Dirty Passions An Interracial Russian Mafia Romance (The Lion and The Mouse #5) - Kenya Wright Page 0,74

clue for me. Not you. When it comes to evil, human-sacrificing cults, I deal with them. Your focus is Kapotnya and meeting with your creepy friend.”

She frowned. “Kaz, clearly I would stay away from them, but I could at least do some research—”

“The Knights of Babylon are a nasty group. I don’t want you to be on their trail. For now, they may be the ones leaving dead animals. For them, that’s a nice gesture. Soon they can get bloodier. If this cult is involved, I want them gone, before things get out of hand.”

“Kaz, I don’t want you looking into them either, if it’s dangerous. We should do it together.”

“No.”

“I’m just saying. Together, we—”

“Not while you’re pregnant!”

She widened her eyes but stayed quiet.

I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry, but. . .you’re carrying our child. There must be certain limitations.”

She blinked. “Of course.”

“And don’t worry for me, mysh. I’ll be careful.”

“And you’ll tell me everything? I don’t want anything to happen to you either. Our child deserves an amazing father. You have to keep safe as much as me.”

My heart warmed. “I will. I never want to leave you or our baby here all alone. I plan to be with you both for a very long time.”

Her bottom lip quivered. “Fuck, Kaz. A secret occult of powerful men? How the hell do we stop them?”

“We’re not certain it’s the Knights of Babylon doing this. The people involved could have drawn that symbol in blood to push us off their track. I just want to make sure we’re considering all options.”

Let’s hope the Knights of Babylon are not involved at all.

“True.” She returned to pacing. “But that blood symbol is now a clue. It’s something. More than what we had before.”

“Stay away from them, mysh. This is my trail to follow. Not yours.”

Although she looked pissed, she nodded. “I agree. I’m just saying. And I’ll go to Kapotnya like business as usual. My men and I will also be on the lookout for Jean-Pierre.”

“Speaking of the pansy.” Tension came. I knew she wouldn’t like this plan. “We’re going to trap and take Jean-Pierre and his cousins.”

“What?”

“We need to change the game plan.”

She gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “Jean-Pierre is not an animal we’re hunting. If we treat him like that, he may not help.”

“He’ll help or France will burn.”

“Kaz—”

“I’m talking a soft kidnapping.”

Her voice screeched. “Soft kidnapping?”

“We’ll just take his men and him and put them in our cell. After a little friendly torture, we get the footage and have Misha examine it—”

She raised one finger in the air. “First of all, that’s not our cell. It’s your crazy little jail system below the house. Second of all, I don’t want to start the whole kidnapping thing back up. Historically, it only pisses everybody off and starts bigger wars.”

“You think you’re going to just sit down with Jean-Pierre and have a nice lunch as you discuss the details?”

“No. We could stand in a parking lot and exchange—”

“We take him and his men. Gain the advantage and change the game.”

“No. I handle Jean-Pierre and Kapotnya. You figure out the Knights of Babylon angle and who’s the problem in our security system.”

My rage bubbled. “Mysh, I was not suggesting these things with you. I was telling you exactly how it all will happen tomorrow.”

“And I’m informing you that it won’t go down that way. We get Jean-Pierre’s help like civilized people, not through kidnapping and friendly torture.”

My temples throbbed in pain. “This is Mafia Politics—”

“You handle your part. I’ll take care of mine.”

I wanted to break something. Only she could do this. Turn me homicidal in the blink of an eye. With anyone else, I would slap or shoot them, maim or yell. With my mouse, I had to depend on tactics that I was less experienced in—compromise and bargaining. Glaring, I stalked her way.

She stood her ground for a few seconds, until I got directly in front of her. Then, she edged away. I moved forward. Another step and she was pressed against the wall as I remained in front of her.

“You go to Kapotnya and oversee your district,” I raised my hands above her and touched the wall behind her. “That’s it. I handle everything else.”

“You won’t.” She looked up at me. “That’s too many things. Bosses who micromanage everything always fail.”

I pressed against her. “If you don’t agree, then you’ll stay in the mansion tomorrow. Be happy I’m letting you outside at all.”

She trembled but held her ground.