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Idiot. No one shot at my woman and got away with it. If I didn’t make an example out of him, an assembly of Aslanov’s enemies would come after Katya. I could never allow that. I just needed him to let down his guard.
I counted the bodies on the street. “Just look out for six barrels filled with acid that are tied with red bows. I wish you a happy funeral.”
Then I hung up on him. Damon nodded, knowing what to do. I didn’t need to tell him to put Yuryev in one.
“See to it the owner of this place is well compensated.” I always paid my debts, especially where it concerned my wife and her place of refuge.
My wife who had tried to get away from me. The man who had forced a ring onto her finger. The one who couldn’t let her go because I was an obsessed and possessive asshole like that.
Yet when her eyes searched for me, I took a step toward her. Then another one. Whatever it was she saw on my face—anguish, pain, rage—it made her rush into my arms.
My heartbeat returned to normal when I held her close, taking in her floral scent laced with a hint of gunpowder.
Life was good again. Hoping against hope, I wished it would stay this way.
6.
KATYA
A soft breeze caressed my skin as I basked in the afternoon sun on a lounge chair, trying to think of anything else but Kristoff’s lickable abs. I both hated my husband and lusted after him.
It was two days after I had fled and failed. We both knew I was stuck here for the foreseeable future. Having assassins chasing after me kind of nixed my escape plans.
Not that Kristoff had rubbed that little fact in my face. No, he was still playing nice, and spun me tales every night as I fell asleep.
He knew how much I loved those, and he used it against me. I’d decided to shut my heart and ears to him, but he knew exactly how to slide past my defenses. I couldn’t resist a good fairytale. And although I pretended to sleep, I hung to his every word. I felt like I was right there with him when he told of old kings, knights, and even an evil dragon. He knew I always liked the dragon the most. He had reverse-Scheherazaded me! I could only hope that he wouldn’t continue with it for a thousand and one nights. I didn’t think I could bear it, lying in bed next to him, smelling him, listening to him, but not engaging in any extracurricular sexy activity.
I was reminded yet again that unlike a normal newlywed, I wasn’t on my honeymoon in some exotic location and having nonstop sex. Instead, I was at a pool party at the Romanov mansion. And it didn’t help that my hot-as-sin husband was engaged in a sparring session, just a few yards away from the pool. Oh, and he was bare-chested, because he liked to torment me. Truth was that if it had been any other guy, I would have believed it was a tactic to get me into his bed. Well, I wastechnically in his bed, since we were both sleeping together—he refused to leave our bedroom—but we hadn’t had sex ever since he blackmailed me into marrying him. Kristoff was a lot of things, but being vain wasn’t one of them. Controlling, dominant, ruthless, yes, but the kind of man who walked around without a shirt because he wanted to test my resolve of celibacy, wasn’t his M.O. No, his M.O. was, well, actual ammo. The kind you’d find in the chambers of a gun. A damn gun he had put to his own head, Russian-roulette style, unless I married him.
“I can’t believe you let him shoot himself,” a voice said next to me.
For a moment I’d forgotten about my friend Tommie’s presence. As seemed to happen more and more often, I had zoned out the second my eyes zeroed in on Kristoff, who currently had one of the guards in a chokehold. Kristoff released him, slapped him on the back, then continued on to his next victim.
“It would have been a great loss if a fine specimen of a man like your Russian were dead to this world,” Tommie continued. His eyes went over to Damon, who walked around with a scowl on his face. “Speaking of fine specimens…”
I sighed when Damon’s scowl settled on me and then turned into a glare. I grabbed a glossy magazine and pointedly put it in front of my face. I loved Damon, he was like a brother to me. But not even for him would I cancel my emergency pool party. He believed it was a major safety risk, I believed it was hilarious to see the Bratva stronghold filled with drunk coeds jumping into the pool while dancing to Caribbean music.
To top it all off, the regular house staff was being assisted by hot shirtless waiters, courtesy of Tommie. The moment I had posted a flyer on the college activities bulletin board, someone had reposted it on social media and my pool party had morphed into a small Project X. Turned out people were more than eagerto party at a kingpin’s mansion. To say that Damon was pissed about the need for extra security was putting it mildly. I had gone from being whispered about behind my back to a popular girl, virtually overnight. If my heart hadn’t been in shambles, I’d have enjoyed it.
“How’s the dry spell revenge thing going?” Mia asked, who was basking in the sun on my other side.
“It sucks,” I admitted.
My fingers clamped around my gin tonic as I watched Kristoff from a distance. A splash sounded next to me as one of my college friends—they all wanted to be friends with me right now—jumped into the pool. It hadn’t escaped my notice that she’d been staring at Kristoff.MyKristoff. The man whose ring I wore.
Tommie cleared his throat. “If you stare at Heather any longer, she might spontaneously combust.”
“So that’s her name, Heather? Do you happen to know her last name?”
“No, and by the dark look in your eyes you shouldn’t either.”
I shrugged. “I just want to get to know the people at my party.”
Mia snorted and put down her empty glass. “You don’t give a crap about them. And why should you, when you already have me and Tommie?”
I smiled. Mia had it all—the body of a goddess, long black curls, and sun-kissed skin I could only aspire to. To top it all off, her self-confidence was in good shape as well. She was also one of the most loyal people to be found, and had a heart of gold.
“I’m so happy you guys are here,” I admitted, wincing internally when I heard my voice crack with emotion.
