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It was a problem for tomorrow. For now, I focused on the sound of the front door opening and heels clicking up the stairs. I gave their owner an apologetic smile that was anything but apologetic and she visibly gagged.
“What the fuck?” Rhea’s mortified face was all I saw. “Ekaterina, this isn’t what I signed up for.”
She was wearing a long, puffy, princess-like dress in a shade of light blue with a lot of sparkles. Her hands covered her mouth, her eyes wide.
“I’m sorry.” I shrugged. “But I do need your help.”
Rhea did breathing exercises for a minute. Deep breaths in, deep breaths out. Slowly, once her hands stopped shaking, she swallowed and nodded.
“Okay, this is how we’re going to do this,” she announced and snapped her fingers. Two of her security guards appeared shortly after. “You two.” She pointed at them with her index finger. “Take care of this.” She twirled her finger towards the corpse. “And you.” Her eyes were on me. “Get ready. My helicopter doesn’t have unlimited fuel.”
I blinked. “You flew a helicopter here?”
“How else was I supposed to come so quickly? Now hurry up.”
I listened to her and rushed to the bathroom to take my underwear off and remove all the blood, along with the piece of glass that was still in my arm. It didn’t hurt removing it, though stopping the blood and patching it nicely took a while.
When I checked the clock, I was shocked to see that it was past six o’clock and picked up the pace, finishing in record time. The night was still young, and all the monsters were about to come out of hiding.
N I N E T E E N
“I’M never forgiving you for this,” Rhea murmured as we made our grand entrance. “I’m definitely throwing you under the bus.”
I laughed but agreed. “And you should. Thank you for doing it for me.”
We were at the top of a long staircase. Aleksei had chosen one of the most spacious, expensive, and well-known venues that fit around five hundred people. Of course, his invitation list wasn’t as long, hence it wasn’t too crowded.
A small smile spread over my face. The decoration and my attire matched—green and gold ran throughout the ample room, from the napkins and tablecloths to the candle holders and candles themselves. Even the ceiling had been decorated to perfection.
As we stepped down, slowly and gracefully, I noticed a wide grin on Rhea’s face. One of the main reasons I liked her was because we were similar in this sense. I liked attention; Rhea thrived on it. She never sought it, but wherever she went, all eyes were on her. Her gorgeous face and radiant personality probably helped.
“Hey, Rhea.” I turned towards her as soon as we reached the end of the stairs. “You should look for Dominik. Tell him all about what I’ve asked you to do.”
She had blush on, but her cheeks turned even pinker. I suppressed a laugh and only told her to go.
“I’ll catch you later. Do not, and I’m telling you this with a heart full of love, kill anyone.”
It was a threat. I rolled my eyes and shooed her off.
I recognized every single person in the room, from a lot of paid politicians that often kissed Aleksei’s ass to the Don of the Italian mafia. His wife was on his arm, and both of them looked like they would rather be anywhere else. They were allies with Aleksei, but the relationship was rocky, given the multiple disagreements between our fathers when they’d ruled.
The Don nodded towards me in a brief greeting. I returned the favor and walked straight to the open bar. It’d been a very stressful day, and since Rhea’s ability to fly a helicopter was rusty, I needed a drink or two.
“Isabella’s Islay please.”
I’d inherited my drinking habits from Aleksei and Dominik. They cherished their whiskey more than anything and had no issue paying millions per bottle. The hidden gems were behind the bar, if you knew what to look for.
The bartender nodded and quickly poured me a glass, sitting it on top of a green napkin. I glanced around. People were chatting, the music wasn’t too loud, and the waiters were rushing to get everyone their drinks.
I sipped on the whiskey. It slid down my throat with ease, the rich taste of it sending shivers down my spine. Rhea and Dominik entered my sight. They seemed to be chatting. Rhea saw me from across the room and winked. I hid my smirk behind the glass.
“I thought you couldn’t make it.” Aleksei’s voice forced me to break eye contact with Rhea. I returned my gaze towards the bar and found my brother sitting next to me.
I chuckled. “As if I’d miss your birthday.”
“Where’s my present then?”
My eyes narrowed. “Your gift is life, because lately, you keep pissing me off.”
