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“You’re putting those kids in danger by associating with him,” he interrupts. “You know that, right?”
Fear rips through me. Not because of what he’s said; more because he’s mentioned the kids at all. “You stay thefuckaway from them!”
He holds up his hands. “I don’t mean them any harm.”
“If Ruslan knows you’re here, he’ll kill you.” My attempts to scare him into leaving don’t seem to be working. But the mere thought of him laying his grimy paws on Rae’s hair makes me taste bile. “Just… just leave me and my family the hell alone, Remmy. I want nothing to do with you. I’m not gonna give you what you want.”
He sneers down his newly crooked nose at me. “Disappointing. But I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you won’t rat out Ruslan Oryolov. Why would you? It’s not easy to fuck over the guy you’re fucking.” I stiffen instantly and his chuckling leer becomes all the more pronounced. “I must say, fucking your secretary is wholly unoriginal. I would have expected more from Ruslan.”
Since I’m not about to deny it, I decide to walk away.
“I have a tape!” he blurts.
That has me stopping in my tracks. I slowly pivot on the spot. “What?”
He laughs without blinking—creepy—and holds up the recording device. “Let me take you back to a few minutes ago. You and Ruslan. Moaning and groaning againstthatwall—” He gestures over to the wall Ruslan took me against. “—fucking like rabbits.”
A tiny zip of panic unsettles my stomach. But it’s gone as soon as it comes. “So if I don’t give you dirt on Ruslan, you’re gonna make that tape public?”
“You’re a smart one.”
I squint at the device he’s wiggling in my direction. “Wish I could return the compliment.” His smile vanishes. “That’s an audio recorder, am I right?”
His hand drops. “Yes.”
I shrug. “How can you prove it’s me on that tape? Without visual evidence, how can you prove it’sRuslanon the tape?”
He bares his teeth. “People trust me—”
I scoff. “I think you’ll find that you don’t have the reach or the reputation that you seem to believe you do. You want to put that tape out there? Go right ahead. Frankly, I don’t give a damn.”
The last traces of his smug smile disappears completely. He glares at me with wide eyes and flared nostrils. “Wait… wait!”
I walk away without glancing back. But I do give him a parting warning over my shoulder. “I suggest you run, Remmy. Run now. Run fast.”
I don’t make eye contact with anyone when I enter the Onyx Room and veer straight towards my table. I know I’m the center of attention right now, and perhaps not for the right reasons—but I’m finding it hard to care. The only person whose eyes Iwanton me are Ruslan’s.
I have that from the moment I step inside.
And, the moment I sit down, his hand finds its way onto my thigh. That’s right where it belongs, too. He smells like me, his usual oaky musk underlined by the faint scent of citrus.
“You took longer than I expected.”
I ignore the eagle-eyed gaze I’m getting from Ruslan’s uncle and lean towards him. “I was stopped by someone outside the bathroom. Remmy.”
A shadow passes across Ruslan’s face. He’s too composed in public for his jaw to drop or his eyebrows to fly up his forehead, but I know where to look and so I see all the signs of a murderous rage. “Remmy?” he rasps. “You’re sure?”
When I nod, Ruslan snaps his fingers to get Kirill’s attention. The two of them whisper back and forth for a few seconds. I have no idea the specifics of the order that Ruslan gives Kirill, but I’m willing to bet it’s along the lines of “take out the trash; burn it if you have to.”
I expect him to take off with Kirill, but Ruslan stays right where he is.
His hand never leaves my knee.
50
RUSLAN
I’m scrolling through the photo gallery on my personal message history with Emma. It’s not the first time I’ve wasted endless minutes doing exactly this. That’s why I know there are fourteen pictures from the last few weeks. I’ve got them all memorized.
