Chapter Three

Ilya

B rooke Watts. She was even more beautiful now than she'd been as an eighteen-year-old. She was all woman, with more curves in all the right places, and her flawless pale skin was flushed pink, which only made her thick sable hair look even darker. And those eyes. Fuck me, but those eyes haunted my dreams more often I cared to admit. They were the same shade of green as the ring I wore on my pinky finger, just like every other leader in the bratva.

"I'm going to appoint Brooke as your main bookkeeper because she's the best I have. Efficient and careful, she'll make sure you save as much as possible without sacrificing your financial goals. And the best thing about Brooke is that she doesn't ask a lot of questions. In fact," Ruben said with a laugh, "she has these numerical identifiers, so she doesn't ever have to know too much, if you get my drift." Ruben went on and on, oblivious that my mind was still on Brooke, who fled the office like we were enemies.

"Sounds good. I want someone I can learn to trust." And having her assigned to my account meant we would spend more time together. I would get to see her regularly and get to know her all over again. Maybe we could even pick up where we'd left off. But then, a woman as beautiful as Brooke was surely married, if not engaged to walk down the aisle and make it legal.

"I trust Brooke more than I trust my missus. She keeps to herself and does her job without a worry about what the business is or does." Ruben flashed a wide grin and clapped me on the back. "Are we ready to sign the paperwork or do you need to mull it over?"

"Nothing to mull over," I assured him. "I misjudged you after our first meeting, but I think your company is just what the Kuznetsov Group needs."

"Excellent! Let's go meet the rest of the team."

I nodded and catalogued the names of the other employees of Montrose Accounting because I made it a point to know who was close to my finances. But the faces were a blur. We finally stopped in front of a tiny square office that was tidy and well organized. Brooke sat behind her desk with a serious expression on her face as she stared at the computer screen.

"There you are." Ruben's loud voice bounced off the walls, his smile wide and excited.

She looked up, her bland gaze bounced on Ruben and then me before she flashed a phony smile. "Sorry about that, Ruben, I had a client who made a significant purchase and forgot to log it. What did I miss?"

It was a smooth lie, but a lie, nonetheless. I wondered why she felt the need to avoid me, but I suppose to her, I took her virginity and then ran. I couldn't blame her for being disturbed by my presence.

Ruben, however, was happy to buy it. "No worries, that's why you're the best. But I need you to finish off that problem and hand the account over to Roger because your focus will be on Mr. K and his businesses. It's a big job and you're the only one who can handle it."

Her pale skin turned ashen, which told me everything I needed to know about her feelings about dealing with me again after eight years. "Of course, Ruben. I'll catch up on the work and then hand it off."

"Good, good. That's what I like to hear!" he said, then shuffled off down the hall.

I stayed behind and kept my gaze on Brooke, who stared back at me for the longest time. I couldn't read her expression, which was odd because I was great at reading people, and I'd been able to read her incredibly well back at college. "Brooke."

"Ilya," she replied in a cold voice I hardly recognized.

A smile curved at my mouth. "See you soon."

She winced, but I didn't let it bother me. I was nothing if not determined, and after seeing her, I was more determined than ever to get to know her again. To see if we had the same spark from eight years ago. I noted the distinct lack of family photos on her desk, which meant she was single.

Available.

To me, that meant that soon she would be the one thing she always was.

Mine.