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“My men told me he cried. Begged for his mother.” He released the smoke from his mouth. “Definitely not an opportunity.” He smirked. “Your concern for my daughter is greatly misplaced. I have big plans for her…”
4
SCARLETT
The driver pulled up to the palace, the three-story villa beautiful in the glow of the lights and immaculate landscaping. People in cocktail gowns and tuxedos mingled in the front, greeting everyone they knew before they entered the party.
“Are you ready, sweetheart?”
My heart fluttered quicker than usual, but my expression remained as hard as ever. “You know I am.”
He grinned. “That’s my girl.”
My door opened, and the valet helped me to my feet.
My father was at my side a moment later, and he extended his arm to me.
I took it, and together, we entered the palace and stepped into the expanse of the party. Music played from the five-piece orchestra, and the chandeliers sparkled. My father handed me a glass of champagne, and he immediately started to mingle with the guests he knew. He’d never been a conversationalist, but after working with Axel, he’d changed. He introduced me as his daughter, and more than once, people assumed I was his girlfriend or wife…even though I was half his age.
When we had a brief moment to step away, my father spoke quietly under his breath. “Next to the bar. In a white tuxedo.” He didn’t actually look in that direction, acting casual like we were discussing something else.
“I see him.”
“His name is Vladimir. He’s Russian.”
“I can tell just by looking at him.” Pale like snow and with a hardened expression, he looked miserable. I suspected that was just how his face looked.
“You see the ring?” he asked, taking a drink.
It was unmistakable, an enormous diamond carved into a stone. And it was smooth, crafted by an expert jeweler. It was unlike any other piece of jewelry I’d ever seen. It sparkled, even clear across the room. “Yes.”
“He expects to be robbed by a man, not a woman. So, I’ll speak to his woman. He knows who I am, and naturally, he’s threatened by me. He’ll watch me like a hawk—and he won’t watch you at all. Are you ready?”
I nodded.
“It’s okay if you aren’t.”
“Dad, I’m fine.”
He studied me for another moment before he gave a nod. “I’ll be right there, sweetheart.”
“He looks pretty big.”
“The bigger fighter doesn’t necessarily win.” He grinned then walked away.
The plan was officially set in motion, and my father walked away to speak to Vladimir’s woman, whom he’d forgotten about as he became absorbed in a conversation with someone else.
My father approached the bar beside her, ordered a drink, and then began to engage her in conversation. She was tall, blond, young…someone who shouldn’t be interested in a man my father’s age, but nonetheless, she was.
It took a few moments for Vladimir to notice my father.
He turned and stared, his dark eyes suddenly hard with a quiet anger. But he didn’t intervene, which told me my father was right, that Vladimir was threatened by him. He didn’t interfere, but he watched.
I couldn’t bump into Vladimir and take the ring. I couldn’t do anything to make him look at me at all. Once he realized the ring was gone, he would trace all the moments since he’d last had it, and if I bumped into him, he would definitely remember me.
I came up behind him, ordered a drink that I wouldn’t touch, and waited for him to turn to face the bartender.
When the bartender gave him another drink, he faced his body forward, hands on the bar, and acknowledged the waitress. But then his eyes turned back to his woman and my father, his left hand unattended.
