“Sasha, is that you?”
I hide farther behind the wall at the bottom of the club’s stairs and tighten my grip on my burner phone. “It’s me, Uncle Albert.”
“What were you thinking?” His voice hardens with concern. “How could you leave Russia without telling me?”
“I’m sorry, but you said not to contact you unless it was urgent and absolutely necessary so…so…”
“So you decided to go without informing me after you promised to stay away from the Morozovs.”
I fidget, more sweat trickling down my spine with every passing moment. He sounds calm, but there’s an edge of disappointment behind his words like he trusted me with something, but I failed him.
“I just wanted to know what Roman Morozov’s involvement was with the death of our family. I deserve to know why I lost everyone in the blink of an eye.”
“And? Did you get your answer?”
“No. He died as soon as we got here, but I’m getting closer to Kirill. If I prove myself, he’ll give me access to the office in which his father kept files, and—”
“It’s useless, Sasha. You’re fighting a hopeless battle here.”
“But why? I won’t know until I try.”
“Or get killed for crossing the mob.” He releases a long sigh. “This isn’t regulated military life, Sasha. You went ahead and inserted yourself into a lawless world that has zero tolerance for betrayal. You might think you’re getting close to this Kirill, but the moment he sniffs something wrong, you’ll be buried where no one can find you.”
My breath catches, and I lean against the wall to regain my composure. Yes, I thought about this possibility when I first decided to come here, but that was before everything that happened with Kirill.
The truth remains, a small, probably foolish part of me thought that I could definitely separate business from pleasure. We’re both using each other’s bodies to satiate a carnal need, and that’s it.
I don’t have feelings for him, and God forbid he has feelings for anyone. Sometimes, I think he doesn’t even like himself.
It’s been a week since Rai caught us in his office. Every night, we come to the club, where he meets the people he deems fit for his manipulation, and then we go back to the mansion, where he eats me out and then makes me choke on his cock. Yesterday, this happened at the same time.
After we’re done, he leaves me to sleep in his bed while he does more work on the sofa opposite the bed. Sometimes, he builds his stupid house of cards.
He never lies down beside me and sleeps. He doesn’t sleep much in the first place.
I wish I didn’t sleep either, because all my nights have been plagued with the same reoccurring nightmare where Mike asks for help and then dies, followed by Uncle Albert and Babushka.
So although I was scared of Uncle Albert’s reaction to my trip to New York, I had to call him and make sure everything is okay.
“I can take care of myself. Don’t worry about me,” I say with confidence I don’t feel. “How are Babushka and Mishka?”
“They’re fine, Sasha. We’re all fine. You’re the one who got yourself in a dire situation.”
“It’s not really that bad, I have…” I trail off before I let out that I have friends.
Uncle Albert won’t react well to that. Having friends is no different than putting my real identity and, therefore, all of them in danger.
“You have what?” he asks.
“Integrated well here. No one suspects me.” Except for Kirill and Viktor. Anna, Yulia, and Konstantin don’t like me either, but my uncle doesn’t need to know about that.
“You can never be too careful in a place like that.”
“I know, I know. I’m actually getting close to Kirill.”
“You are?”
“Absolutely. I must be good at what I’m doing, right?”
“He’s a Morozov, Sasha. I wouldn’t be so sure about being close to him if I were you.”
“I know that I’m getting there. Anyway, how is Babushka?”
“You’re changing the subject.”
“Can you tell me?” I ask in an innocent tone.
A long sigh comes from the other end. “She’s getting old, but she’s not suffering or anything. She’s more energetic than me, actually.”
I smile as relief washes over me. “That’s good to know.”
“Call me occasionally.”
“I thought that was dangerous?”
“It is, but I would rather hear you’re still alive once in a while.”
“Will do. Can I talk to Mike?”
“One moment.” His voice sounds far from the phone. “Mike, it’s Sasha.”
A boyish squeal comes through the phone before his short breaths follow. “Sasha, Sasha, is it really you, Sasha?”
My shoulders relax, and I soften my voice. “Hi, my love. I miss you.”
“Miss you more than to the moon and back then up again, miss you, miss youuu, Sasha.”
“Not more than me. I want to eat you up.”
“What do you mean? I’m not candy!” He laughs, and I laugh, too. “When are you coming back?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t right now, Mishka. I’m in a faraway place and won’t be able to come home for a while.”
“As far as the moon?”
“No, but it’s hard to come back right now.”
“But you will one day, right?” There’s a tremor in his little voice, and I want to kick myself for putting it there.
“Of course! I’m doing this to keep you safe, but one day, I’ll come back and never leave, okay?”
“Okay,” he says with little energy. “Here’s Papa.”
I look up to fight the tears and my eyes meet icy ones.
Kirill stands at the top of the stairs, leaning against the railing with a hand in his pocket.
Shit.
Fuck.
Please don’t tell me he heard the entire thing?
No, I made sure no one was there when I started talking to Uncle, so he couldn’t have…
I try not to be jerky when I hang up the burner phone and slip it into my gun holster. “Were you looking for me?”
His expression is neutral, but that’s by no means a good thing. I’ve learned that Kirill hides his emotions, or whatever emotions he has left, frighteningly well.
You can never see his anger or contemplation when he so successfully tucks them where no one can see.
When he doesn’t answer, I walk to the stairs, summoning a sense of ease that’s opposite the anxiousness knotting my stomach.
Every step feels as if I’m dragging a dead body.
“Boss…”
“Who were you talking to?” His question is casual enough, but an edge lurks beneath it.
“No one—”
“Don’t fucking lie to me.”
The commanding tone of his voice renders me speechless.
It takes me a few moments to summon my courage and whisper, “Since when have you been listening?”
“Why is that important with regards to divulging the identity of the person you called?” He takes one step toward me. “I’m not asking because I can’t find out on my own. I’m asking to give you a chance to tell me yourself.”
My heartbeat thunders in erratic intervals, not allowing me to think properly. It doesn’t help that Kirill is approaching me in even, steady strides that mess with my line of thinking.
For the first time in a long time, I’m acutely aware of how big and imposing he is. There’s a predatory quality to the way he walks. It’s similar to a fire that’s about to burn everything in its wake.
When he stops in front of me, it’s no different than being sucked into another person’s orbit and having the air stolen from me.
He looks down at me with his freezing eyes, and I’m slammed by the difference in our height. Only now, he seems to have gotten bigger and taller.
Intimidating.
Dangerous.
“Who was it, Sasha?”
The more I stare into his unforgiving eyes, the dryer my mouth gets. The harsher and deeper they swallow me into their depths.
“Last chance.”
One second passes.
Two.
Three.
He reaches for me, and I squeal when he wraps his arm around my waist. In the beginning, I thought he was done with verbal intimidation and was moving to the physical, but he doesn’t pull me to him or shake me as I expected him to.
Instead, his hand reaches for my gun holster. I only realize what he’s doing when it’s too late. Kirill grabs hold of my burner phone with baffling ease, then steps back to inspect it.
Every cell in my body goes on alert, and I leap up to grab it, but he effortlessly keeps it out of reach.
With the phone in the air, he stares at me with his cold gaze. The one that every member of the organization and even his household dreads to see.
“Please give it back,” I implore, my voice shaking.
“I’ve given you multiple chances to divulge what you’re hiding from me. My patience in itself is a chance. But since you refuse to take it, I have to resort to this method.”
“So I’m not allowed privacy?” I ask in a biting tone.
“No, you’re not. I told you that your life is mine, and I specifically said that I wasn’t joking, but you apparently chose to believe the opposite.”
In a last attempt to fix the situation, I pull out my gun.
Kirill doesn’t change his stance and merely stares at me in the same manner he has all along. “Are you going to shoot me, Sasha?”
I don’t allow myself to think as I aim and shoot.
The phone flies out of Kirill’s hand and clutters to the ground with a hole right in the middle.
I release a breath. Uncle Albert’s phone number is safe now. Kirill can’t, under any circumstances, get a hold of that part of my life.
Not only does he have no loyalty to anyone but himself, but he’s still his father’s son. He’s clearly overachieving what his father failed to do, so what if he also decides to exterminate the rest of us like his father wanted to?
One moment I’m standing, and the next, my feet leave the ground as Kirill grabs hold of my neck.
His fingers dig into the sensitive flesh, and I can’t breathe as he tightens his hold. I thrash, scratching at his wrist, but I might as well not be touching him.
His voice darkens, sounding like it’s underground due to the buzzing in my ears. “Who is he that you’d go to this length to protect him, hmm?”
I pat his wrist, my eyes begging him to let me go. “Ki…rill…”
“Who the fuck is he, Aleksandra?”
His voice booms in my ears. It’s the first time I’ve ever heard this angry, frightening tone that could crumble mountains.
Tears rim my eyes, and I’m not sure if it’s because of the way he yelled at me or the fact that I’m suffocating.
Just when I think I’ll lose consciousness, Kirill releases me. I stumble to the ground, coughing and massaging the handprints he left on my throat.
My shoulder hits the wall, and I’m thankful for the support as I topple over and nearly throw up from all the coughing.
When I’m calmer and breathing more easily, I stare at the monster standing over me. His eyes are a raging color that resembles a stormy sea that’s out to drown me.
“I’m going to need a name.”
I slowly shake my head. “I…can’t.”
“You can’t or you won’t?”
I rise to my full height. “Why should I be obliged to tell you anything when I know nothing about you?”
“I own you, not the other way around.”
“No one owns me.”
He gets closer, his expression more frightening than before. I step back.
I don’t mean to. It just happens.
Kirill is a scary man. Some would argue he’s not a man, but half man, half beast. Right now, he looks fully monstrous.
This isn’t methodical like on the battlefield or when he’s plotting something. He’s neither calm nor collected.
This is personal.
It’s clear in every step he takes that this situation will end badly for me. The problem is, there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do to dissipate the raging volcano that’s about to sweep me over.
I can’t even escape with him blocking the only exit.
Maybe if I distract him—
A commotion comes from the stairs, and I freeze. Kirill doesn’t; his entire attention remains on me. He’s like a giant black cat who won’t stop until he catches his prey.
“Boss!” Maksim calls from upstairs. “There’s been an intrusion.”
