Dirty Passions An Interracial Russian Mafia Romance (The Lion and The Mouse #5) - Kenya Wright Page 0,15

jeweled stick down. “Your answers to all solutions will come from within, from your deepest truth. All you have to do is follow your heart and look to your soul, and all solutions will come. The Devil will disappear. The illusions will be revealed. And the thing that you want most of all will be right there.”

“Hmmm.”

My phone rang.

I pulled it out of my pocket. “Yes?”

Pavel spoke, “Emily is heading to the Vnukovo airport.”

I clenched my jaw. “Shut it down.”

“Yes, sir.”

I hung up the phone and returned to Baba.

The old woman studied me. Humor creased every wrinkle. “If you want her back, then get rid of the bombs.”

“I stopped.”

“They need to leave Paris.”

“Is that what your visions and cards say or are you pleading as a fellow Parisian?”

“All of the above.” Baba gave me a sad smile. “I told you days ago that your mouse brings you love. She gives you balance. Without her, you will only have death and madness. Do you want the fate of those before you?”

I thought of Uncle Igor sitting on his throne with his dead wife lying underneath. My throat went dry.

“Have you heard the expression that behind every great man is a great woman? It is true whether most men want to believe it or not.” Baba wagged her finger at me. “And the woman in question usually is a wife or a mother.”

She smiled. “Maybe even a grandmother, but the observation is that no man gets to be great all alone and within a vacuum. Some woman, somewhere, had a hand in that man’s survival and success.”

I tapped my fingers against the desk, not knowing what I should do with my hands.

She gathered all of the cards together, grabbed her stick, and rose. “That’s it.”

“That wasn’t much.”

“You will be back.”

“I doubt it. You can return to Paris, if you want.”

“While you bomb the city? I think not.”

“I’ll stop bombing.”

“But will you remove the bombs?”

I leaned forward. “Will she return, if I do?”

“Of course.” Baba smirked. “You know a lot of things, lion, but women aren’t as complicated as the world says they are. It’s all lies in the end. Propaganda. We are not that difficult. She left because you bombed Paris. Stop and she will return. Get rid of the bombs, and she will be in your arms. It’s all quite simple.”

Deep within my chest, my heart ached.

Her smile left. “But you want revenge.”

“I do.”

“When you were alone, you stored your rage in the undercarriage of your heart. Now she’s deep within your heart, and there’s no room for anger anymore.” Baba walked away. “Call me, when you want the next reading.”

“You were wrong before. . .about the baby.”

“Baba is never wrong.” Chuckling to herself, she glanced over her shoulder. “You should give Emily a gift too. Women like gifts. Flowers are a good choice. But for a bombing. . .you should consider diamonds.”

With that, she left my office.

If she had been a man, I might’ve killed her just because she made me feel childish and stupid. Sighing, I waited for Pavel to call. My mouse could not get on any plane. She couldn’t leave the city.

But she’s smart. She’ll think of something. She always finds a way.

I scanned the emptiness of my office. With her absence, she’d made this place a desolate space.

I should have begged her to stay.

Minute by minute, I grew undone by her absence.

Although it annoys me, Baba is right.

Long ago, my heart had been stone. Callous and cold to the touch. And then for the first time I met my mouse’s gaze, and every part of me came alive. Her eyes served as galaxies to get lost in. Cosmos constantly crashing constantly into each other. Never burning away but glowing and getting stronger.

Already, I miss her, and it hasn’t even been an hour. How could she leave me breathless like this, from so many miles away?

Deep inside, I knew what I had to do. I wished there was a book that taught someone how to swallow their pride. Today would be another first for me.

You’re always teaching me, Emily. I think I’ve learned my lesson, but are we truly done.

Chapter 3

Hide and Seek

Emily

I stood in line, waiting to get to Aeroflot’s counter. It was the largest airline of the Russian Federation. Kaz had told me long ago that the Russian Government owned 51% of the company.

Max was at my side. “Did you notice all the airlines closing over there?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you think that’s about?” Max scanned the