Page 68 of His Prince
I can’t help but stare at Angel, who just watches me back—a tug of war between two men who refuse to give up, who refuse to relent.
When breakfast is done, I demand that someone other than Angel clean up the mess and then point to Andrew, who is looking far too suave in his chair and tell him to “go the fuck home.”
Not that he listens to me, he just goes back to ignoring me, chatting with Felix and Casey. The entire Costello clan is contrary and stubborn, it seems. So I stomp to my office, whisperingblyatfor my own satisfaction, and sit there, mulling over Angel and Bane andAndrew until I finally decide that the only way he will ever go home is if I let him look at my fucking books.
My stomach roils at the thought of letting someone else in, but I don’t know if Angel will let him leave otherwise.
And for a sliver of a second, I tell myself he can be trusted.
In that moment of complete delusion, I call for Andrew, telling him to set up and get started. He has exactly two hours and then I’m done. He doesn’t even balk at my command, just gets everything situated and then looks at me and goes, “I don’t even need that long.”
Asshole.
I don’t trust him, so the entire time he pulls up the spreadsheets and goes through my accounts, I watch him like a hawk. Andrew is muttering to himself often, but it’s nothing I can really understand, and within the hour, he’s leaning back and pointing to the screen.
“Like Angel said, someone is skimming off all the massage parlors and five of the laundromats.”
I scoff, feeling a sense of dread and, at the same time, relief well up inside of me. I wish Ivan was the one who had to deal with this and not me. But we both know I’m just the figurehead in this operation. Ivan might be shit at security, but he’s a genius when it comes to business. He just doesn’t look like it.
Hence my current situation.
“How do you know for sure?”
“It’s clear as fucking day. Someone at those massage parlors is taking a cut of the profits off the top. It’s not totally noticeable unless you’re looking for it, but they were right.”
“Daniil runs those businesses,” I say, more to myself than anyone. “He’s been with me for ages.”
And he has—he’s a loyal friend, someone I trust with my life.
But then again, I trusted Katarina. And I trusted Angel. And now look at me.
“You must be wrong,” I finally say. Because he has to be. Daniil wouldn’t do this to me. Hecouldn’t.
“I’m not fucking wrong,” Andrew replies and then cocks an eyebrow at me, like I’ve lost my mind.
Perhaps I have. Perhaps I’m too far gone.
“And how am I supposed to trust you, Andrew the Accountant? You could have come here on Angel’s behalf to tear my organization apart from the inside out, starting with sowing a seed of doubt about my business partner.”
At that moment, Angel walks in with a cup of tea, setting it down near Andrew.
I see his eyes widen, hurt pulsing through them, but I ignore it. Ignore him entirely. I cannot feel. The last time I did, I was gutted.
Andrew stares at me, looking annoyed. “Yeah, no. That’s not what’s happening. I came here as a favor. For Angel.”
“And why the fuck should I trust any of you?” I can feel my cheeks warming, my fists clenching at my sides. Angel is no longer innocent, but a force to be reckoned with. He knows what he’s doing. He’s getting back at me for not being the husband he thinks he deserves. He’s here to destroy me, my body, my home, and now my businesses.
The devious little angel.
Does he know how much I struggle to keep it all going, to do what needs to be done? I’ve never been good at it. Never will be either.
“Mikhail,” I hear him say, but I’m done.
I won’t be tricked again. I was a fool to let that man look at my books. I was a fool to marry Angel.
I am a fool for all of it.
“I want him gone. By tonight,” I nearly shout as I stalk away, my steps sure and focused.