“Why?”
“She may know something. The roommate is in the penthouse I bought Olesya in St. Petersburg.” Kazimir checked his watch. “When we get to Moscow, you’ll have an apartment. There, you can keep anything hidden.”
“An apartment?”
“Yes, and a man. Let’s call him your driver and guard.”
“Or person that will be following me and reporting back to you.”
“You have no more than a week to figure it out. It shouldn’t be difficult. You’ve already gotten Valentina’s confidence.”
“I doubt that.”
“If Oleg left her with you, then you’ve proven your loyalty to both of them.” Kazimir eyed me. “How did you do that?”
“I did it with my charm and good looks.”
Kazimir didn’t find that funny at all. “Get it done, Maxwell, and I’ll continue to owe you.”
“What do I do, if I figure out who it is?”
“You tell me.”
“And then what?”
“That’s it.”
“I may need more leeway than that.”
“No. You won’t. In fact, I’m not sure, if Em has made you aware of this, but I’m not a fan of questions or leeway.” He stared at me. “Do we have an understanding?”
“Yes, sir.” I saluted. “Apparently, I’m here at the behest of the Emperor.”
“I’m starting to see that the Harlem Crew has problems with teamwork.” Kazimir walked off.
Teamwork? Your sister killed your ex, and you want me to do what? Prove why she did it. Why? It sounds like either way my ass might be caught between two guns.
I stood in a room reeking of death.
Valentina killed the ballerina. It had to be her. I didn’t know why, but I knew how. The hotel was barely ten minutes from the castle. She left the feast, changed in my room, tied the ballerina up, maybe read the children’s book, and killed her.
The children’s book? Where is that?
I rushed out of the room and tapped a uniformed man on the shoulder. “Hey, was there a children’s book in here?”
Kazimir had been leaving the suite, but he stood in the doorway and watched.
The man shook his head, not understanding anything I was saying.
“Vasilia?” I asked and formed an invisible book with my hand. “Vasilia the beautiful. Did you find a children’s book here?”
Kazimir stepped back in and spoke to them in Czech. The man nodded his head and pointed to the table. On it, the children’s book sat in a bag. It was the same one, but it had been covered in blood.
The man spoke more to Kazimir.
I looked at him. “What did he say?”
Kazimir shook his head. “Apparently, the book was shoved up…well…up her anus.”
I raised my eyebrows.
I see Valentina isn’t a fan of children’s books.
She did it. I didn’t confess that to Kazimir. I had to talk to her first. She’d let me touch her pussy. There was a certain loyalty to that.
Fuck, Valentina. What did you get me involved in? And why do that to a perfectly good book?
“How did you know about the book?” Kazimir asked.
“I’m a fan of Russian fairytales.” I left him there. Thankfully, he didn’t push it anymore.
You don’t have time to bother me about this now. You’re still dealing with your brother and Em’s craziness. Have fun with that shit.
Act Three
Definition of Dirty
2: : to stain with dishonor.
dirty reputation
dirty life
Sixteen
Emily
In my dream, a lion lay asleep in a forest. Blue moonlight bathed him in a pale glow, making his tan fur appear magical. His huge head rested on his paws, and a breeze whisked through my hair. I gazed up. The sky was pink and the stars a bright gold. Thick silence filled the air.
No crickets sounded. Nor birds or any other creatures.
But the lion slept.
And I wasn’t scared; I was intrigued. Enchanted. Thrilled by such a beautiful beast. Dangerous, yet peaceful. Sharp and wild, yet calm and gentle.
I walked his way, barefoot and naked. Fog curled along my legs. A drumming sounded from the beast’s chest as he snored.
With no fear, I touched his nose. Roused from his sleep, the lion caught me in his massive paw.
No!
Slowly, he opened those huge lids. My heart boomed. His gold eyes blazed even hotter than the stars in the pink sky.
No longer was I intrigued. Now, I feared for my life. And it wasn’t a tiny scare. Cold terror scraped against my insides. I shivered in his hold.
“Let me go,” I begged.
The lion’s jaw formed into an alien-like smile. His gold eyes melted to red. His body became huge, doubling in size. He was more monster than lion. More killer than gentle creature.
“Please,” I cried. “Let me go!”
A dark thunderous voice left his jaw, outlined with saw-sharp teeth. “No, mysh!”
I woke up, covered in sweat and in an empty bed. My chest rose and fell at a quickened pace. I checked under the pillow and remembered I didn’t have any knives under there.
It’s okay.
I scanned the room, studying it and doing my best to remember where I was. An engine hummed under me. The lovely scent of Kaz hit my nostrils.
The train to Moscow.
When we’d loaded Valentina’s plane last night, Kaz had whispered something to Maxwell and then guided me off. Shocked had covered everyone’s face, including mine.
We’d watched the plane take off.
Another car had arrived within seconds. The driver had handed Kaz the keys and he opened the passenger door for me. “We’re taking the train instead.”
“Okay.” I climbed in. “How long does it take?”
“Twenty-seven hours. It’ll give us time to think.” He shut the door and got to the other side.
I looked at him in shock. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drive before.”
He started, shifted the gear, smiled, and sped off.
“Shit.” I rushed to put on my seatbelt. “You drive exactly how I figured you would.”
“Like a crazy man?”
We spun past one plane and zig zagged around airport security.
“Exactly!” I’d shut my eyes as he sped the rest of the way.
We’d gotten to the train fast, and to my surprise, he’d bought all the tickets. We had the entire train to ourselves, besides the staff.
And where are you now?
Naked, I rose from the bed and grabbed the red silk robe that had already been waiting for me in our train car. There were also tons of luggage full of any clothing item a female could desire—sexy to active, evening gowns to suits. Everything looked to be in my size and if not an exact fit, damn close.
But the funnier part of the cabin’s surprise was all the boxes of wigs that lay on the right. All high-end. All untouched. Every one with different textures and styles. On the right were blueprints to Kaz’s home. But, it was more of a castle—twice the size of his Uncle Igor’s. Red labels pointed to secret security tunnels and exits that not even his staff probably knew about.