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I set my glass down then, the softclankit made on the polished wood seeming overly loud at that moment.
“You killing your father, a traitor among the Bratva, the same man who had been going behind our backs and selling information to the Italian mob, showed me how loyal you are, Arlo. I want you on our side fully. I need the most powerful at my back, the strongest men as my weapons.” He held his hands out, palms up, his current grin slow and satisfied as if he were a cat who’d just caught the mouse. “Being a free agent doesn’t and won’t offer you the safety and stability the Bratva can.”
“I don’t need protection. I create my own.” I noticed a slight tick under Leonid’s smooth cheek because I pointed out the truth. “I like where I’m at, Pakhan. I don’t wish to change anything.” The shit my father had put me through, the fact that he’d killed Sasha, my mother, and the blood and bodies I’d had to wade through in order to reach the surface, wasn’t anything I’d ever do again.
I got to a point in my life where I didn’t have to work for anyone anymore. I worked for myself, had the Ruin as a conglomerate of other businesses I could choose from. My reputation and skill preceded me, and because of that, I didn’t have to be tied down to one side. I could accept or turn down anything I wanted. I wouldn’t get that with Leonid. He’d expect complete obedience and submission, no questions asked. A loyal dog.
And as I said those words, I could see on Leonid’s face that the pleasant facade he’d put on was slipping. The sound of men shouting “Na zdorovie” before they drank filled the suddensilence. It did nothing for the tension that was now between Leonid and me.
And then his stoic expression cracked, and he smiled, but I wasn’t a fool in thinking that he would just give up on trying to bring me on to his side fully. Because a man like him, a Bratva Pakhan, was used to getting his way in all things. And if that meant he had to steal, rape, or kill to get it, he was bastard enough to do it.
Several women came out from the back, black trays in their hands, each one topped with drinks. I didn’t spare them much attention, just noticed the shift and change in the air. But then everything around me stilled as the last woman emerged, her white dress standing out among the red and black of the others, her long black hair piled high on her head, the elegant line of her neck and delicate length of her spine in full view.
Every muscle in my body tightened to the point it was uncomfortable and hard to hide. This was the last place I’d ever expect to see Lina, the last place I’d ever want her to be. And when Leonid turned his attention to see what I was looking at, I knew I’d made a big fucking mistake. An interested and curious gleam entered his eyes as he noticed Lina and then slowly looked back at me.
“Gorgeous, isn’t she?” he murmured in Russian, and the way he said those words told me he’d been undressing her with his eyes.
I curled one of my hands into a tight fist, my other hand flexing and relaxing with the need to draw my gun and place the end right between his fucking eyes, demanding he look away from her. He had no right to look at Lina, not when I knew all the depraved shit he was into, not when I also knew he dealt with human trafficking.
“Do you know her?” The tone of his voice told me he already knew the answer to that. I didn't bother responding. “She’s gotthis innocence about her, one that just makes you want to do the filthiest things…” He murmured the last part, and his fucking sons chuckled.
If I’d wanted to, I could’ve drawn my weapon and shot all three of them before any of the other people in this room could have stopped me. Of course, I would’ve been shot dead right afterward, but at least Leonid and his little bastard sons would be in the ground with me.
He turned to look at me, a shit-eating grin on his face. I hated that he’d seen any kind of reaction in me, because men like him would use it to their advantage. They’d see it as a weakness. And I couldn’t lie and say he was wrong.
Lina was a weakness, an addiction, and I hadn’t even sampled. She made all rational thoughts leave my head, and she didn’t even have to be in the same room to succeed.
Everything else faded away as I watched Lina start handing out drinks. I could feel Leonid’s gaze on me, could envision the bastard smirking, as if he’d just found a chink in my carefully placed armor.
She hadn’t noticed me yet as she walked around. The men eyed her like she was a piece of meat, slipping her money, leaning forward and whispering things that made her blush but also had her eyes narrowing.
She set a drink beside an old fuck, his smile wide and lewd as he ignored the half-naked woman on his lap, her breasts close enough to his mouth he could have licked them. He held out a fifty-dollar bill, a wink being added to the mix, and when she took it with a soft smile, I could see his other hand snaking out like he planned on palming her ass.
I curled my hand so tight into a fist that my nails dug into my flesh, opening up the skin, the pain feeling good. She stepped out of the way before he could touch her. The lucky bastard had justmissed me mangling the appendage for daring to put his filthy fucking hands on her.
But I should fuck him up just forthinkinghe could touch Lina.
She fluttered around the room like a delicate hummingbird, and the entire time, all male eyes were latched on to her, as if they could smell the innocence pouring off Lina and wanted to destroy it. I understood perfectly why Leonid had picked this room for her. These men were the most powerful, the wealthiest… the ones who would pay a small fortune if a woman’s virginity was up for auction.
This was also the only room Leonid came to.
I forced myself to look at him, seeing he already had a calculating expression on his face as he watched me. He saw too much, knew too much just by my reaction. And it didn’t matter how much I tried—and would fail—to hide what I felt toward Lina. The fucker saw all. A man didn’t become Pakhan if he didn’t know how to manipulate and control… if he couldn't look at someone and see their whole story flash in front of his eyes.
And then he broke the stare and looked to the side. I followed his line of vision and watched Lina move up to the overly drunken man who stood in the corner, the one who was too handsy with the girls. The one I knew was a violent drunk just by how he carried himself. I didn’t know him, but if he was in this room, he was either very powerful or was closely connected to Leonid.
I didn’t miss how she eyed the drunk almost warily, her instincts telling her he wasn’t a good man. He was dangerous. She handed him his glass of liquor. His eyes were hooded and glossy as he stared down at her. He was a big asshole, broad shoulders and tall. Barely any neck. He had a light sheen of sweat covering his forehead, his red-rimmed eyes zeroing in onLina, taking in her white dress, tracing the few strands of wispy hair that framed her face.
I could imagine the scent of alcohol that came through his pores. I felt Leonid look back at me, but I couldn’t take my focus off the scene in front of me. Everything else faded even more until I had tunnel vision, until everything slowed. The bastard set his drink down, and just as Lina turned to leave, he wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her forcibly back toward him so hard the tray she carried tipped out of her hands and fell to the floor, the glass that had sat atop it hitting the ground, the cup breaking and mixing with the spilled liquor.
I saw red as he slowly slid his hands up, his fingers right under her breasts. She pulled away forcibly enough that she stumbled a step forward. And then he groped her ass. I didn’t realize I had been moving until I was right in front of him. He turned his attention to me, his dark, thick eyebrows pulling low, as if he were fucking pissed I’d dared to interrupt what he was doing.
His mouth was moving, and I could assume he was asking me what the fuck I wanted, maybe threatening to kill me. Without taking my gaze off him, I reached out and pulled Lina away from him, could feel her looking at me, could’ve assumed her eyes were wide and an expression of shock covered her face.
The fucker’s mouth was still moving, faster now, his anger coating his face in a red hue, his eyes narrowing, a vein popping out in his forehead from his rage.
I was aware of words spilling from my mouth and directed toward Lina. Words that would have been close to “Stay close to me. Everything will be okay.” But my mind was too hazy with anger and possessiveness to grasp any kind of sanity right now or to make sure I’d even said the words out loud.
And then I felt a heavy weight in my hand—one of the decorative granite balls that sat on a few of the tables, the design reminiscent of the detailed work on Fabergé eggs.
