ASHER TAKES me home in the morning.
We’ve barely talked since we woke up. Could be because of what happened last night—or everything that happened in the past.
After he wrenched three orgasms out of me with his tongue and fingers, I kind of passed out. The stimuli messed with my sensitive core, and I begged him to stop, sobbing through one orgasm after another.
Asher being Asher, he didn’t.
My voice turned hoarse and I thought I was getting dehydrated by the time he emerged from between my trembling legs and let them fall to the bed.
I was too spent to open my eyes, so I fell asleep right away.
When I opened my eyes in the morning, I was covered and comfy, but there was no sign that he’d slept beside me. He must’ve gone back to the living room or the guest room.
My heart still has that slight ache at the thought—not that I want him to sleep with me. That’s beside the whole point of avoiding him.
Currently, he drives with ease, one hand on the wheel and the other on his thigh. No words. No nothing.
I chat with Naomi and Lucy in our group chat the entire way. It’s a useless attempt to distract myself from Asher; my mind keeps dragging me back to him anyway.
His presence is impossible to ignore or deny. He’s like a constant, unmovable and unchangeable.
I peek at him through my lashes, at his styled hair and thick brows, at his chiseled jaw and firm lips that kissed me in intimate places and brought me to the highest throes of pleasure.
My cheeks heat and I shake myself internally to chase away the image. What’s wrong with me? This isn’t the time to think about that.
Besides, he hasn’t mentioned it once this morning. Maybe he regrets it.
Why does that fill me with so much trepidation?
I mean, I should regret it, too, but I can’t find it in me to do that.
We make it to the house’s driveway. It’s still early in the morning so a few staff are mingling around the garden.
I reach out a hand to release my seatbelt. Asher grabs it in his, startling me.
“W-what is it?” I halt midway, my pulse skyrocketing.
“We’ll talk to Alexander,” he says.
I nod. That’s what I’ve been planning to do. He obviously knows about the business Dad did with the mafia, and he must know something about my sister.
“After he tells you what you want to know, you’ll tell him you’re moving back to your apartment.”
“Why?” My voice sounds as spooked as I feel.
“I don’t care to share you.” His grip tightens around my wrist. “You belong to me, remember?”
My heart suddenly resurrects back to life, beating and thumping so wildly it’s impossible to keep up. It’s as if it’s been dead since the morning and Asher just gave it a reason to be alive.
He really needs to stop saying things like that if all he ever plans to do is hurt me. He needs to stop touching me, calling me his, and looking at me with those intense eyes that seem ready to strip me bare and devour me all over again. My brain is starting to disregard the danger and focus on those small gestures, on what his body is saying instead of what his mind is planning.
“What if I don’t want to move out?” I ask. “People are after me.”
It’s a lie. I want to get out of this place filled with others. I think I’ll be more comfortable when I’m alone. After all, that’s the reason Old Reina moved out as soon as she was legal.
I’m starting to connect to Reina in more ways than one, and I have no idea how that makes me feel.
“If they were actively after you, they could’ve easily removed you from campus.” He sounds thoughtful. “Ask Alexander to tighten up security at the apartment building.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do, Ash.” I pull my wrist from his hold and fold my arms.
The glare he shoots my way is so harsh I squirm in my seat. “What did I say about that?”
“Fine.” I unfold my arms. “But you still don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“Is that a dare?” His voice lowers. “By the end of the night, you’ll beg me to tell you what to do.”
I don’t miss the meaning behind his words, and my face must turn a deep shade of red.
“Look at you blushing.” His finger traces along my cheek in a sensual caress, his expression filled with awe.
I love it when I catch him off guard like that. A powerful sensation rushes through me at the thought that I have this effect on him.
Still, he’s an arrogant bastard right now.
Swatting his hand away, I adapt my no-nonsense tone. “I have friends here, you know, like Izzy and Jason. We have Scrabble nights.”
“Fuck Scrabble nights.” His face hardens as he leans closer. “Keep the fuck away from Jason.”
“Uh…no. He’s my friend.”
His hand shoots between my thighs, cupping me through my jeans. I gasp, my eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. Tingles erupt where he touches me and my body’s memory kicks into gear. All I can think about is his face, fingers, and tongue down there.
“This is mine.” His lips are mere inches away from my face, a slight deviation and they’d meet mine. He speaks in a gravelly voice that shoots a shudder up my spine. “You’re mine, and I don’t appreciate people threatening what belongs to me. If you let anyone take liberties with you, I won’t stay still. Am I making myself clear, prom queen?”
I couldn’t speak even if I tried to. His closeness and the scent of his aftershave mixed with sandalwood and citrus is doing crazy things to my senses, heightening them, crushing them against one another.
It’s chaos.
Beautiful, maddening chaos.
Just like Asher.
“I said.” His grip turns merciless, and so freaking dominant. “Am I making myself clear?”
I nod once, not because I completely agree, but because I don’t want to test him while he’s in such a state. It’s like he’s gasoline waiting for a spark so he can erupt and burn everything in his vicinity.
While I do want to witness different parts of Asher, I don’t want to get on his bad side right now. He’s the only one who knows about Reina, and I might need his help to find my sister.
“Good.” He releases me and opens the door. “You have two days to move back to your apartment.”
I groan as the door closes behind him.
Arrogant bastard.
ALEX KEEPS CHECKING his watch as Asher and I sit in his office.
From what I’ve learned about him so far, his firm is his God and he has no other religion than work. Maybe that’s why he and Asher don’t see eye to eye on anything.
My supposed fiancé touches my leg with his. Great, so I’ll be the only one doing the talking.
Asher’s nudge is basically telling me I need to start soon because Alex is getting restless.
He sits behind his huge mahogany desk that’s crowded with endless paperwork. I don’t even know what his use is for all that at home.
“Reina,” he starts. “You mentioned wanting to talk to me? We can do this after I return.”
“I remember a few things,” I say, calmly but loud enough for him to hear me.
Alex grabs a retractable pen from the desk and stops checking his watch. “Go on.”
“I remember a twin sister and a mother and how we ran away in my childhood. As for that night, I think I was attacked after I reunited with my sister.”
Silence.
Alex continues watching me as if he’s deciding whether or not he can erase those memories from my brain all over again.
“Did you tell her anything?” Alex’s question is directed to his son. His voice hardens when he speaks to Asher, like he’s talking to a mortal enemy, not his flesh and blood.
“I know nothing to tell,” Asher says casually.
My gaze bounces between father and son as I try to make sense of their words. Asher knows something?
I tighten my hands in my lap, my nails digging into the skin of my palms. “Can anyone tell me what’s going on?”
“I suppose you should know.” Alex sighs. “Ignorance never did you any good before.”
No, it wasn’t ignorance. Even if Dad and Alex hid the truth from me, I think I knew it deep down. That’s why I searched for Reina and found her on my own. I meant to escape with her.
That’s not something an ignorant person would do.
“Your mother was the bratva’s Pakhan’s daughter. Mia Sokolov, daughter of Nikolai Sokolov and cousin of Ivan Sokolov.”
Those names are familiar.
Oh my God.
They can’t possibly be…
“They’re big names in the states and in Russia.” Alex clicks his pen. “Gareth didn’t know about Mia’s origins when he got together with her more than two decades ago. She ran away from home and he just took her in. Of course, her father and cousin didn’t stop searching for her. She sullied the family’s name by running away. When they found out about her relationship with Gareth, they ordered their henchmen to kill your father.”
My lips part but no sound comes out.
“Mia and Gareth agreed to break it off for both their sakes. By that time, Mia was already pregnant with you and your sister. Your parents agreed that each would get a twin before they parted ways. Of course, Nikolai and Ivan weren’t having it. They only agreed to let Gareth keep one of the twins if he allowed the bratva a share in his business, and he agreed.”
A tremor shoots through my limbs at the thought of what my parents went through.
“And the other twin?” I gulp. “What happened to her?”
“Mia took her and ran, but Nikolai wanted the girl as his heir. Considering that Mia was the only offspring he had, her daughter needed to be brought up as the bratva’s princess.”
“And Mom didn’t want that.” It’s not a question; it’s a statement.
That’s why we were on the run for twelve years. The forged identities and the late-night escapes make sense now.
Mom didn’t want me to be the Russian mafia’s princess. She must’ve lived that role her entire life and couldn’t accept having her daughter go through that fate.
Her diligence and quick wit make sense, too. She knew their ways well enough to be able to escape them for twelve whole years.
“She didn’t, and Nikolai wasn’t happy.” Alex sighs. “After she disappeared without a trace, he began to pester Gareth about taking the other twin, which, of course, he refused. However, Nikolai’s intentions must’ve reached Mia because she kidnapped her other daughter from school. She planned to take you both out of the country and away from her father’s organization.”
“But they found us first.” My eyes well with tears and a hand presses on my thigh.
Asher.
I’d forgotten he was here. My lips pull in a small smile as I take in his silent support.
I didn’t know I needed him beside me until now.
Alex clears his throat, and I focus back on him. “Yes. I assume it was easier for her to run with one, but the two of you slowed her down.”
“Why would…” I suck in a breath. “Why would my grandfather order his only daughter killed?”
“That’s the problem—he didn’t. Nikolai would’ve never hurt Mia no matter how much he threatened to. She must’ve resisted, and her death was an accident—or at least that’s what I thought.”
I shift to the edge of the couch. “What do you mean?”
“After the Russians took your sister and you returned to live with Gareth, he didn’t stop looking into ways to save her. He even had a few spies on the inside. From what we learned, Ivan, Nikolai’s nephew and Mia’s cousin, didn’t like the fact that the Pakhan was handing his business to a girl. Well, and her future husband, but that’s beside the point. Since Mia ran away, he’s been plotting to take Nikolai down, eradicate all his descendants, and take over.”
“You…you think he killed Mom on purpose?”
“I’m almost sure he did. She was in his way and he needed her gone, so he disguised it as if she killed herself.” His eyes soften. “I’m sorry.”
I swallow back the tears, my chest splintering into pieces at the revelation. All Mom ever wanted was to save us from the monstrous life she lived, and she had to pay the price with her life.
“Then why didn’t he kill her daughter, too?” I ask.
“I assume because one of Nikolai’s most trusted men grabbed her first. As soon as she was with her grandfather, even Ivan wouldn’t have been able to hurt her.”
“So Reina is safe with Nikolai?” I whisper.
Alex pauses mid-press of his retractable pen. “I see, so you remember that, too.”
“You knew?” Asher’s snarl causes my limbs to shake more.
“Of course I do.” Alex goes back to clicking his pen. “Gareth was my partner. We shared everything.”
“So Dad knew, too.” My murmur is pained, barely audible.
I figured he’d realize Reina and I switched places, but deep down, I hoped I’d be able to fly under the radar. My hand finds Asher’s on my thigh and I grip it tight like it’s a safety line. I don’t dare look at him, silently hoping for his support. He threads his fingers through mine, and my lower lip trembles at the gesture.
“Yes,” Alex says. “He was happy to get you back.”
My head jerks up. “He…was?”
“Of course. He lived in guilt for letting you and your mother go all those years ago. He searched for you as diligently as Nikolai, but your mom was a professional at running.”
I smile a little before it falls off. “But he lost Reina.”
“Not really.” Alex leans forward in his chair. “Nikolai let him see her now and again when they gathered for business. Gareth also made sure she was living well, and she was. She loved Nikolai and he treated her well, like his princess.”
Oh.
I didn’t know that.
“Why didn’t I get to meet her?” I ask.
“Nikolai’s condition was that if you two got together again, it’d only be under the bratva’s rules. Meaning, you could only reunite with her if Gareth gave you up, too. He wasn’t ready for that.”
I tighten my hands around each other. “Then something happened, right?”
“Well, yes.” Alex clicks his pen. “Your father died in an accident, which I still think had Ivan’s hands all over it. That little fucker always hated his guts.”
“So Reina stayed on her own?”
“She had Nikolai and an insider Gareth put with her. He’s a hitman of some secret organization who kills for the bratva. I’ve been in contact with him since Gareth’s death.” Alex pauses, as if trying to lessen the blow of what he’s about to say next. “Nikolai got sick and died. I knew Ivan would try to kill Reina—Rai—as soon as he could to secure his position. I tried to have the insider get her out, but she wouldn’t agree. I didn’t know she was planning on meeting you or that you were still searching for her.” Alex straightens, becoming tenfold bigger. “What happened that night, Reina?”
“We met…” I trail off. “I think I planned to escape with her.”
Asher’s hand tightens on my thigh and I wince as I keep my head down. He was right all along; I did plan to escape.
But it was bigger than Blackwood and any reason I had to hate him.
Or maybe it has everything to do with him after all.
“She said something about having business to finish and that she’d find me…I think.”
How do I even remember that?
Alex gives a sharp nod. “She has Nikolai’s ledger, which holds all the names, numbers, and dirt on the people he did business with. He announced before his death that the owner of that ledger is his sole heir. Ivan can’t get the others’ blessing to be Pakhan without that book. That’s why he’s hunting her down.”
“So she’s alive?” I nearly choke on my own breath.
“I believe so, yes.” He rubs his chin. “I got a text from my guy that she was safe a day after your attack.”
“Nothing after?”
“Unfortunately, no. But this guy wouldn’t make any contact if he thought it would put Rai in danger. Besides, Ivan is flipping the city upside down to find her, so she must be on the run. I wouldn’t be surprised if she got out of the country.”
A breath leaves me, but it’s not complete relief. Reina is still in danger. If this Ivan finds her, he’ll take that ledger and skin her alive.
They torture people in the mafia.
They kill them in cold blood like they did to Mom.
“I’m hiring that security for you, Reina.” Alex’s tone becomes non-negotiable. “If Ivan thinks using you against Rai will bring her forward, he won’t hesitate to beat you like the other time. Just because they’re quiet doesn’t mean they forgot.”
“I agree,” Asher says.
My spine shivers at the memory of pain all over my body.
This war is so much bigger than I thought.
