Sevastyan nodded. “Actually, that’s true. And it might fit better. If the Dovers had done something against either family, I would think it would be known by most of the other families, but Elijah says there’s not a hint of a problem between them. Elijah used their driving services on more than one occasion and he said they always delivered, the reputation was solid.”

“If I can, I’ll meet with Ania’s father. If I get the chance, I’ll question him. He won’t want his only child to go against a powerful crime family. Even if she succeeded in killing any of the family members, the others would come after her and kill her. He would know that.”

Sevastyan shook his head. “Let me question him, Mitya. You concentrate on Ania. She needs to be brought in fast if you really think she’s close to the Han Vol Dan. The last thing you want is for her to go into heat and for every leopard within a hundred miles to go after her.”

Mitya pushed down the instant surge of ferocious adrenaline caused by the idea of anyone getting near his woman. His leopard was vicious, raking and clawing, trying to tear his way out. Mitya breathed away the fury and got himself under control. Being a leopard shifter meant absolute control at all times.

“We can make the call when we’re there at the house. Get as much information as possible on both families and anyone else who used their services from Elijah. Contact Drake. He seems to be able to acquire intelligence on anyone fast and accurately.” Drake Donovan owned a company specializing in the recovery of kidnap victims. His people were renowned as bodyguards, and many were shifters. He had contacts all over the world, and his people were well trained in gathering information.

Sevastyan nodded. “Will do. Be cautious, Mitya. We don’t know everything about Ania Dover and her family yet. You have a price on your head, and it’s a big one.”

Mitya couldn’t help but smile. “Do you think Ania is an assassin?”

“I think that family has ties to Russia. I also think something isn’t right there. That means you watch yourself and don’t get too caught up in her leopard emerging.”

Mitya laughed. He couldn’t help it. His life was an endless empty fight with a bloodthirsty leopard. He had steel bars on his windows and metal plates on doors so his leopard couldn’t break free while he slept. The women he occasionally saw in order to get some relief, he could barely look at or speak to. Interacting with them was dangerous. It was fuck and leave as fast as possible or his leopard would try to tear him apart to get at them. His life was pure hell.

If he were in the least bit a good man, he would stay away from Ania Dover, not drag her down into the mud with him, but she was his only chance at salvation. At life. He’d tried to turn his back on her. He’d resisted going to the bakery so many times, but in the end, he was consumed with the need to see her. Just to sit beside her and feel peace. Calm. Something he hadn’t had in all the years he could remember.

Ania Dover had become an obsession. She represented hope. More, she was good. She radiated kindness and compassion. She was everything he wasn’t. To have his cousin imply that she might be an assassin hired to kill him was so absurd he actually found himself laughing. Real laughter.

Sevastyan glared at him. “It’s not funny, Mitya. You never take precautions with your life. I’m not going to let you just throw it away. I know what’s in your head half the time, and it isn’t good.”

Mitya lifted his head and met his cousin’s eyes. He knew Sevastyan could see his leopard because heat banded. He felt every bit as deadly a predator as his cat was. He knew it showed on his face when Sevastyan went still.

“She will be claimed tonight, and there is nothing she can do about it, nothing she can say to stop me. She belongs to me, and I will have her. That makes me a fucking criminal, not her. It wouldn’t matter if she was contracted to kill me. She is mine. She’ll learn to live with that because she has no choice. Does that make me like my father? Probably. He shaped me into a predator. The only difference is, once I have her, I’ll do everything in my power to make her happy, and she’ll be protected from any danger. Do you understand, Sevastyan? Her protection will come first.”

“I hear you, Mitya.”

Mitya heard the resignation in his cousin’s voice. There was no denying what Mitya was, what he’d been shaped into. Twisted into. He was a killer, just like his father. He chose to wield his power for as much good as possible. It was why he had left the bratya and his father’s lair to follow his cousins, trying to build a decent life for themselves. That had proven to be impossible. Then Drake Donovan had come along and given them all purpose.

Tags: Christine Feehan Leopard People Paranormal
Source: readsnovelonline.net