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“I don’t need protection. I create my own.” I noticed a slight tick under Leonid’s smooth cheek because I pointed out the truth. “I like where I’m at, Pakhan. I don’t wish to change anything.” The shit my father had put me through, the fact that he’d killed Sasha, my mother, and the blood and bodies I’d had to wade through in order to reach the surface, wasn’t anything I’d ever do again.
I got to a point in my life where I didn’t have to work for anyone anymore. I worked for myself, had the Ruin as a conglomerate of other businesses I could choose from. My reputation and skill preceded me, and because of that, I didn’t have to be tied down to one side. I could accept or turn down anything I wanted. I wouldn’t get that with Leonid. He’d expect complete obedience and submission, no questions asked. A loyal dog.
And as I said those words, I could see on Leonid’s face that the pleasant facade he’d put on was slipping. The sound of men shouting “Na zdorovie” before they drank filled the sudden silence. It did nothing for the tension that was now between Leonid and me.
And then his stoic expression cracked, and he smiled, but I wasn’t a fool in thinking that he would just give up on trying to bring me on to his side fully. Because a man like him, a Bratva Pakhan, was used to getting his way in all things. And if that meant he had to steal, rape, or kill to get it, he was bastard enough to do it.
Several women came out from the back, black trays in their hands, each one topped with drinks. I didn’t spare them much attention, just noticed the shift and change in the air. But then everything around me stilled as the last woman emerged, her white dress standing out among the red and black of the others, her long black hair piled high on her head, the elegant line of her neck and delicate length of her spine in full view.
Every muscle in my body tightened to the point it was uncomfortable and hard to hide. This was the last place I’d ever expect to see Lina, the last place I’d ever want her to be. And when Leonid turned his attention to see what I was looking at, I knew I’d made a big fucking mistake. An interested and curious gleam entered his eyes as he noticed Lina and then slowly looked back at me.
“Gorgeous, isn’t she?” he murmured in Russian, and the way he said those words told me he’d been undressing her with his eyes.
I curled one of my hands into a tight fist, my other hand flexing and relaxing with the need to draw my gun and place the end right between his fucking eyes, demanding he look away from her. He had no right to look at Lina, not when I knew all the depraved shit he was into, not when I also knew he dealt with human trafficking.
“Do you know her?” The tone of his voice told me he already knew the answer to that. I didn't bother responding. “She’s got this innocence about her, one that just makes you want to do the filthiest things…” He murmured the last part, and his fucking sons chuckled.
If I’d wanted to, I could’ve drawn my weapon and shot all three of them before any of the other people in this room could have stopped me. Of course, I would’ve been shot dead right afterward, but at least Leonid and his little bastard sons would be in the ground with me.
He turned to look at me, a shit-eating grin on his face. I hated that he’d seen any kind of reaction in me, because men like him would use it to their advantage. They’d see it as a weakness. And I couldn’t lie and say he was wrong.
Lina was a weakness, an addiction, and I hadn’t even sampled. She made all rational thoughts leave my head, and she didn’t even have to be in the same room to succeed.
Everything else faded away as I watched Lina start handing out drinks. I could feel Leonid’s gaze on me, could envision the bastard smirking, as if he’d just found a chink in my carefully placed armor.
She hadn’t noticed me yet as she walked around. The men eyed her like she was a piece of meat, slipping her money, leaning forward and whispering things that made her blush but also had her eyes narrowing.
She set a drink beside an old fuck, his smile wide and lewd as he ignored the half-naked woman on his lap, her breasts close enough to his mouth he could have licked them. He held out a fifty-dollar bill, a wink being added to the mix, and when she took it with a soft smile, I could see his other hand snaking out like he planned on palming her ass.
