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He’s stronger than I anticipated, barely taking a step back despite the amount of force I put behind my resistance. And his dark eyes flash with sudden anger.
“You’re really going to turn me down? After all I have to offer your father? After everything I’ve done for your brother?” he demands, his tone turning sharp and demeaning.
“I’m not a fucking toy you get to play with in exchange for donating to my father’s campaign. What you decide to do with your money is entirely up to you. But that doesn’t mean you have any claim on me,” I state coldly.
A cruel smile stretches across Mikhail’s lips, and for the first time, the emotion reaches his eyes. Somehow, that’s far more terrifying than the blank expressions he’s maintained all night.
“We’ll see about that,” he promises darkly, making my stomach knot. Then, as Ben pulls up to the curb in his signature bright-yellow Camaro, Mikhail stalks down the front steps of my home and slides into the passenger seat.
Ben flashes me a broad grin, completely oblivious to the haunting exchange, before the car door shuts. They pull away a moment later, leaving me trembling despite the mild September evening and the warmth of my sweater dress.
I watch until the car vanishes around the corner, my concern for Ben growing by the minute. I don’t like Mikhail—regardless of whether he has ties to the Zhivoder Bratva—and I worry that Ben might not see clearly the type of people he’s surrounding himself with.
Sweet, fun-loving, reckless Ben. He always dives before he looks, and this time, I worry that he might have fallen in with some very bad people.
Heart heavy, I turn to go back inside.
“You must be fucking joking.”
Butterflies burst to life in my belly. I would recognize that voice anywhere, the rich, enticing Russian accent. I whirl, my heart in my throat, to find Efrem standing at the bottom of the steps.
And he does not look happy.
15
EFREM
Five days of unanswered text. No calls. Dani has gone radio silent. At first, I figured she was busy with school, and I didn’t want to hound her. What with all the girls we took off the Zhivoder Bratva’s hands and the five now running around the Veles house in Brooklyn Heights, I’ve been plenty busy myself.
But five days is too many, and I’m starting to think Dani’s silence means something more.
Finally caving into temptation, I do what I promised to stop doing. And after my shift is done, I go to her house to find out what’s going on.
I only intended to watch, to check up on Dani from a distance and make sure she’s okay. I figured she would tell me in her own time what’s going on between us.
But as I stand in the deep shadows of the trees lining the opposite side of the street, I can hardly believe what I see.
Mikhail Sidorov,pakhanof the Zhivoder Bratva and lowest fucking scum of the earth, opening the front door for Dani. She steps willingly onto her patio with him, and a moment later, her security guard departs. Clearly, Mikhail must be trusted by the family.
From the looks of it, he’s just spent a wonderful evening with Dani and her family. The same family, I get the sense she would be perfectly happy if I never met them. Dark, bitter jealousy sours my stomach as I watch them, frozen with disgust and unable to look away.
Mikhail boldly walks Dani back against the grandiose railing of her brownstone home, closing the distance between them and looking far too familiar with her for my taste. And Dani doesn’t push him away.
I can’t hear their hushed conversation, but the intimacy of their posture tells me all I need to know. Dani’s hands rest against his chest in the same fashion as she’s touched mine before. I can feel the ghost of her palms over my heart, a surprisingly enticing touch that doesn’t deter but rather seems to intensify the connection.
Mikhail leans forward to brace his palms on either side of her, and though Dani turns her face away in a coy rejection, her laugh would say she’s enjoying the attention. Fury boils in my veins, and my fists ball with the effort to keep my temper in check.
I want to storm across the street and rip Mikhail’s limbs from his body. I want to kill him in the most violent way possible. Because Dani’smine. She gave herself to me and told me I was the only one she wanted.
Suddenly, I wondered if she was lying. About everything. Because she looks far too cozy with the man I’ve all but warned her about explicitly. Has she been playing me all along? And now she’s ready to move on to someone older with more power, more money?
My thoughts flash to a question she asked me on our first date. About when I might be getting a promotion. Perhaps she’s not interested in a lowly bodyguard. Maybe she wants someone who commands a Bratva.
Torn between an anger that turns my vision red and a deeply unsettling feeling of rejection, I don’t know what to do.
A moment later, Mikhail departs, sliding confidently into a bright-yellow Camaro that rolls silently down the street. Dani stands looking after the car, her expression filled with longing.
I can’t take it anymore. I’ve stood by and watched as long as I can. Seen everything I need to see to know just what she thinks of me.
