Page 18 of Twisted Tyrant


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I open the refrigerator and take out a container with some leftover porterhouse in it. I cut some up before dropping the rare meat into Nikita’s bowl.

“Actually, I can.”

“I will kill you if you try.”

I slowly turn to face her. “I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I will do just about anything because I have no limits and nothing to lose.”

“You need to keep me here or else your brother will fire you.”

“Do you think I’m doing this for my brother?”

“Well, he’s your boss, isn’t he?”

“No, he’s just a piece of shit who needs something from me.”

“So why don’t you tell him to screw off?” She juts out her hip, sticking her hand on it. “Or are you too scared?”

“Fear has nothing to do with it. This is retribution.”

“Yeah, yeah. Because my father got in your way and cockblocked some deal, right?” she scoffs.

A raging inferno blasts through me. I stalk out of the kitchen, my jaw twitching. I cross over the foyer and close my hand around her throat. A choked gasp escapes her mouth. Her fingers dig into my skin in a panicked frenzy. I don't squeeze hard enough to hurt her, but tight enough to make her realize that I can easily choke the life out of her if she pushes me too far.

I’m already dangling over the edge as it is.

Fear settles into her features, her eyes wide as a deer in headlights. She sees the end in the horizon. And she’d better stay put right here with me if she doesn’t want to meet it. But I still don’t tell her the truth about why I wanted to be the one to pull her away from her cush life. Dima spouted enough hints, but she doesn’t need to hear the full story.

My truth will go to the grave with me. There’s so much she doesn’t need to know...can’t know. Soon enough, my brother’s ring will be on her finger and my job will be finished. I’ll never answer to anyone else again.

I have a new lease on life, and it’s not one I plan to live out under Dima’s thumb. I have my own plans, my own goals. My alter ego, master assassin Maxim Molotov, makes me a shit ton of cash to take care of people’s “problems.” For years, I used my alias and did that job under the radar for my father and his partners, to preserve his organization and influence. The last hit I did was up in New York as a favor for one of my dad’s associates because I’m the best, and people don’t give a damn about my hefty price tag.

Now it’s time for me to do it for myself — to create my own influence, to create my own empire, to create any fucking thing I want. So once the engagement is announced, I’m leaving Miami to freelance. I’ll pick all the jobs and I’ll keep all the cash. I honored my promise to my father and delivered the princess. Now he needs to honor his promise to me.

I release my hand and Natasha’s eyes flash with anger.

“You are such a controlling asshole.” She clutches her throat, bright pink spots coloring her cheeks. She sinks to the floor, her shoulders slumped. “And you seem to have more humanity for that dog than you do for other humans.”

Nikita slurps the remainder of the steak juice and trots around the kitchen island toward the area where Natasha sits against the wall, hunched over. He stops in front of her, his tongue hanging out of his mouth and his tail wagging wildly.

I watch her lift her head and flash a watery smile at him. She reaches underneath his chin and gives him a good belly scratch when he comes closer.

I don’t know if she realizes that she’s just made a best friend for life.

“You were smart to go under his chin.”

Nikita doesn’t like most people, and he hates Dima, so I’m used to a lot of barking and growling when anyone is here. Even the rest of my family steers clear. But he’s like a pile of mush with Natasha.

“I had a dog. I know going over their head feels like an attack.” She keeps her eyes on Nikita, her voice flat.

“What happened to it?”

“I don’t have any desire to talk to you about anything that is remotely personal and important to me.”

“Then I guess it’s gonna be a long few days for you.”

A tense silence follows. I shouldn’t want to talk to her about anything. My hatred for her family, and by association, for her, runs deep. Five years deep. I can’t let the lust that courses through my insides also cloud my mind. No matter what I think I feel, I know it all ends the second Dima comes back for her. I have to forget what I saw, what I felt, what I fantasized about because none of it can become my reality.

I press my fingertips to my temples, a frustrated sigh slipping through my lips. My job, for now, is to protect the family and to secure the empire we’ve worked hard to rebuild. A couple of hours with her shouldn’t have the power to erase the anger that’s rooted in my bones for the time I spent locked away. I wanted to look Ivan Resnov in the eyes and make sure he knew that fucking with my family would bring him nothing but pain.

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