"You're running out of time. My partners want answers and if they don't get them from you, they'll get them from someone else, and you won't enjoy that conversation." He hangs up.
When the line goes dead, I find myself more annoyed than I was before I came out here to have my little break. Between Roman's reminders, Stepan's joking, and the hostility Gregor threw at me, I'm ready to hit the mats and spar to blow off some steam. Istomp back into the fitting room and Stepan is on the platform now, speaking to the tailor.
Roman is absent, maybe in the toilets or out making his own calls. But Timur still sits in the same spot scrolling his phone. I slump into the chair beside him and shove my phone into my pocket, dragging a hand over my face to clear my grumpy expression.
"Don't let him get to you, Kaz. He just wants to make sure you can do a good job. It's his baby, you know?" Timur bumps my shoulder with his and I know he's speaking of Roman, not Stepan's jests or Gregor's curses.
"Yeah, I get it. I'm sure he'll see all his worry is for no reason when he gets back and everything is fine." I sigh then continue, "Did you ever figure out how that text got spoofed or where it came from?" I glance over at his screen which has the privacy mode on so I can't really see what he's doing. Probably working, not the scrolling I assumed.
He locks it and the screen goes dark as he looks up at me. "They used some sophisticated technology or something. Best I can tell, they hacked your phone temporarily somehow? Or spoofed the number—though that doesn't explain how they knew what Gregor said to you. Maybe some sophisticated cloning software, but even then there would be fingerprints, and I can't find any."
The mumbo jumbo is over my head. I’m a fighter, not a tech wizard, and Timur may as well be speaking Greek. But if he says there's no trace, I believe him.
"So, what now?" I ask, scowling.
"Give it a few days, it'll work itself out. If not, we'll get you a new phone and put more security into it." Timur sits up straighteras Roman walks back in, glowering. He jerks his chin upward, beckoning Timur over to him. I lean my head back against the wall and shut my eyes.
I don't know who is trying to make me look bad, but I don't like it. And I don't know why I was the one targeted. Roman would make way more sense. No one knows I'm going to be in charge while he's away except Zora. Besides, she'd have no reason to tell my bettors bad information.
It's sort of baffling.
Who knows why I'm being singled out, but if it doesn't stop, I'm gonna bust someone's head. I have worked way too hard on restoring my reputation to let someone ruin it with stupid pranks. If it wouldn’t have really hurt close associates and allies, I'd have thought Stepan immature enough to do something like this, but he knows better.
I'll figure it out eventually, and when I do, heads will roll.
14
ZORA
The wedding was beautiful. Kazimir's uncle and aunt seemed so happy when they danced at the reception, which is still going on, but Kaz hasn't been able to keep his hands off my ass all night. He stands beside me in the elevator with his hand in the small of my back while I chew the inside of my cheek to hide the smirk on my face. The tent in his pants is so obvious, but with all that dirty dancing, it's no wonder.
The whole night has been magical, though one thing is sure—I am starting to realize how deep I've gotten into this. Watching another couple be married usually has one of two effects on people. It either makes them want to get married, or it reminds them how in love they are with their spouse. It did both to me, and God, do I feel guilty now.
"You okay?" he asks, rubbing my spine with his thumb as the elevator slows to a halt on the fifth floor and chimes.
"I'm so good," I tell him, lying through my teeth. I'm so not good. I am a bundle of nerves because I realize I'm falling for this manso hard and I still have a job to do. Kazimir doesn't deserve this. But what do I tell my brothers?
"You're about to be so much better," he says with a wink, and it makes me shudder.
Kazimir leads me off the elevator and down the hall, opening the door for us, which he locks behind himself. When he turns to me, any pretense of masking his lust for me is gone. He's an animal, stalking me across the hotel room until I'm smirking, biting my lip, and nearly tripping over the runner carpet in front of the television.
"You've been driving me insane all night," he says as he reaches for the strap on my left shoulder and slides it down my arm with his fingertips. The silk whispers against my skin as it falls. Then he does the same on the right side and the dress loosens across my chest and holds for a second at the curve of my breasts before he hooks his fingers into the neckline and pulls it down.
The fabric pools at my waist and the chilly air makes my nipples tighten.
"Are you mad, then?" I ask him playfully, looking up through my lashes at him as his hands go to my hips and push the dress the rest of the way down. It slides over my thighs and past my knees and lands on the carpet around my heels.
"There is a pleasure," he says, "in being mad, which none but madmen know." Then his finger hooks into the waistband of my panties and pulls gently, forcing me closer to him.
"John Dryden…" I muse with a smile. I had no idea he liked poetry. It does things to my body that are ungodly to know this man isn't just sweet and kind—he's smart too.
"The Spanish Friar," he says, walking me backward until my shoulders hit the wall. "Now stop talking and let me have you. I've been waiting for this for hours."
I smirk as he snatches my hands and pins my wrists above my head with one hand. His free hand drags across my nipple and I arch into him, a sound escaping my throat that I couldn't hold back if I wanted to. When he leans down and takes the other nipple into his mouth, my knees buckle. The only thing keeping me upright is his grip on my wrists and the wall behind me.
"Kaz," I hiss, but he does what he wants.
"You keep these hands right here. Do you understand?" His hand squeezes around my wrists and I whimper.
