pick up the lie, sending me a glare. Behind the goggles, her eyes looked comically large. “You have to have a degree to be a scientist, Konstantin,” she said coldly.
“Perhaps you can get one when you’re finally free.”
“What else am I going to do? I won’t have to waste my time being nice to mob bosses anymore.”
My eyebrows rose. “You think you’re nice, Elena?”
She sent me a venomous look, “If you knew how mean I could be, then you wouldn’t be asking something so stupid.”
I smirked. “How mean can you be?”
Elena went to retort but fell strangely quiet. Uncertainty flashed over her face.
Filippa looked rapidly between the two of us.
Recovering quickly, Elena turned her cheek to me, her way of telling me to fuck off without actually saying the words. Too bad for her I didn’t have plans to be anywhere else—well, anywhere nearly as fun.
“Let’s leave Miss Kozlov to her work,” I said. Filippa’s cheeks went pink.
Elena thinned her lips but didn’t argue. She was too eager to delve further into the lab.
We left Filippa—the woman thanking Elena quietly for her help—and walked further into the room. Elena ran her eyes over the lab, her brow furrowing as she took in the bricks of merchandise.
“This lab produces heroin,” I answered before she could ask.
“I know,” Elena said. “I could smell the poppy seeds.”
We reached the end of the room, which also happened to be the quietest area. A spare desk rested against the wall, half-forgotten items sprawled across it. But still close enough to the sink and gas points to be useful.
“You haven’t told me why you need a lab in the first place,” I said as she inspected the equipment.
Without looking up, Elena replied, “I don’t want to get your hopes up.”
I doubted that was her reasoning. “While I appreciate your concern, I’m not an idiot. I understand the severity of Tatiana’s condition.”
Elena placed down the beaker she had been holding. “If I told you, then what would your incentive be to keep me in New York?”
“I think it would surprise you.”
She glanced at me over her shoulder. “I’m not saying.”
She would tell me eventually; there was no use scaring her. The fear of going back to Chicago was too much.
“Very well. As long as you keep me updated,” I said. “And don’t cheat me out of merchandise.”
Elena snorted. “Trust me, I have no interest in that shit.”
“Not a recreational drug user? One of Thaddeo’s rules or your own?”
“People who do that crap are insane—and clearly don’t know what’s in it,” Elena sniped.
“Ah, perhaps you’re right,” I mused. “But how else would they relax or feel energetic? How else would they forget their rent due the next day, their broken hearts, their useless yearning to do something important?”
Elena’s mouth grew taut.
“Maybe you have more in common with them than you think.”
“Maybe both of us do,” she sniped, green eyes latching onto me. “Or is sharing characteristics with the common folk beneath you?”
I felt my own irritation stir ever so slightly. Did she truly think I was one of them? Anything less than a king? “What do you know about the common folk, Elena?”
“More than you.”
“That I sincerely doubt.” I smiled at her. “Maybe one day I’ll tell you just how much more I know.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t waste your breath. I don’t want to hear it.”
“We’ll see.” The arrogance in my tone made her tense. “Until then, enjoy your lab. My original offer remains; if you need anything, let me know.”
Elena turned back to the setup. Very quietly, so quietly I almost thought I had imagined it, she murmured, “Thank you.”
It seemed science was the way to Elena’s affections. I filed that thought away, said goodbye to the staff, and left the lab. Roman had already spoken to the guards on site and told them to keep an eye on her. Keep her safe and away from any knowledge that could compromise my operation.
Roman was uncharacteristically silent as we walked through the orchard.
“Say it, Roman,” I said over the crisp October breeze.
“I have nothing to say.”
I laughed. “I have known you since you were a young man. You have something to say.”
Roman stepped up beside me, expression hard. “She distracts you, Kostya.”
My smile froze on my face. “Is that so?”
“You have never taken a woman to the lab, or on tours. And you have certainly never let one speak to you the way Elena does.”
My byki came from a place of concern, of protection. But his worry