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Chapter Six
As if in a daze, she deftly followed Sevastyan. He led the way up the back stairs to his office, Dimitris and the lowlife Bjorn in tow. The goons stayed at the bottom of the stairs at their boss’ silent gesture.
Matteo, Roman, and Lucian had slipped away, where she didn’t know but hoped somewhere close by. While they were back to being the enemy, they were also the devils she knew and the lesser of the two evils.
Neither Sevastyan nor his men would hurt her. Hadn’t they already had ample opportunity for that? No, she wasn’t part of their agenda—she just had to make sure it stayed that way.
But now that he knew her real identity, all bets were off.
She tried to catch Maya’s eye but the other woman kept her face down the whole time. Bruises peeked out from beneath the leather collar and the small dress didn’t do anything to hide the raised lash marks on her thighs as she walked. Sevastyan must have sensed Rhia’s distress because he tightened his hold around her and pulled her into his chest. Or he wanted to keep her from doing something stupid.
“Indigo,” Sevastyan caught his assistant’s attention as they walked the short distance from the elevator and entered the personal office space on the third floor. “Please escort Mr. Dimitris into my office. I’ll be there momentarily. Everyone stays out but myself and Dimitris.”
Rhia witnessed an exchange of wills between the two men at Sevastyan’s order. For a second she thought there would be a problem, when Dimitris spoke up, holding a hand for Maya to kneel by Bjorn, who waltzed into the office like he belonged there.
“Of course, there’s much we must discuss.”
She took a half step back and Sevastyan’s grip tightened as Dimitris was led into the office and out of sight.
With a hard tug, Sevastyan led her to the opposite side of the room and turned them around to where he had his back to everyone. When she didn’t look at him, he pressed a finger under her chin until her gaze rose to his.
“You are to stay here. Don’t try to kill Bjorn again. I’ll take care of him. Do you understand me? Matteo and Roman will be here in a moment. When they come, go with them. They will take you somewhere safe. I will be with you when I finish here. Be prepared for a long talk.” He paused a moment before he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and mumbled something in his native tongue against her skin, “I think we both want some answers when this show is over.”
His sharp gaze narrowed on hers. Somehow he managed fiery and cool at the same time.
Biting back a foul curse, she pressed her lips together.
He gripped her chin in a tight hold. “Do not fight me on this,” he growled. The fire in his gaze swallowed the cool undercurrents.
Choking back a primitive growl of her own, she settled on what she felt. Grim. “Trust is earned. I told you that before, Sevastyan.”
He didn’t say anything, just continued to stare down at her like she’d grown two heads. Unless he wanted to spell out his involvement with her father’s death, they had nothing to talk about. Then again, her ego had a big mouth and needed to shut up. She’d made it this far. Answers would be nice. And then she could turn them in for the criminals they were.
“Don’t disobey me. You’ll be sorry, kroshka.” The shimmer of his golden eyes added an exclamation point to the subtle warning in his tone. He slanted her a calculating look. “While you’re debating if you run or not, think on this.” He tightened his arms, pulled her smaller body into his large frame, and lowered his voice to the point she had to strain. “Truth has one color, but a lie has many depending on what you want to see.”
The pure-blooded mafia monster had a way with words.
He flashed a toothy smile, pulled away, and stepped into his office, closing the door.
Nothing good ever came out of closed-door meetings. Her father had taught her that. Could they be discussing her fate? Her father?
A rustling sound brought her attention back on target. From across the room, she watched Maya turn dutifully toward Bjorn at something he said. Holding Rhia’s gaze, he tugged on the leash when Maya didn’t obey his command fast enough. Another hard tug and she fell forward to her hands in front of him.
Anger turned razor-sharp and Rhia balled her fists, ready to commit murder. Seeing her friend humiliated in that way made her heart break, and she prayed with all her soul she had the strength not to make it worse for her and find help instead.
Indigo slipped from Sevastyan’s office and Rhia’s gaze flickered toward Bjorn.
“Can I get you anything while you wait?” Indigo approached the unwanted guest and Rhia couldn’t believe what she saw. Indigo didn’t pay a lick of attention to Maya. They were friends, even before she came along.
Rhia jumped into action. Before Indigo could stop her, she strode across the office and let herself into the inner office. She flinched slightly at the deep sound of Sevastyan voice. Her gaze found his nothing short of murderous and the chilled, cold glare almost froze her in place the second the door closed behind her, but she moved to the far side where the bar hugged the back part of the office.
“You’re an elusive man, Dimitris,” Sevastyan spoke in English, and she could feel his eyes tracking her every move.
“I think you can appreciate that necessity,” the other Russian countered in a languid tone.
With her back to the men, she could feel the burn of Sevastyan’s gaze between her shoulder blades. She turned to face the men, suppressed the brittle woman inside that wanted to run, scream, hurl crystal against stone and watch it shatter. Instead, she plastered a smile on her face as she balanced a small serving tray with a bottle of Moskovskaya and two filled tumblers. Sevastyan’s lit eyes were as she expected, trained on her. If looks alone could perform miracles she’d be beamed out of there so fast whiplash would be her primary concern. But there was nothing science fiction about the scene unfolding before her.
His words flitted over her mind. What had he meant about truth being one color?
