“No.”
My heart beats a little faster than normal as an apprehensive feeling slithers down my spine.
Chill, Georgi. She’ll work in a controlled environment on our turf.
I let out another heavy sigh. “Just be careful, Raya.”
She drinks some of her water, then asks, “Why the change of heart?”
Shaking my head, I let out a chuckle. “Dad sat me down before we left New York. He said you’re unhappy, and I have to ease up on you.”
Her expression turns somber, and she lowers her gaze to the dishes on the table. “I get that we live in a dangerous world and you’re just doing your best to keep me safe, but sometimes it’s suffocating.” She meets my eyes again, and I feel the intense emotions coming off her in waves. “Dad’s right. I want more from life. At some point, I want to settle down and have children, and I can’t do that if you chase off every man I try to date.”
A frown settles on my forehead, and I narrow my eyes. “How did we go from me making you the underboss to talking about dating and having babies?”
Raya throws a hand in the air and rolls her eyes before tilting her head and giving me a stubborn look. “I thought you were easing up on me?”
“I am.” I lean forward and rest my elbows on the table.
Her left eyebrow pops up. “Only with work?”
“For now.” I give my sister a pleading expression. “One step at a time, Raya. We can talk about you dating in a year or so.”
“Jesus. My ovaries are going to dry up at some point. You know this, right?”
Exhaling a huff, I get up from the table and mutter. “We’ll be late for the meeting if we don’t leave now.”
She echoes my huff as she walks to her bedroom to get her handbag. When she returns, I’m surprised by the gratefulsmile she gives me. “Thank you for making me your second-in-command. It means a lot to me.”
When we leave the suite and step out into the hallway, I murmur, “Give me time to get used to you being my second-in-command, then we can talk about you getting married.”
Raya playfully nudges her shoulder against my arm. “Okay.”
Chapter3
Georgi
The road narrows the closer we get to Atanas Petkov’s home, the city falling away behind us until there’s nothing but quiet stretches of asphalt and high walls.
Santino slows the vehicle as the gate comes into view, and I take in the cameras around the boundary walls.
An armed guard steps out of a security booth and exchanges a few sentences with Santino, then he steps back and signals to the other guard in the booth.
The gates begin to swing open, and when Santino steers the car through them, I glance over the front yard that’s immaculately kept. Trimmed lawns on either side of a long paved driveway, and evenly spaced trees lead straight to the mansion.
We pass by two more men standing off to the side, one near a parked SUV, the other positioned with a clear view of the entire driveway.
The house comes into full view as we round the last bend, stone and glass, built solid for security. The front doors sit at the top of a short set of steps, where two more men stand, their tense postures telling me they’re ready for action.
Santino brings the car to a stop in front of the steps and cuts the engine.
“Ready?” Raya asks, her tone filled with apprehension.
“Yes. Let’s hope this meeting plays out in our favor.” I shove my door open, and climbing out, I wait for Raya to join me. As we take the steps, one of the guards indicates for us to stop, andI allow him to pat me down, but when he moves in my sister’s direction, I growl, “Don’t dare touch her.”
I might not be armed, but I know hundreds of ways to kill a man. Between Santino and me, we’ll be able to disarm the two guards and defend ourselves. It’s the only reason I agreed to leave our weapons behind.
The guard’s eyes snap to mine, and for a moment, he hesitates before he presses a button on the two-way radio strapped to his shoulder. He speaks Bulgarian, but I understand enough of the language to understand that he’s asking for Ms. Nikolova to come to the front door.