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He looks over at me, frowning. “You need coffee? There’s a place nearby I like. Nothing like what they usually make in the United States. This is authentic Colombian brew. Blacker than sin and twice as strong.”
In a pinch, coffee will work in place of a line, but I really need something to get me by later. I’m calling my dealer the second I get home, once Pasha isn’t around to stop me.
He can buy me the world, but at the end of the day, I’ll still be a broken woman with a bit of a drug problem. I doubt he can change that, and if he knew how bad it really was, he probably wouldn’t even be taking me out in the first place.
“Hey,” Pasha says, reaching over and shaking my leg. “You okay?”
I force a smile. “Yeah, just tired.”
“Coffee it is,” he chirps. “The place I mentioned is just a half a mile away, so we’ll be there soon.”
I never thought I’d be thinking this, but the way Pasha is trying to cheer me up is adorable. It’s like he really cares about me, but that just makes my stomach churn. It feels like I’m lying to him about who I really am. He’s going to discover that I’m some stupid bitch and he’s going to leave me.
But only after he fucks me. That’s how it always is. They want to stay for the pussy but leave the second it gets too real.
Pasha isn’t different. He does all these theatrics to impress me, but I know once I sleep with him the rug is going to be pulled out from beneath me, and I’ll go toppling back to my old life. Modeling until I’m too old to wear a bikini, and then I’m putting a bullet through my head and joining Julia.
“You sure you’re fine?” It’s like he can read my mind.
“Really, I’m good. I’m not used to walking so much. I’m usually just standing at work.”
“I’ll carry you,” he replies so quickly that I’m not sure if he’s even joking. He said he rarely did, but this seems a bit ridiculous.
Then again, buying me clothes worth millions seemed ridiculous too, but he did it.
“I can walk,” I say with a laugh. “Let’s get that coffee and I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“The stronger the better,” he replies with a chuckle. “I’m an addict.”
My stomach twists up in a knot at his poor choice of words, but I just keep smiling through it. I can’t let him know the real me. That’s the woman I hate, and I’m sure he’ll hate her too.
My fingers find the emerald pendant on my neck, and I say a silent prayer for my sister. No matter what, I’m not alone. We’re in this together, in life and in death. Nothing else really matters.
14
Pasha
Once again, Valerie slips through my fingers. I thought I had everything perfectly in place, but she insisted that I drop her off at home after we had coffee. She claimed she wasn’t feeling well, but she didn’t want me to come inside with her.
I wanted to break down her door and fuck her on the floor when she closed it on me, but I resisted. I’ve made progress. I can’t force my way to the finish line like I can in business. She’s a person, and people need time.
But fuck, if it isn’t maddening. Every lick of her lips and shift of her eyes makes my cock hard, and she knows what she’s doing to me. Maybe she wants to tease me until I lose control. Maybe she’s just discovered that she can use me for my money and never surrender to my passion.
Maybe I’m a fool who has finally met his greatest adversary, the one person who can bring me to my knees.
A woman.
I laugh to myself in the emptiness of my office. It’s three in the morning, and I haven’t been able to sleep. It’s making me delirious, but there’s nothing I can do. Valerie has me by the balls, and I’m in desperate need of a distraction.
I pick up the phone and dial my assistant, Boris. He’s the nocturnal type, and he sleeps very little. Some people have that genetic gift.
He answers almost before the first ring, his voice sharp and alert. “Hello, boss. What can I do for you?”
“How is the business? Any issues?” I ask, looking for a problem to solve that isn’t as maddening as Valerie.
“Um, everything is okay,” Boris replies slowly. “Anatoly’s guys were at one of your new clubs on the south side, but they didn’t cause any issues. Just checking the place out, I presume.”
The second I hear my brother’s name I find the issue I need to solve. That bastard will go to great lengths to ruin my operations on the south side. If he’s sent his boys over there, even just to take a look around, there’s trouble brewing.
