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Sadly, I knew he would. Men like Charles didn’t abide by society’s rules if they didn’t suit them.
He took out a pen from his inside coat pocket. “This building you’re in right now? It’s owned by the same company I’ve sold Cinnamon to. I’ve got a bit of a time crunch and can’t have this deal fall through.”
It sounded like he was in a pinch. My bet was on drugs, bookies, women, or a combination of all three.
“As for getting away with it…” He rocked back on his heels. “Really, what could you possibly do? No one’s going to believe the story of a bunch of college girls over that of a reputable lawyer. Especially when you have no proof. Not to mention the fact that I would slap you with so many lawsuits for defamation that you’d be lucky to keep the clothes on your back.”
Lily spat at his feet. “I’m not signing anything.”
My chest rose with pride. Baran had made the right choice. He just didn’t know how badass his wife was. Yet.
Charles nodded at Comb-over. “Seems like your mistake will come in handy.”
The asshole dragged me over to his employer. Time seemed to slow down. I felt hot and cold. Horrible images of me dropping onto my knees in front of Baldy resurfaced.
Lily went ballistic behind me. “Leave her out of it! Your business is with me.”
I cut Charles a look. “What are you going to do? Break my hand? A leg? Have at it.” I’d survived worse.
Comb-over placed my hand near the blade of the giant saw next to Charles. My mouth went dry.
“You know, I hate name dropping,” I said. “Truth be told, I’ve never done it before. In fact, I’m a little pissed at him right now so I don’t evenwantto mention his name, but if you don’t let us go right fucking now, Kristoff Romanov will come for you.”
Charles scoffed. “Romanov, you say?”
Comb-over blanched, and his grip on my arm loosened. I scoffed. Kristoff may hate to be called Romanov, but whether he liked it or not, it was his calling card.
“He’s the biggest arms dealer on the West Coast,” Comb-over said. “They call him the Soulless One. You don’t want to mess with him.”
His henchmen were taken aback and started casting me nervous looks. There was panic in their features.
Charles grabbed my chin. “Silly little girl, thinking you can throw around a name like that. As if you could have any connections to a man like him. Where are your bodyguards? If you were truly under his protection, he would never let you out of his sight.”
No, he wouldn’t. If it weren’t for the fact that I’d negotiated to have some leeway in my new life. Yuri notwithstanding. Yuri, who believed I was out getting breakfast.
I shrugged. “It’s not my neck that’s on the line. Either give him a call and verify my story, or like I said, have at it.”
“Oh, I’ll definitely ‘have at it.’” His fingers bit into my skin.
“Stop!” Lily sounded frantic. “I’ll sign your damn papers. Just let her go.”
My muscles turned weak.
Lily signed the papers and he gloated, looking gleeful and victorious. He pushed me aside as if I was now just an afterthought. Big mistake. He would rue the day he’d let me go.
They released us a few blocks from campus. The van’s doors opened, and we were shoved out.
“I’m going to crush his balls,” I snarled. Several other scenarios in which I hurt Charles flashed through my mind as we went back to the dorm. I looked at my phone. I’d missed a call from Yuri. To my relief, we’d been away for less than two hours. I sent him a message that I was okay, hoping it wouldn’t rouse any suspicion. I needed to think this thing with Charles through. Telling Yuri would probably result in Kristoff caging me in the mansion again.
The moment we got back into our room, Lily slumped against the door.
I plopped onto my bed. “The one time I use his name and it’s utterly useless. How annoying.”
Lily dropped into her desk chair. She drew up her knees and rested her head on them.
“I wouldn’t want this Romanov guy to know about this anyway,” she said. “I wouldn’t want that on my conscience, no matter how much Charles deserves it.”
“I hear you. These lips are staying sealed until we come up with a plan. Though the plan seems pretty obvious. Tell Baran and he’ll take care of the slimy asshole. He’s far more reasonable than Kristoff.”
