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Rodion holds up his hands and takes another step away from me. “Let’s not get mean,sobrat.Fyodor might have a face for television, but I—”
“Have revealed enough of yourself already,” Timofey growls.
Rodion’s jaw clicks, but he nods and lowers his head in deference. “I didn’t realize you were expecting a guest today.”
“It’s none of your fucking business who comes and goes in my house.” Timofey walks over to me, standing at my side like a guard dog, hackles raised. “Disrespect me or any of my guests again, and I’ll be on my worst behavior.”
Rodion swallows. I shudder to think what Timofey’s worst behavior might look like. I’m usually anti-violence, but I actually wouldn’t mind a little example. Especially if Rodion is the test subject.
“Understood,” Rodion mumbles, nodding.
I have to bite back a smile. It’s rare in life that you get to witness immediate karma. It’s nice to see a creep like Rodion get what he deserves.
Rodion turns and tips his head towards the hallway. All of the other men in the room start to file out. He’s clearly some kind of leader to these men, yet Timofey put him in his place with ease. In the hierarchy of this house, Timofey is at the tippy top.
Good to know.
But the relief I felt at Timofey’s appearance fades quickly once we’re alone. And I’m left thinking,Maybe Rodion wasn’t so bad, after all.
14
PIPER
I swallow and fold my hands behind my back. “Thanks for—I don’t know what his problem was. I walked inside and asked for you, but… Well, anyway, thank you for that.”
“You’re incapable of completing the most basic task without getting yourself into trouble,” Timofey interrupts.
My mouth slams closed. He’s staring down at me, his blue eyes narrowed. Every angle of his face is sharp enough to cut glass.
“I don’t remember calling for help. I was handling myself just fine.”
“That’s because you don’t know who you were talking to.”
I arch a brow. “What kind of dangerous people do you have wandering around your house first thing in the morning? If I needed saving two seconds after walking into your house, that would be your fault, not mine.”
“The fact that you’re in way over your head is your fault. Don’t make me remind you why you’re here.”
“No reminder necessary. I know why I’m here. It’s because I have a moral backbone.”
He steps closer, forcing me to tip my head back to maintain eye contact. “You’re here because you’re too foolish to take the easy way out. You could have agreed to do what I asked in the first place and made things easier on yourself.”
“If you keep calling me stupid, I might start to think you mean it.”
“I always mean what I say. You should take me at my word.”
A laugh that surprises even me bubbles up. “‘Your word’ means absolutely nothing to me. You’re lying to me right now.”
His lips twitch, and I can’t help but think how wrong it is that a man as rotten as Timofey can have lips like that. Full and soft. Utterly kissable, if we’re being honest.
“You aren’t upset that you had to save me,” I continue. “You’re upset that I’ve spent thirty seconds in your house and already nearly uncovered a damaging secret.”
“What secret would that be?”
I tap a finger against my forearm in the same spot Rodion was showing me. “I’m guessing the dots on your man’s arm don’t represent how many abandoned kittens he’s fostered.”
“What kind of damaging secret could it be if I let him tattoo it on his body?”
“You‘let him’tattoo it?” I ask. “You control what your employees put on their own body?”
