I don’t bother beating around the bush. “She’s mine,” I say harshly, approaching his desk. “Which part of that was unclear?”
Esguerra’s gaze hardens even more. “I didn’t touch her.”
“No, but you want to, don’t you?” I put my fists on the desk and lean forward. “You want to make her pay for what happened.”
“Yes—and so should you.” He mirrors my aggressive stance, the wide desk between us the only barrier to the violence simmering in the air. “Almost four dozen of our men died, and she’s walking around like nothing happened… running a fucking restaurant on my property.” His words drip with barely restrained rage. “Do you know that a reservation at ‘Yulia’s cafe’ is the hottest commodity on the estate these days? The guards treat those slots like they’re fucking gold.”
I straighten, glaring at him. “Yes, of course I know.” It was only yesterday that I had to break up a fight between two guards—a fight that resulted from a card game where the prize was an eleven-thirty reservation slot on Friday.
“And you’re letting this happen?” Rounding the desk with sharp strides, Esguerra stops in front of me, fists clenched. “This is my estate. I’m letting her live because I owe you, but I do not want to be reminded of her existence every day, do you understand me?”
“Perfectly.” I meet his furious look with one of my own. “Which is why I’m leaving.”
Esguerra goes still, the anger transforming into something colder. “Excuse me?”
“That’s what I came here to discuss,” I say, folding my arms across my chest. Pushing down the rage boiling in my gut, I say in a steady tone, “You will never forgive her, and I will never give her up, so the way I see it, we have two options. We can kill each other over this, or I can take her—and myself—out of the picture.”
“You’re quitting?”
“If that’s what you want.” I give him a level look. “We work well together, but it may be time to go our separate ways. I’ll train my replacement before I go, of course. Thomas is an excellent pilot, so you’ll be fine there, and Diego is smart and loyal; he’ll make a good second-in-command for you. Or…” I let my voice trail off.
Esguerra’s eyebrows snap together. “Or what?”
“Or we can figure out a way for us to work together without me living here.” I pause, letting that sink in. “Before you decided to make this compound your permanent home, we went wherever the business took us. It was nice to settle down here—and certainly safer for you and Nora, given that situation with Al-Quadar—but you know as well as I do that we’ve had to give up a few lucrative opportunities because you wanted to limit travel.”
His nostrils flare. “What exactly are you suggesting?”
“When you were in a coma, I ran the whole organization. I handled everything from suppliers to customers, and I got to know every aspect of the business. If you want—if you trust me enough—I can be more than the second-in-command working by your side. I can represent us internationally, do whatever is necessary to grow the business abroad.”
All emotion fades from Esguerra’s face. “You want to be my partner.”
“You could call it that, though an executive operations manager might be a more accurate label. You’d have the final say on major decisions, but I would run the new ventures and keep an eye on our existing operations in person. I could set up base someplace central, like Europe or Dubai, and do as much travel as necessary to keep things running smoothly.”
“You’ve thought this through.”
“Yes. I’ve known for some time that this won’t work long term.”
“Because of her.”
“Yes, because of Yulia.” I hold his icy gaze. “I’m not about to let anything happen to her.”
“And if I don’t agree to this?”
“Your business, your choice,” I say. “I like working with you, but I have other options. For one thing, I can go legit and open a security firm somewhere. If you don’t want this, just say the word, and I’ll be gone.”
He stares at me, and I know what he’s thinking. He can’t let me leave—I know too much about the inner workings of his business—so he has two choices: kill me or agree to my proposition. I gaze back at him calmly, ready for either possibility. I know I’m taking a risk, pushing him like this, but I don’t see any other way to resolve this situation. Yulia can’t spend the rest of her life hiding in my house and trying not to draw Esguerra’s attention. At some point, something’s going to go wrong, and when it does, things are going to get ugly.
I have to take her away before that happens.
Just when I think Esguerra has decided my loyalty isn’t worth it, he sighs and steps back, his hands uncurling at his sides. “Does she really mean that much to you?” There’s weary resignation in his voice. “Can’t you find another pretty blonde to fuck?
I raise my eyebrows. “Could you find another petite brunette?”
A humorless smile stretches across his face. “It’s like that, huh?”
“She’s my everything,” I say without blinking. “So yes, I guess it’s like that.”
Esguerra looks at me, his smile fading. Then he says abruptly, “Ten percent of profits from the new ventures, plus the same salary—that’s my offer.”
“Seventy percent,” I reply without missing a beat. “I’ll be doing all the work, so it’s only fair.”
“Twenty percent.”
“Sixty.”
“Thirty.”
“Fifty, and that’s my final offer.”
“Forty-five.”
I shake my head, though I couldn’t care less about those five percent. “Fifty percent,” I repeat. If Esguerra is to respect me as a partner, I need to stand my ground. It’ll make for a better working relationship longer term. “Take it or leave it.”
He studies me coolly, then inclines his head. “All right. Fifty percent of the new ventures’ profit.”
“Deal.” I extend my hand, and we shake on it. “I’ll get the ball rolling, so we can be out of your hair soon,” I say, releasing his hand and stepping back. “Just one more thing…”
Esguerra’s mouth tightens. “What is it?”
“You know as well as I do that our line of work is dangerous, especially out there, beyond the compound,” I say. “Given that, I need your promise that you won’t ever come after Yulia or her family. No matter what happens to me.”
Esguerra nods curtly. “You have my word.”
* * *
That evening, Yulia is quiet and withdrawn, her gaze trained on her plate throughout most of the meal despite her brother’s presence at our table. Several times, Michael tries to engage her in conversation, but after getting only monosyllabic responses, he gives up and quickly finishes his meal.
“What’s up with her?” he mutters as I walk him to the guards’ barracks while Yulia stays behind to clean up. “Is she mad at me or something?”
“It has nothing to do with you,” I say. “She’s just worried about something.”
“What?” The boy shoots me an anxious glance. “Did something happen?”
“No.” I smile reassuringly. I’ve grown to like Yulia’s brother over the past few weeks, and I don’t want him to worry either. “She thinks it has, but she’s wrong.”
The boy frowns in confusion. “So everything is fine?”
“Yes, Michael,” I say as we approach the building. “Everything is fine, I promise.”
He gives me a doubtful look, but when we stop in front of the entrance, he says gruffly, “Tell Yulia I said, ‘Good night and stop worrying.’ She’s such a worrywart sometimes.”
“She is, isn’t she?” I grin at the kid. “And you tell Diego that I’m going to need to talk to him first thing tomorrow, okay?”
He nods and goes into the building, and I walk back home. When I get there, I find Yulia sitting in the lounge chair in the library, her nose buried in a book.
“Hey, beautiful,” I say, crossing the room. “What are you reading?”
She looks up. “Gone Girl.” She puts down the book and stands up. “I should probably go shower. I’m tired.”
“Yulia.” I catch her wrist as she tries to walk past me. “We have to talk.”
She hesitates, then says, “All right, let’s talk. Lucas” She draws in an unsteady breath. “You know this can’t go on forever. Sooner or later, you and Esguerra will come to blows because of me, and I can’t bear that. If anything happened to you—” Her voice breaks. “You have to let me go.”
“No.” I pull her toward me, my gut clenching at the mere suggestion. “I’m not letting you go.”
“You have to.” Her gaze turns imploring. “It’s the only way.”
“No, baby.” I move my hands up to clasp her upper arms. “There’s another alternative. We’re going to leave together.”