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But I knew Dominick had far more sinister plans in the works. It was why he paid for the folder I’d retrieved from Neon Nights. The one that Caleb had tried to steal back. Did he know who’d paid for the intel? That it was his new daddy-in-law looking to screw them over?
My musings were cut short when I entered the main portion of the penthouse. It was furnished to accommodate events such as this. Seating areas were thoughtfully placed around the room for those who wanted to sit and chat, but there were generous open spaces for mingling and rubbing elbows.
Men in tailored suits were busy kissing each other’s asses. Instantly I marked out the ones who were carrying weapons. I didn’t bother doing that with the women. They landed their blows with cutting words and nasty looks instead of bullets.
I scanned the room until I found what I was looking for.
Oh, thank God.
The real beauty of the room was the open bar tucked into the corner. Tonight would require something stronger than champagne to get me through it. I crossed the room like a woman on a mission.
“Can I get a shot of vodka?” I asked, tapping the glass bar top. “And none of that watered-down garbage. Give me something so strong it might induce alcohol poisoning. Do you think needing to get my stomach pumped qualifies as a reasonable excuse for leaving this shit party?” I grumbled.
A young kid, probably barely old enough to pour alcohol, stood there staring at me. He blinked a few times, like his brain was trying to confirm he’d heard me correctly. A smirk crept up my face at the thought.
“Well?” I asked expectantly.
He glanced from side to side before ducking behind the bar and popping up with an unassuming bottle clutched in his hands.
“This is the stuff you want, then,” he said with a conspiratorial smile. Anything in a plastic bottle was bound to be strong enough to strip paint. It would taste like shit, but as long as it did the job, I was game.
“I’ll take one with you, yeah?” he said.
Obviously, he’d meant it as a rhetorical question because two shot glasses appeared. He poured us both a generous double, using his chin to signal me to grab mine for a toast.
“To beautiful women.”
Holding back my eye roll at his flirtation attempt was physically painful. But rather than shoving the glass down his esophagus, I played nice, throwing back the liquid. My throat felt like it was on fire, and the smell of the shot alone singed my nose hairs.
Damn, this could wake you up from a coma.
I slammed the glass on the bar top, ready to leave. “Thanks for the good shit. Now I need to go locate a dick.” The moment the words left my lips, I pointed my finger at him. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded, and no, I don’t want yours.”
I turned to go find an inconspicuous corner to hide in while I searched for Caleb so I could avoid him. But I ran into a brick wall before I made it more than a few inches.
A warm bergamot and whiskey-scented brick wall.
Large hands landed on my exposed shoulders to steady me.
“Whoa, where are you off to so quickly that you can’t watch where you’re going?”
“To fuck your mo—” The rest of my retort died on my lips when I looked up. Tingles erupted in all the areas his rough fingers touched. I took in the full glory of the Russian Boogeyman himself, Nikolay Volkov.
Fuck, he was delicious.
My lids fluttered closed as I attempted to rein in my reactions, because I was a mess of conflicting emotions. Subconsciously I wanted to run or curl up in the fetal position. Then there was the hussy in me who wanted to ask if he would speak directly into my pussy with that luscious rumble. But a bucket of ice water was dumped on my libido—really, it was more like a cold-ish splash because my nipples were still hard enough to cut glass—when I realized the other two might not be far behind. And I did not want to see Caleb again.
But the man had me boxed in, and it didn’t look like he would let me go anytime soon.
CHAPTER 8
NIKO
A DEVIL IN A SATIN DRESS
She had to be unhinged. The beautiful ones usually were because I was pretty sure she was about to say she was on her way to fuck my mom.
Fuck. She was gorgeous up close.
