“I love you,” he replies. “Let’s go make it so he can’t sleep tonight.”
An involuntary giggle bubbles out of me. “I think messing with him is my favorite hobby.”
Over the last few weeks, I’ve taken pride in taunting and tormenting my father. The death of Dmitri Petrov was everywhere after he mysteriously vanished from a prestigious gala. If my dad didn’t think we were coming for him after that, he definitely does now.
I started small, having a package delivered that was full of dead rose petals and a picture of the two of us. It was enough to make him look over his shoulder, but still could have been justified as someone obsessed with him or my death.
After that, I used a personal touch. He came out of work one day to find his car saturated, both inside and out, with antifreeze—the same thing he used to poison my grandfather. Taped to the steering wheel was a note.
Do they know what you did?
Because I do.
Tick tock, Tick tock.
That had him hiring extra security.
My favorite thing, however, was when I lit his office on fire. The one place that makes him feel most like a man of the elite. I waited until the middle of the night, of course. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt that didn’t deserve it. But imagining the look on his face as he sorted through the soot and ash was more than worth the lecture that I got from Kage about risking my safety.
Note to self: next time use a bazooka.
The point of tonight is to keep him on his toes. A masquerade ball is the perfect way to let him see me without actually letting him see me. Just seeing a woman with Kage will be enough to make the gears in his mind turn. And I can’t wait to watch it drive him insane.
I look in the mirror, making sure that my brown wig is in place, and Kage helps me put the mask on.
It’s beautiful, with black feathers and lace edges. It’ll only cover the top half of my face, but that’s all we need. Just enough to keep him curious but not enough to give it away.
“Ready?”
I nod, watching as Kage opens the door and climbs out. He turns around and extends his hand for me to take. Beni waits for us with Viola, who looks stunning as ever as she hangs on his arm. We still haven’t figured out what's going on between those two, but whatever it is, they’re both staying tight-lipped about it.
“Mr. Malvagio,” a photographer calls. “Who is your date?”
I make sure not to look his way as Viola answers for me. “It’s my cousin, Alexi. Isn’t she gorgeous?’
“Could you have picked something that sounded any more like a stripper name?” I murmur lowly.
She grins deviously, letting me know it’s payback for what happened in Rhode Island. “You asked for it, Viola.”
“You both are! Mind if I get a picture?”
Kage shakes his head and holds his hand out, as if he’s willing him to keep his camera down. “No pictures tonight, thank you.”
I keep my head down until we get inside, but when we do, I can’t help but admire how incredible this is. Coming to these kinds of events is one of my least favorite memories from my childhood. And growing up with rich parents meant there were a lot of them. But being here with Kage, and being old enough to drink, I don’t entirely mind it.
“For a bunch of people whose whole life is crime, you sure do like to throw your money around at big parties,” I tease.
Viola chuckles. “It’s how they make up for what’s in their pants.”
I spin in Kage’s arms and place my hands on his chest. “If I get you drunk enough, am I going to see what’s in your pants?”
He puts a hand on my lower back and pulls me closer. “All you have to do is ask, baby. No alcohol required.”
Viola looks over at us and rolls her eyes. “As adorable as you two lovebirds are, if you don’t tone it down on the PDA, Dalton will figure out your secret in five seconds flat. He’s dumb, not blind.”
She has a point, so Kage and I put some distance between us, but that doesn’t stop me from making a dig at her anyway. Besides, she earned it by giving me a name like Alexi.
“Oh, Ellis,” I tease. “Always the sensible one.”
Beni’s brows furrow as he looks between the two of us. “Who the fuck is Ellis?”
“Is that the bar?” Viola asks, changing the subject. “Great. I’m parched.”
IT’S HALFWAY THROUGH THE night and I’m starting to think my father isn’t going to show, when I spot him in the corner of the room. He’s talking to a few other men in expensive-looking suits, no doubt telling lies that make him seem like a decent person. The one thing that seems to be missing from his arm, however, is my mother.
I subtly glance around to see if there’s any sign of her, but there isn’t. Though that’s probably for the best. If anyone would be able to spot me through a disguise, it’s her.
Kage spins me carefully around the dance floor, but every time he pulls me close, he whispers another insult about someone in my ear.
“Do you see the guy in the blue suit to your left?” he murmurs.
I find who he’s talking about and smile. “Yes?”
“He smells like cat piss.”
My lips press together to keep me from laughing. “He does not.”
Kage chuckles. “Swear to God. I had to sit in a meeting with him once and it took everything I had not to throw a bucket of soapy water on him.”
This goes on all night. On the dance floor. At the bar. Sitting at the table. I’ve come to the conclusion that the only people here he can actually stand are the ones he came with, and even Viola depends on the day.
The feeling of eyes burning into the side of my head doesn’t go unnoticed, but I know better than to make eye contact with him. It would give me away. So instead, I keep my attention on Kage and enjoy a night of quasi-normalcy with him. And when the night ends and I lie in bed, I bask in the knowledge that my father is probably lying awake and wondering who the woman with Kage was tonight.
But he’ll never guess what I have planned for him.
Being feared by my enemies is how I like things. I never want them to know my next move, or trust that they’re safe. I want them to know without a shadow of a doubt that if they cross me, there will be consequences, and that we will see them through. But at the same time, I’m not interested in an ongoing war that makes me spend all my time planning my next move.
Which is what brings me here.
I walk into Mari Vanna with Beni on one side of me and Roman on the other. Bratva members snarl at us as we walk by, wanting to attack but also not willing to risk dying today. We ignore them all and head straight to the back where the new leader of the Bratva sits. Erik is a younger man, around mid-forties, who most likely couldn’t point Russia out on a map, let alone ever been there. But that’s what happens when the three men who have ruled for decades all die within the same few months.
As everyone turns to glare at us, Erik’s gaze lands on mine. He waves us over with two fingers and I take a seat on the chair opposite from his, while Beni and Ro stand on either side of me.
“You have a lot of balls showing your face in here after what you did to Dmitri.”
I chuckle and rest my ankle on my knee. “Why? ‘Cause from where I sit it looks like what I did helped you step into the power seat. Or do you not have control of your men?”