She wore the dress.
It was like the devil himself wanted a damn show and had wrapped her up, helped her get ready, and served her to all of us that night. He was laughing in hell right now. I could almost hear his cackle.
She strutted in on Bastian’s arm. Regal, fuckable, mesmerizing. That dress was a waterfall over her legs, but every curve of them was visible. The beads shimmered under the crystal chandelier light, and her dark stiletto heels elongated her stride down the carpet.
I tensed as she looked up at Bastian and smiled adoringly. It may have been a show, it may not have been.
Either way, it didn’t matter.
The back of her bound up by that black-as-ink ribbon and the way her ass flared out from her waist, I heard some of the men visibly moan.
Fucking breathtakingly beautiful.
Feathers and beads and black strings had been wrapped around the most dangerous woman here. The mob and the government were watching. Everyone wanted her for different reasons, but we’d all take her for one.
Georgie’s suit strained over his gut as he leaned back farther to keep his eye on her while she strode down the steps of the ballroom with Bastian. Her nails dug into his arm, the only sign they were together. Other than that, Katie stood tall in her red-bottomed six-inch stilettos and stared off into the crowd as if she wasn’t too concerned with any one individual. Her eyes didn’t scan the area; she didn’t turn her head to clock anyone’s whereabouts.
She was above everyone, and no one could bother her for a glance.
Instead, every man’s eyes scoured her and her body. The devil wanted a show, and I knew for a fact he was going to get one.
“Enthralling, nyet?” He let his Russian accent twist the English I knew he spoke perfectly.
“You here as a part of the bratva tonight?”
He lifted his eyebrows as if to say, So what if I am? “You think she’s worth the fuss?”
That man had always been a rogue Russian, dabbling where he shouldn’t. The string quartet started to play a low, lonesome melody, and one man glared at another as Katie walked by. I saw one shake his head at the other, and they lost their expressions just as quickly. Katie and Bastian walked right past me to meet Mario at a table.
I lurked in the shadows, watching others watch.
We’d had eyes on Georgie for the last hour. He’d mingled with every big name there. He’d disguised himself much better than we expected, and for some reason that bothered me most. I’d let Katie walk into a lion’s den without being aware.
I was supposed to be aware of everything.
“You’re going to shatter the tumbler you’re holding.” Jax nodded at me while we stared toward the doorway of the club. The crystal in my hand was strong enough to withstand a tough grip. We were in the most elite club of Chicago. Still, I set it down much harder than necessary.
Brey glanced at the glass and then at me. “She’s not committed to anyone right now, you know that, right?”
“I’m not interested in her commitments,” I shot back and then pinched the bridge of my nose when I saw Jax pull Brey closer to his side. “Sorry, it’s been a long day.”
“It’s going to be a long year if you plan to stick with the story of not being interested.” Jax lifted an eyebrow at me.
He and I never really got along. I’d met him just as I’d stopped sleeping with his wife. We never saw eye-to-eye, and yet we saw everything the same. We had an understanding that the women in our lives were much more important than any disagreement we could have had. Brey had needed us back then, and now, it seemed Katie might need something from us.
“Give me a break. I’m protecting her and everyone else in this family tonight.”
Brey smirked, and her green eyes seemed to mock me. “Protecting her? Katie’s never needed protection from anyone. She needs someone to show her life is more than a series of events, that she doesn’t have to keep moving forward every time something bad happens to her. She needs someone to take her in while she learns to feel again.”
“Maybe Bastian will give that to her,” I muttered.
She scoffed. “It’s not my place, but I’ll say it once anyway.” She glanced at her husband. “Cover your ears.”
“Oh Jesus.” Jax kissed her cheek and walked away as if he knew what she was about to say had something to do with our past relations.
“I’ve lain next to you after sleeping with you, Rome. I stared into your eyes and tried to find something other than what I was feeling. We were both destroyed back then. You had your demons and I had mine.”
We’d mixed our pain with pleasure, drowned out our misery with sex. It worked because we had each other for company, but it didn’t erase the pain I felt at losing my unborn child, at missing something back then that I should have caught. Brey was a filler, just as I was for her.
“Okay?” I responded, waiting for her to continue.
“Katie pushed us together. I’m realizing that now. I’m not sure why, but she trusted you to be nothing but a comfort to me. And you were. But you never, ever looked at me like you did her.”
A ha escaped from deep in my chest. “And how do I look at her, Brey?”
“Like she’s your heaven and your hell. A dream and a nightmare all wrapped up in one tiny little warrior.”
“Ain’t that right?”
“I hope you both work it out.” She patted my back and gave me a solemn look. “You’ve been circling one another for years.”
She turned and left me for her husband, and I wondered if she and I ever would have worked. We shared our misery but not much more. It was an understanding within the bedroom at best, and she’d found someone who understood her beyond that. Quite frankly, she’d always had him. They just had to dig through the shit before making it to the sunshine.
I sighed and wondered if Katie and I would be able to do the same.
Except our shit was deadly, and her enemies stood there eyeing her and whispering. If Georgie made a move toward Katie, we’d be ready.
Tonight was about pulling him into a room with both her and Bastian. Katie was the arm candy that would pull Georgie in, and we would get him to crack.
When I refocused my attention on our targets for the night, they were nowhere to be found. I loosened my collar and strode to Bastian and Mario. “Where’s Kate-Bait?”
“Bathroom.” Mario waved me off. He’d already had too much to drink.
“Bastian? You let her go to the bathroom on her own?”
“She’s capable, Rome,” Bastian answered. “We’ve got eyes everywhere.”
“Georgie’s—” A ping went off on my watch, and both Bastian and I shot each other a look before I read the message. “Dante has a visual of them on the balcony.”
“Fuck. She told me she was going to the bathroom.” Bastian fisted his hand and then shoved it in his pocket. “Don’t make a scene.”
“I should kill you now,” I growled as we both tried to move fast enough to get there in time without drawing anyone’s attention. “With the way you’re running things, we’re in for a fucking bloodbath.”
“If you weren’t like a brother to me—”
I looked over my shoulder. “I’m more than a brother to you. I’m the man who makes sure you don’t take a bullet to the head. Lose the power trip.”
Bastian didn’t say more. He was already looking past me to the two blond, blue-eyed men who’d stepped in front of us as we got to the double doors.
One ran his hand over his buzz cut and said, “Sorry. Boss is having a private meeting.”
Bastian exchanged a look with me. We could spar, and I could cross a line with him every now and then. Russians didn’t get the same privilege. “Move or I’ll have you killed,” he said.
Buzz cut bulked up and rested a hand under his suit jacket exactly where I knew he was carrying. I shifted my eyes between the two of them.
Bastian spoke softly behind me, “I don’t want a war. I’ve told Dimitri that, but if you don’t move now, you’ll have one.”
He said it so smoothly, I almost thought I’d misheard him. Bastian had been skirting around his power for so long, I was sure our family would crumble. He led with negotiation, rather than confrontation. Tonight, he’d finally grown some balls.
The smile that spread across my face must have looked menacing. I was ready to do damage. I wanted a fight. Everyone was pushing too many boundaries lately, and Bastian never had near enough jobs for me.
The monster in me stirred.
The man in front of me took the smallest step back. And Bastian repeated one last time, “Move.”
Both men nodded and stepped aside, knowing their place. Armanelli blood was still king, and they were mere pawns not looking to rock the boat. We pushed past them, and Bastian let out a breath.
I glanced at him and saw him scan the balcony, eyebrows furrowed, lips pursed. Fear surfaced in the way he flexed his neck. I realized that Bastian was finally scared of losing something. Katie was more than just a game piece to him.
I wondered what he’d do if he lost her to me tonight instead of the bratva, if I claimed her tonight as an untouchable, as mine.
