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My entire life, Sergey has pushed me to focus on the Bratva. To work harder. To stay devoted. Now, suddenly, I need to relax?
Unlikely. Even before meeting him, I was never built for it. I need to be in constant motion. When you pause, that’s when the thoughts come in. That’s when the memories crop up.
That’s when the nightmares return.
“It would be hard to relax, knowing an event like that would be the perfect place for whoever took Emily out to strike again. The last thing I need is my date showing up dead. Bad press.”
“You’re going to skip it, then?”
I shrug. “I’ll decide later.”
The smile is gone from Sergey’s face as he leans forward, his head dipped low to catch my eyes. “Sometimes, you forget how well I know you, Timofey.”
“I don’t forget anything.”
He smirks for a moment before it falls away. “I knew you’d say that. I also know that, after what happened, you are obsessive about protecting the women in your life.”
“I want vengeance against those who hurt the people close to me. That’s not unique,” I say. “That’s the Bratva way.”
He nods. “It is—unless that vengeance comes at the expense of the Bratva. No woman is worth risking what we’ve built together. Remember that, son.”
Down on the ground, Piper turns. Her profile is in sharp silhouette, sunlight glinting off her auburn hair.
I’m still watching the sway of her hips as she walks away when I realize Sergey has left the room. I’m alone.
41
TIMOFEY
I step onto the back patio and pull a cigarette from my pocket.
Emily would slap it out of my hand if she was here. I would pull out another one without hesitation.
“Old habits die hard,” I always said when she complained.
She’d inevitably wrinkle her nose in disgust. “So do smokers.”
I light up and lean against the brick column. Piper is no longer visible in the yard. Not that I expected her to be. I know she’s trying to escape. I could tell she was trying to slip away from the house without drawing notice.
But I noticed. I know what she was trying to do.
What I don’t know is when she’ll return.
Because shewillreturn. People don’t walk away from me that easily. Especially when I want them around. And despite all the trouble she’s caused, I do want Piper around.
What I told Sergey is still true: Piper is useful to me. She can take care of Benjamin. More than that, she can help ensure I keep guardianship of him.
It would be a lie to say there’s nothing else to it, though. Especially after the kiss we shared yesterday.
Maybe mutual hatred is the best foreplay in existence. Something about wanting to tear each other limb from limb might feed into the desire, heighten it in some way. Kissing her was better than fucking anyone else has ever been.
There’s just something to the way she stands up to me, while at the same time barely being able to stand at all. The woman is a walking juxtaposition. She’s fiercely vulnerable.
Sergey wasn’t so wrong: I feel protective over the women in my life. I don’t like to see them hurt unless I’m the one doing the hurting.
But Piper isn’t in my life. She’s a tool I’ll utilize to get what I want.
It would serve me well to remember that.
