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“Look, I appreciate you giving me this, but I’m not going to Russia with you.”
Ilya had an inscrutable look on his face. “Your father wants to protect you. You are not safe here.”
“Somehow I doubt I’ll be safer by his side. I mean, if he has enemies, they’ll come for him first, right?”
He was silent for a beat. “Kristoff has sworn his allegiance to Sokolov. For whatever reason, the Soulless One is loyal to him. How do Americans say this? When push comes to the shovel, Kristoff will choose his Bratva over you.”
It was almost cute how he misspoke the saying.
I shook my head. “No, he won’t. Kristoff is many things, but he’s not the type that would hand over his wife, or any other member of his Bratva.”
“Are you sure about that?”
I wasn’t going to let him inside my head. “Positive.”
“You think you know him so well?” he insisted.
“I might not know everything about the enigma that is Kristoff Romanov, but I do know he is fiercely protective of the ones he loves. Stay away from me, Ilya, or you might not likewhere you will end up. I don’t want your death on Kristoff’s conscience.”
***
Back home, I couldn’t help but feel a bit duped about my bet with Kristoff. It wasn’t so much about the car as the fact that, once again, he’d probably manipulated me in a certain direction. I knew he didn’t like me driving that car. He thought it was dangerous, and if it were up to him I’d be driving around town in a Rolls Royce tank, like some old lady.
As expected, Kristoff was in his gym, but he wasn’t the one I was looking for. I traipsed right past him, which earned me a raised brow. Yeah, my guy was used to my eyes being only on him when he was in the room. Especially when he was all sweaty from pumping iron like that.
I stopped in front of Damon, who was doing bench presses. Angel just added another weight to his barbell.
“I have a message for you,” I said, folding my arms in front of me. I loved the twins, but they weren’t always reasonable. And whatever promise Onyx had broken, they should just let it go already. She was a badass, fierce woman who deserved to roam freely.
Damon looked on expectantly, while Angel asked, “To which one of us?”
I huffed. “Since she explicitly said ‘those two crazies,’ I’m assuming it’s meant for the both of you.”
“She?” Angel asked, with a glint in his eyes.
“Guess our woman is finally ready to speak with us,” Damon said.
Angel frowned. “I’m not much for these outlandish communication methods of today’s youth. I much rather prefer talking one-on-one instead of through an intermediary , even it that intermediary is our lovely Katya.”
I rolled my eyes. “Today’s youth? You sound like a grumpy old man. We celebrated your twenty-something birthday like three months ago.”
“What’s her message?” Damon cut right to the chase.
“She said to stop stalking her or she would…” I frowned, trying to remember the exact words she’d used. I shrugged. “Do something…Something unpleasant.”
Damon put down his barbell. “Something, something what?”
“Does it involve a paddle and nipple clamps?” Angel asked.
“No, it was some word I doubt would mean that.”
“What word?” Damon practically barked at me.
An arm wrapped around my waist from behind. “Don’t fucking use that tone with her,” Kristoff growled.
Damon’s eyes flashed an unholy light. He was so mercurial, one moment impassive and uncaring, the next majorly intense, ready to blow up.
“Think, Katya, what word did she use?” Damon asked, this time his voice friendlier.
