𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑃ℎ𝑜𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑥 ✔︎ || 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑑

35

~ ilya ~

The plane touch downed at Petersburg at four, which gave me plenty of time to run a few errands before I had to make a brief appearance at the club to meet some clients.

My four day trip to London was to secure a ten million dollar arms deal with Charles Evans, my British supplier. Recently, the damn Italians had attempted to buy him off with money to reveal my purchases. Evans, being the greedy bastard that he was, took this as an opportunity to raise his prices.

I gritted my teeth; the fucking Italians never learned.

Istrode out of the airport and found my Lamborghini waiting for me at the entrance. The valet gave me a quick nod, before scurrying off. I grabbed my phone and called Vik for the daily update.

"Да, начальник?" he answered immediately. [Yes, boss?]

"Где она?" I asked. [Where is she?]

"В вашей комнате, сэр," Vik replied. [In your room, sir]

"Она ела?" [Did she eat?]

I heard a muffled squeal from the other end.

"Да, Катарина принесла обед," he finally responded, sounding breathless. [Yes, Katarina brought lunch]

I narrowed my eyes. I strictly instructed him not to talk to her.

"What's going on?" I demanded, with frustration.

Before he replied, I heard her loud, happy voice.

"Hey Vik! Come, sit with us," she hollered.

I clenched my fist.

"Nothing, sir," Vik explained, before adding quietly, "Она знает, что я говорю с тобой." [She know that I am speaking with you]

So the скуа was doing this deliberately. However, that knowledge failed to quell my anger. She was mine.

With a frustrated sigh, I ended the call and sped to the compound.

When I arrived, Aleksey was waiting. He raised a brow when I stormed past him.

"Ilya!" he called, jogging to catch up with me. "They're here."

I stopped in my tracks. "They're early."

"Да, they said they needed to leave early as well."

I inhaled sharply. "Then, tell them to open the club early. Six, sharp."

"Хорошо," he agreed, before walking off. [Fine]

The special client today was none another than Aliena Novika, my Belarusian counterpart. Since her father had recently passed, she'd inherited his booming drug trade and then had insisted on a visit to ensure we were still 'worthy friends', as she put it. I couldn't care less about the proud сука but Novik - her father - was a close friend and mentor.

I ran a exasperated hand through my hair as I climbed two flights of stairs to my room. Like I'd expected, Vik stood with a passive face outside the door. He bowed his head fractionally when he saw me. I nodded, appreciating the gesture. From inside the room, I heard loud laughter and excited voices.

I furrowed my brows. Phoenix was happy when I was gone. I didn't know what to make of the knowledge. It certainly wasn't new to me, but stung nonetheless.

I turned on my heel and left.

My next stop was Mila's office. I had an urgent request.

I knocked and after a few moments, my sister-in-law opened the door.