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Annika was the perfect carrot. It was clear even from across the room that the advisor had thought about this moment for a long time. He was not at all surprised or suspicious of Annika’s request to meet him at the bar here. Mikhail and Annika drafted that text message together, playing on the old man’s ego and emphasizing how ditzy and innocent Annika was. She told him that Mikhail was a cruel and jealous lover who kept her cooped up, who would only allow her to spend time at Sokolov establishments like theShining Star. She said it was the only way to meet up and talk about things, the only way for them to ‘be together.’ She lied, telling the advisor that Mikhail was neglectful and uninterested in her, so that he would believe there was no danger in coming to meet her.
Annika played her role so well. She bit her lip, she twirled her hair, she batted those long lashes. The advisor bought it, hook, line, and sinker. Obviously, he had just been biding his time all these years, waiting for the opportunity to swoop in and taste a little bit of her forbidden fruit. It must have been hard on the old man, watching beautiful Annika blossom into a woman, only for Egor to send her off to marry Mikhail.
Now, it was all too easy to make him think he was the cat who got the cream. Mikhail knew the man felt brazen and proud of himself, hitting on Annika right under the nose of her fatherandher fiancé. He must think he’s won the lottery, Mikhail mused.
He watched the advisor slide his skeletal hand up her arm. Annika leaned in to whisper something to him. The pair stood up and began to slink away down the hall that led to the elevators that would bring them to the lodging floors. Annika told him she had a private room where they could ‘talk alone.’ It was all part of the plan. Mikhail watched them disappear, then got to his feet to follow them from a careful distance.
The back halls of the casino were notoriously confusing. The building was designed with subterfuge in mind. There were tons of back rooms, storage spaces, long, winding halls with no discernible entrances or exits. It was almost a labyrinth.
So it didn’t take long for Annika to lead her father’s advisor into complete bewilderment. At first, he was grinning from ear to ear, looking at Annika with lust. As far as he knew, he was about to hook up with an insanely gorgeous, wildly off-limits young woman. But Annika was too quick. All it took were a few giddy steps ahead of him, and within a few sharp turns, the lecherous old man was lost. His smile began to fade. He called out for Annika and began to look around with concern. Mikhail was just around the corner, listening to the scene unfold.
“Annika? Miss Baranov?” the advisor called out. “Where did you go?”
Mikhail stepped out into the middle of the hallway.
“You seem lost,” he said.
The advisor whipped around, eyes bulging out of his bony face. He stumbled backward, shaking his head and holding up his hands as Mikhail slowly stepped toward him.
“I-I don’t know how I got here,” the old man lied. “I must have gotten turned around.”
Mikhail smirked. “Egor Baranov’s personal advisor wandering around my casino? Yes, you must be excessively confused,” he growled.
“I don’t mean any trouble. Besides, our factions will be united very soon, won’t they? What’s yours is ours, and vice versa,” the advisor reasoned. He was clever, but totally screwed.
“And you expect me to share my wife with you, as well?” Mikhail pointed out.
The advisor’s face crumbled and went pale. He knew he was fucked now.
“I would never dream of it. Why, I’ve known Miss Annika since she was in diapers. She’s more of a young relative of mine than anything else,” he denied.
“You make a habit of leering at your young female relatives?” Mikhail said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “Perhaps youareoverdue for a lesson in decency.”
“Please, please! Don’t touch me. I-I won’t be any trouble for you. I’m an important man. Egor Baranov would have your head if you harm me,” he said.
“Fuck Egor Baranov,” came Annika’s voice, sweet and clear as a bell.
Before the old man had a chance to turn and look at her, a knife came whistling through the air. It ripped through the advisor’s lapel and riveted him to the wall. He was gasping in fear, confused as to what was going on.
Mikhail pinned the guy, holding the knife in place so he couldn’t run. Annika came strolling up behind him with a satisfied look on her pretty face.
“Miss Baranov, Annika, please. Tell your guard dog to take his filthy paws off of me,” he pleaded with her.
But she merely laughed. “As if I could tell him what to do.”
“She’s not going to help you, man,” Mikhail sneered. “In fact,youare going to helpus.”
The advisor went blustery and angry, glaring daggers at them both.
“Now why the hell would I do that? What could you possibly want from me?” he whined.
“I know my father has something planned for our wedding day,” Annika broke in. “I know he’s plotting to hurt Mikhail. He’s going to betray us.”
“I cannot control Egor any more than you controlhim,” he complained to her, with an annoyed head nod to Mikhail.
“You’re not going to control him. In fact, you’re going to play along like nothing has changed. You’ll continue to be his little whipping boy, right up until the last moment. Got it?” Mikhail hissed.
The advisor angrily stared over his shoulder at Annika. “You’re not the sweet girl I remember anymore,” he insulted her. “Your father would be so disappointed.”
