I opened my mouth in shock. “Deal with what? I’m not even in this or know what y’all are talking about.”
“Fine.” Kazimir nodded. “Maxwell will deal with it.”
Misha nodded and walked off.
Deal with what? This better not be about the dead ballerina.
Misha’s men scowled at me. Anywhere else, I made friends with ease. Here, I was making enemies for standing around.
Kazimir turned to me. “We’ll meet at six in the morning to deal with it.”
“Deal with what?”
“Take my sister home.” He pointed to Oleg. “Take him too. I’ll come to your room in the morning.”
Excuse me? Are you talking to me or Oleg?
Em’s Russian walked off, or more like he prowled away.
Dude?! Deal with what?
And he didn’t go straight to Em. Instead, he watched her as stalked the edge of the dance floor, putting several drunk and dancing people between them.
She had no idea he’d arrived. She was too busy swinging the bottle around and dancing to some hard-hitting song with incomprehensible words. Thank God she wasn’t dancing with anyone. The way the Russian was looking, he appeared ready to kill anyone that was near her.
And men were damn sure near. Many stared. Others drooled. A few tried to approach her. Each time they did, she would just give them a chilling look, and they’d back away. But still, many watched her, circling around the space that she drunkenly danced in.
Valentina grabbed my hand. Her fingers shook against mine. She whispered in my ear, “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Not telling.”
“Valentina, I’m pretty sure everyone thinks you killed this ballerina chick. I’m almost sure of it and I don’t know why you even tried to get me to give you an alibi.”
“Still, thank you.” She guided me away.
I glanced at the dance floor again.
The Russian still watched Emily. Lust and anger mingled in his eyes. It made my heart boom in my ears. Everything told me I should wait here. This shit could go really bad.
Kazimir didn’t look like he would be having a nice conversation with Em. And she was drunk and sad. This was not the time to try and reason with her.
She would cut his throat first.
Fuck! Em, don’t kill this motherfucker. We need to get Xavier straight and our asses out of Prague.
I prepared to go Em’s way and tell her, but Valentina tightened my grip as she trembled against me. Then my mind went to Valentina and how weak she suddenly seemed.
“It doesn’t matter, if Kazimir thinks I killed her,” Valentina said. “He can never know for sure.”
“Did you?”
“Let’s go.”
I walked out with Valentina for so many reasons. Her scent lured me away. Her body made my dick ache. The mystery of what she’d done had her perfectly manicured fingers wrapped around my brain.
But most of all, I walked out with Valentina because of how soft and wet she’d slipped along my fingers.
Damn, Em. I’m sorry. Don’t kill him.
Twelve
Kazimir
Why would Valentina take them here?
Had everything not been so crazy, I would’ve taken Emily somewhere beautiful. Delicious dishes. Succulent drinks. Soft music in an elegant surrounding.
This place reminded me of a POW camp. Harsh and very much from war. That was the last thing I needed to think about, with all that had been lost.
Scantily clad women—boozed up or high on whatever— lined the scuffed, narrow walls. Dozens of tattooed and pierced men stood in the corners, watching the women like predators. Hard-grinding music piped out of hidden speakers.
Rest in peace, Uncle.
Many had died around me, but Uncle Igor’s death hit me hard. I’d just stood next to him, talking about Emily and pondering my future. Now, he was gone. And I didn’t like the way he died, in a banquet room full of strangers. Big names. Lots of money. World leaders. But no one who really loved him, besides his son and me.
I won’t die that way. Alone and surrounded by staff.
I watched Emily dance.
Everything was different now.
If Sasha thought he’d guess my next moves, then he’d die in that falsehood. Nothing—not even the landscape of this planet—would ever be the same. I’d move mountains, if necessary.
He’d taken Emily’s friend, a man who’d been more of her father than her own had been. Sasha hurt her, and I would come for him, and I would not show pity or humanity as I ripped him apart.
And what about my mouse, who’d become a lion? What do I do with her?
Tonight, her hair fell around her shoulders and drew attention to the lush curves and yummy ass. All I could think about was how delicate her hands felt. How smooth her skin was. I knew how those nails felt digging into my back. How she moaned. How wet the pussy could get. How those fingers tugged at my hair as she came against my mouth.
I knew it all. The electric sizzle of her touch. The primal awareness that came when others drooled over her.
So, dangerous.
I watched her from head to toe, wanting to fuck and punish her at the same time. I wanted to tie her up, lock her up, safe from anyone who could threaten my grip on her. But I also wanted to pound her with my cock the whole time and make her promise to never run off again.
No. It won’t be that easy with her.
The song shifted.
Some guy pulled her into a slow dance.
I stood frozen. Rage fired my blood. A sick darkness radiated through me, pain and other things made of the devil searing and soul deep. It took my breath and every ounce of control to not shoot at them through the crowd.
But then she shook her head. I gritted my teeth but held myself back.
He tugged her forward anyway.
She twisted his wrists in the wrong direction until he let her go.
An evil grin peaked on my face, but I wiped it away.
Little mouse.
Still, the guy hadn’t gotten the picture. Drunk, he stumbled toward her, thrusting his crotch to the rhythm of the song. Luka appeared, yanked the gyrating guy up like a doll, and carried him away.
That was the moment Emily realized I was here. With wide eyes, she watched Luka carry him away and then frantically searched the place.
She reminded me of when she was on the roof. She had done the same thing. Smart, she didn’t let herself look scared, but I saw the bottle shake a little as she lifted it to her mouth and gulped.
I stepped through the people. They moved away, giving me space as soon as they saw my face.
And then she turned around and spotted me.
How long did you think you would be away?
I took the bottle from her and took a long swig.
Do you understand that there will be no space?
People backed up and gave us room. A lot of locals were in here. They were smart enough to not take out their phones. No one wanted to be a witness in this country. No one wanted to be the first to post anything around here, especially when a simple tweet could get them killed.
I drank some more, relishing in the sting of the vodka.
She blinked.
And yes, you’re in trouble, mysh. A lot of trouble. I was scared that someone was going to kill you. So much that I was ready to kill my own sister.
Luka got to her right.