Page 99 of Fractured Ties

Kolya had a man at the door.

Maya yanked the door open with a smile and then promptly turned in to a block of ice at the sight of the man waiting on the other side.

Well-dressed.

Hair slicked back.

Broad shoulders.

Cold eyes.

Vadim.

The man smiled thinly at the sight of Maya. Behind him, the man Kolya always had watching the door stood with his hands at his back. Well, she supposed given that Vadim was the boss, he didn’t have much of a choice but to let him in.

Kind of like me right now.

“You look out of breath, girl,” Vadim said. “Did I interrupt something?”

“Is my face painted?”

Vadim arched a brow. “Partially.”

“Then, yes, you interrupted me.”

“My apologies.”

Yeah, he sounded sorry. Maya wasn’t exactly the type to be purposely rude to anyone, but Vadim hadn’t exactly done very much to make her feel welcome … let alone safe. In fact, when she was in his presence, he pretended like she didn’t exist, and if he did notice her, he acted like she was trash.

How was that supposed to make her feel?

Vadim gestured at her, and the half-closed door. “Care to let me in, Maya?”

Not particularly.

It didn’t look like she had a choice, though.

12.

VADIM DIDN’T give Maya the chance to step back and allow him inside the hotel. No, he simply gave her a cold smile before he drifted in the doorway and basically forced her to move, or he would have been the one to move her.

By the time she had closed the door—although not before she saw the man Kolya left to watch her pull a phone from his pocket—and turned around, Vadim had already crossed the room. He made himself right at home beside the wet bar by overturning a crystal glass, and pouring himself a hefty drink of vodka.

His blank, pensive stare drifted over the room, but barely took notice of her as he absorbed the surroundings. All the while, he never said a thing. Not even when Sumerki wandered out of the bathroom, and stopped to sniff his shoes.

Then, finally, Vadim turned that sharp gaze on her. “This is a step up for you, I imagine, no?”

Maya folded her arms over her chest. “The hotel, you mean?”

“My son’s wealth.”

Get right to the point.

“I don’t think your son realizes how wealthy he is, considering the only thing he has to show he’s got any kind of money is his vehicle and the suits he wears.”

Vadim tipped his glass in her direction, saying, “That’s fair enough, girl. Kolya never was the type to be … excessive.” His gaze pointedly drifted over the hotel room again. “Except, it seems he’s throwing a bit of money around at the moment, isn’t he?”

“Not because I want or need him to,” Maya returned.