And most importantly, if I don't get it first, I'll have failed the one man who saved me. But no one, especially Victor, can know what I'm here for.
Victor leans in again to be heard over the music, his breath warm against my ear, and he speaks, breaking my spiraling thoughts.
"Then give a dying man his final wish."
"What is that?" My breath catches despite myself. It's a question I would never have thought he'd ask.
"What's your name?"
I blink. That can't be right. "Your last wish is to know my name?"
His gaze drags over me slowly, lingering on my lips, my throat, the exposed skin above the neckline of my dress. "Among other things."
Heat floods through me again, sharper this time, and I hate him for it. I hate how easily he gets under my skin. How his voice alone makes my body betray every logical thought in my head.
I look away, buying myself a second to regain control and not think about my nipples becoming slightly aroused, and then meet his eyes again.
"Danika," I say, surprising myself by actually giving him my real name.
He repeats my name slowly, looking down at me. He says it in a low, possessive kind of way, and it makes my stomach flip.
I nod.
"Hmm." He pulls me tighter, his hand firm across the small of my back. "Shame you're on the wrong side."
The music stops.
Polite applause ripples through the room, but we don't move.
I break first because I can't take it. I need to stop feeling him on me.
I step back, my heels clicking against the marble floor, and force myself to turn and walk away.
I don't look back, but I can feel his eyes on me, burning through me as I weave between the crowd. I keep my pace steady.
Inside, however, I'm screaming.
I reach the bar and grip the edge of the counter to steady myself.
My mind is racing, a hundred different scenarios running through my mind.
Victor is here to kill Dimitri.
Victor knows about the tablet.
Victor is going to steal it.
As a loyal Bratva operative, I should protect Dimitri. I should eliminate the threat, aka Victor, before he gets anywhere near him or the penthouse. That's the logical move. That's what any other operative would do.
But Ivan's orders were explicit.
Access the tablet. Don't get caught. Don't assume anything.
He didn't say to protect Dimitri. He didn't say to kill anyone who gets in my way. He said to access the tablet.
My jaw tightens.
Ivan comes first. Always.
