The timing was interesting, the attack reminiscent of a planned event.
In addition, I sensed a blame game would be the pièce de résistance after the ruse was completed. Manipulators did their best work when they could convince all those around him there was someone else to blame.
The terse situation would almost lead me to believe my good buddy Igor who had led Kirill into finding me had a personal reason. He wanted the defeat of the Petrov family, their methods of handling business causing issues for every Bratva organization.
But that wasn’t the core problem. The man with the laugh had sold his soul to imprison mine.
And there was one reason for doing so.
Personal revenge.
I pulled the glass to my lips just as a rumble of thunder caused Golden to lift her head. “It’s okay, girl. Everything is going to be alright.”
The moment she lifted her tail, I felt a presence and reached for my weapon.
“Are you going to shoot me?” Rafaela’s was wispy, full of anxiety. The woman took my breath away. She’d snagged my shirt from the floor, now fastening a few buttons. When she was finished, she held her hands up like I’d done with her at the club.
“I can’t be too careful.” I lowered the gun down to the table, my cock already twitching. “I will admit you’re too beautiful to shoot. That would be a sin.”
“Just one in a long line of them we’ve committed.” She tried to smile while tugging on her hair. My cock throbbed just thinking about the number of times I’d taken her, enjoying every moment spent violating every inch of her luscious body. Her smile slowly faded. “What are you doing? Other than sitting all alone in the dark completely naked and holding my dog hostage.”
Golden woofed as if on cue. “She didn’t seem to mind. I was just trying to put some pieces together before we return to Moscow.”
She shook her head. “My mother is ill. I don’t know what to say to her that won’t cause alarm.”
“You mother is not ill, Rafaela.”
“What do you mean?”
Chuckling, I grabbed my phone off the table, flipping to the picture I’d downloaded from the internet. I’d been surfing to find some answers of my own. “Unless she made a miraculous recovery, you were told lies.”
Inching closer, she studied the screen, her laugh one of bitterness. “How could I forget. She’s in charge of a huge floral show. Every year. She lied to me.”
“My guess is your father lied to you.”
“I thought he had plans on kidnapping me.”
“Why when he can lure you home?” I tossed the phone onto the table, studying her reaction. She certainly wasn’t the girl I’d met before. She’d been through so much in her life she’d become immune to most fears.
“Bastard. He warned me that one day I’d be summoned to do my duty. He found his highest bidder.”
“You should try and get some sleep.”
“Not a chance in hell. It would seem someone stole my pup for his own use. Perhaps the powerful man is unaware Golden Angel is my support, especially during storms.”
“Perhaps you’re right. You never told me what happened and why you have this beautiful creature.”
With a frustrated sigh, she moved closer to the window, staring at the bright lightning. “A man broke into our house when I was a teenager. There was a storm. He came to my room with the intention of kidnapping me, at least that’s what I was told. I fought him, but he hurt me, holding me down. He almost… He planned on raping me. Thankfully, guards finally heard the commotion and stopped him, killing him on the spot. Right there in front of me. Later, I learned he was my brother’s best friend. My brother is very much like me, completely independent. He was running with a bad crowd.” She laughed.
“A bad crowd.”
“Yes, my first taste of learning Russians are terrible people.” She threw a sexy look over her shoulder. “Some kids on holiday for the summer my brother got mixed up with. I really don’t know the details. Anyway, my father blamed Dante, my brother.Eventually, Dante left because of the horrors my father inflicted on him.”
“That’s terrible. I’m so sorry.” While the admission might mean nothing, the slight coincidence did bring a series of fascinating thoughts to the forefront of my mind. I studied her face in the eerie light, realizing how much she’d been through in her life. She was one of the strongest people I’d ever met. “Have you ever spoken to your brother since he left?”
“Are you kidding me?” She laughed. “My guess is he’s living in New York where he dreamed of going, free from the horrors my father put him through.”
“Why New York?”
