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“My single memory of my family was when my father killed the puppy my mother had brought me. He made me watch while my mother was screaming.”
“What?” Startled, she immediately gripped my arm, pulling herself closer. “Oh, my God. Oh, Kostya. I am so sorry. I don’t know what to say.”
“Maybe I was better off without the wretched bastard, eh?” I gripped the glass with enough strength I knew I could crack it.
She wrapped her fingers around mine, squeezing. “The love I saw in your eyes for Aziza and for Kiki shows me so much about you.”
“When I saw you in that diner, a single flash of your gorgeous green eyes was all it took to snap something inside of me, a beast rushing to the surface. I wanted you to bend to my will, to do everything I demanded of you. Every ounce of decency was tossed aside, the need to bury my cock into your sweet pussy all I could think about. A damn compulsion. A drug. I used every ounce of restraint to try and keep you pure, but I snapped like the monster I am. By the time I’d taken you away from the United States, I’d already sullied you, corrupting your innocence. I’ll burn in the fires of hell just like you want for that and dozens of other terrible things I’ve done in my life. But I won’t allow you to be caught in the middle of a war.”
“What are you talking about? What is happening here?”
I turned toward her, taking several deep breaths. “You were lured to New York, Emily. Yes, your mother was ill, but she was coerced into asking you to care for her.”
“What? No. That’s nuts.”
“It’s the truth. Eddie was a good friend of your father’s. It’s my belief he’d promised your dad he’d look after you but sold his soul or was threatened by a man who had no qualms about threatening him and his family. Then I was pulled into the game, played like some fucking fiddle because I’d be forced to take you with me.”
“You’re not making any sense, Kostya. Is this all about what my father might have left for me?”
“That’s exactly what this is about, only I don’t think what information your father gathered was on a few crime syndicates. I think what he held in his possession had more power than he understood. I need for you to find the note you mentioned.”
“I’ll do what I can but with my mother being so sick, I have no idea what condition she’ll be in.”
“Where would she keep it?”
Emily gave me a harsh look. “You’re not going to trash her house.”
“But you have permission to be there.”
“Yes, but I wouldn’t have a clue as to where she’d keep it. She never fully unpacked after moving, insisting on selling the house I grew up in. Given the timing, it could be anywhere.”
I gave her a stern look. “This is very important, Emily. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.”
“What are you planning on doing with it if we find what you’re looking for?”
“I’m not certain and that’s as honest as I can be.”
“You’re not going to destroy it. If it could incriminate dozens, hundreds of criminals, then I will follow my father’s wishes.”
“Even if it meant incriminating your lover?”
Her mouth twisted as she thought about what I was saying. “Is that what I am, Kostya? Your lover? Does that mean at some point you’ll find another when you get tired of me?”
I cupped her cheek, drawing her even closer. “I care for you.”
“Like you do any other possession. I know what I am to you. You’ve made that perfectly clear.” When she tried to pull away, I tightened my grip.
“Listen to me. This is a very dangerous game and it’s about to become treacherous.”
“I admit it. You’re scaring me. What is really going on?” she asked. She was so calm, so damn trusting. Jesus. She had no reason to trust me to any degree after everything I’d put her through. “I’m obviously no fool. There is a hell of a lot more to this game you keep mentioning.”
“You’re going to need to place enough trust in me to know that I will do everything in my power to protect you. Can you do that for me?”
She narrowed her eyes then looked away. “I shouldn’t but you already know that. I didn’t want any of this, but as you’ve said to me, once I’m in the dragon’s lair, there’s no going back to my former life. I know what you are and where you live. You’ll never let me go if for no other reason than someone could talk, telling them about my identity and what you and I shared. One day you won’t be there to protect me. Then what? I’ll be dead. What aren’t you telling me?” Her last question was a full demand.
At this point, there was no reason not to provide as many details as I could.
“Have you heard of Dimitri Volkov?” I could tell instantly that she recognized the name.
