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He frowned, as if something I’d said surprised him. “You’re not a guest.”
Damn straight I wasn’t. I’d fought hard to earn my place in this household. “Then why do you make me feel like one?”
Our eyes locked, and I waited for a sign, an explanation, anything that showed he understood me. Even a hint of the softness in his voice when he’d found me at that warehouse would suffice. It would give me a smidge of hope that he cared about me.
All I got was a nod. Then he left.
Once again, I felt like I’d banged my head against a brick wall that refused to crumble. Suddenly feeling cold, I pulled my sheets up under my chin. I’d read somewhere that unrequited love lasted the longest. Going by that prediction, my love for Kristoff would be eternal.
9
KRISTOFF
Weeks had passed since the Bulgarian ordeal, but my rage still hadn’t dissipated. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Katya’s bloody, bruised body on the floor. It made me want to kill people again. No matter how many times I punched a bag in the gym, that rage didn’t leave. I wanted to hold her, which made no sense. As if the blood-covered hands of a killer could give her any solace. That didn’t stop me from following her around the house through the security camera feed on my laptop. I was like a stalker, the phantom of the opera without a mask. I wanted to cover her up in bubble wrap, so no one could get to her again. I wanted to keep her by my side all the time. Especially at night, a dark voice inside of me whispered. But it could never happen. Some rules even I would not break.
To take my mind off things I’d gone to Flux, the nightclub I owned with Gio Detta. I searched the place for Gio’s head of security, Hector. A man who hated me with a passion. A man who also was my half-brother. Normally, I could brush off hatred like that, or eliminate said person, but not with him. Never with him.
I spotted Jocelyn Detta in the corner. She was with a blonde woman and a blue-haired guy. They must be out on one of their infamous monthly girls nights. They were obviously tuned into each other, having a laugh and a drink. It was this kind of friendship with her peers what Katya craved, and I had kept her from it all this time, figuring it wouldn’t be safe. Thinking that if I put her in the spotlight, my enemies would take notice and use her against me.
Which is why you covet her like a dragon does his treasure.
That random thought had me stiffen. She wasn’t my treasure, she was a responsibility, a promise to a mother, I told myself. My enemies had gotten to her, regardless. Perhaps she was right, and I had been too strict. Something I was going to amend. Starting with getting her an invitation to this monthly girls night. Gio had called me about it—his woman and her friends had been thoroughly screened.
I sat in a private booth between the twins. Our table was packed with enough liquor to take out a rhinoceros. Some scantily clad woman sat on Angel’s lap, batting her lashes and pouting. His brother Damon, on the other hand, didn’t allow himself to relax in public. As always, he was on the lookout for trouble, even though we’d annihilated the Bulgarians and there were no immediate threats. He was simply wired that way.
The curly blonde who sat next to Jocelyn Detta walked up to our table. I barely looked at her, figuring she would want to be next to give either of the twins a lap dance.
Angel asked the blonde on his lap, “Which one of us do you find more attractive? Me or my brother, Damon?”
Damon just shook his head in exasperation. The girl’s eyes went over Damon’s jean-clad legs and red sneakers, then beamed when she compared that to Angel’s Zegna suit and Rolex.
I doubted the girl could guess the right answer.
“You, Angel,” she said. “I choose you.”
“Wrong answer, love.” He nudged her off his lap. “Off you go. Guess it’s my burden for being the prettier one.” The girl turned red and skulked off, her eyes flashing fire.
As always, Angel was fast with going to the next ‘delicate flower’ as he dubbed his women. He stood up and moved to stand next to the new curly blonde girl in a hot minute. I sometimes suspected the twins would do better with a ‘cactus’ than a ‘flower.’
The blonde zoomed in on me.
“Hi, Kristoff, I’m Mary Rossi, and I would like to talk to you about your brother.”
My brother? I inspected her closer. Her eyes were full of determination. She was a pretty woman, looking like a fresh college grad. I wondered if perhaps one of my men had gotten her pregnant and sold her the lie of being my sibling. It wouldn’t be the first time. The last time, I’d ostracized the bastard who had done it.
“Your brother, Hector,” she clarified when I didn’t react.
Hector? Now it was getting interesting. Hardly anyone knew about us sharing blood, other than Gio, of course. He and Hector were best friends.
“And who are you to my brother? My brother, Hector.”
She seemed to steel herself and ignored Angel, who crowded her space.
“I’m his fiancée, and I—”
“Angel,” I snapped, adding a curse word in Russian.
Holding up his hands, Angel immediately stepped back.
