had to get back to a shipnt of industrial steel. She didn’t find the logistics of construction very romantic."
Lyvana couldn’t help it, a small giggle escaped her. "You talked about steel on a date?"
"I was trying to be boring, it worked."
He pulled the car to a smooth stop in front of the quiet, flower-lined walkway of her grandmother’s house.
"We’re here," he said softly, then leaned over and brushed a soft kiss on her cheek. "Are you sure you don’t want to co in and say hello?"
Lyvana smiled. "No, not yet."
He leaned in once more, pressing a firm, lingering kiss to her lips.
"Call Marco the second you’re done," he instructed. "Don’t try to walk to the corner or call a cab. He’s parked two houses down and he’ll be watching the entrance the entire ti. He’ll take you straight ho."
Lyvana nodded.
He watched her walk up the path, waiting until she was safely inside the house before driving off.
Inside, Mark t her at the door before she could even take off her coat. Without a word, he pulled her into his arms and gave her a m kiss.
Lyvana’s body went rigid.
Every instinct told her to shove him away, to wipe the taste of him from her lips, but she forced herself to stay still. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lady Glowen standing in the archway, with a warm smile on her face.
....
Julian sat in a high-backed steel chair at the head of a long table. The warehouse was cold and slling of oil and old concrete. Around him, several ard n stood like shadows against the corrugated walls.
Ethan leaned over a map, gesturing toward the shipping docks. He was deep in a discussion with two other n about the flow of the empire — illegal shipnts, secret alliances, and the kind of power that stayed hidden in the dark.
Beside Julian, Lily scribbled notes in a leather book.
"The shipnt from the Antwerp exchange is securely in the vault," Ethan said, tapping a finger on a high-resolution photo of raw, uncut diamonds. "But the middleman in Dubai is getting greedy. He’s holding back the certificates we need to move them into the legal market."
One of the other n scowled, resting his hand on the table. "He wants a larger cut for ’insurance.’ He thinks because the route changed, he can rewrite the deal."
"If we don’t move them by Friday, the price drops," Ethan continued, his voice dropping to a low, serious tone. "And there are rumors that a rival family is trying to outbid us for the next haul. We need to decide how to handle the Dubai contact before he leaks the—"
Ring. Ring.
The sharp sound cut through the heavy silence of the warehouse.
Julian reached into his pocket. He looked at the screen, and his cold, hard expression vanished instantly and a small smile touched his lips.
It was Lyvana.
He raised a hand, silencing the room.
"Hey, baby," Julian said, his voice dropping into a low, warm tone that none of the n had ever heard before. "Is everything okay? Did you finish with your grandmother?"
"Yes. Marco says you want to go to the penthouse."
"Yes, my love," Julian replied. A soft smile broke across his face, completely erasing the cold predator who had been sitting there seconds ago. "I want you where it’s safe."
The ard guards exchanged stunned looks, their hands still hovering near their weapons. They had seen Julian order hits without blinking, but they had never heard him sound like this. Romantic.
"Do you think it’s wise?" Lyvana asked.
"Very wise."
"Ok, but just for tonight. Will you be coming?"
"Definitely. I’ll be there soon, okay? Just rest and I’ll be there as soon as I can."
Julian’s smile lingered as he ended the call. He tucked the phone back into his pocket, his expression shifting back to its usual cold mask.
"Continue, Ethan."
Ethan cleared his throat, picking up where he left off. "So, about the Dubai contact... we can either pay him off or—"
Julian cut him off with a raised hand. "Neither. Send a ssage to the middleman. Tell him we’re willing to et. We’ll handle it in person."
The n nodded.
"Now, I need to find Arthur Reed. I want to have a conversation with him."
"Is the chairman aware of this. Reed is... protected by rivals," Ethan said.
"Very much aware. He’s been hiding behind our rivals for too long. If they want to start a war over a snake like Reed, let them try. If you have that bastard, the chairman and I will go and see him personally."
After two hours, the eting ended.
Elsewhere, at the old shipyard, another eting was taking olace. A black car with tainted windows waited in the shadows.
Mark walked up to it. A large guard with hard face stood by the door. He opened the back seat and Mark stepped inside.
Catalina sat in the back seat with her legs crossed. she was typing sothing on a tablet and holding a glass of dark wine. She did not even look up to see him.
"You’re late," she said coldly.
"The traffic was heavy," Mark said.
User Comments
0 comments from readers