Sergei’s gaze lowered to Nikolai’s hand resting on her thigh. Picking up his drink, he tossed it back and placed his empty glass on the table. He leaned back in his seat and resumed watching her. The nonstop scrutiny was beginning to unnerve her, and she returned his gaze in a silent challenge. What was Sergei up to now? He couldn’t want to play here and now, especially given their audience. His mouth curved upward a fraction, and she blinked at him in surprise. He did.
“I understand,” Alec said, still focused on the conversation with Nikolai and oblivious to the silent communication occurring in front of him. “But the delay is unavoidable. If you would be willing to extend our original timeframe by six months, we would be able to take in another one hundred of your people once the tower
