25. Chapter Twenty-Five #2
Nikolai would never do that. He’d run towards the danger with a smile on his face.
I put the strap of my handbag over my shoulder and got to my feet. Steve followed, folding himself inwards to try and hide his frame behind mine.
“Maybe we can—”
I shook my head. There was no way in hell I’d ever meet up with this guy again, especially after this.
He looked regretful, indecision flashing in his eyes for a second before reality set back in.
“It was nice meeting you.” He offered me his hand.
I didn’t see the point in false pleasantries, so I said nothing as I stretched my hand out to shake his.
Something smashed, the sound of glass shattering making Steve jump back with a screech before our hands could touch. I looked over my shoulder, seeing a very smug Nikolai looking back at me with the remnants of his now-broken glass on the ground around his chair.
“Really?” I mouthed.
He just shrugged, all innocent like. Nikolai's possessiveness knew no bounds.
When I turned back around, Steve was gone.
I should have followed him out that door and not rewarded Nikolai's behaviour with an ounce of the attention I knew he was hoping to receive.
There were a thousand different ways he could have handled the situation, and he chose to sit there, watching and intimidating Steve into leaving on his own.
The power the man wielded…it was such a damn turn on.
You know you’re going to go over there, so just do it already.
I inwardly sighed. Yes. Yes, I did. The pull towards Nikolai was far too strong for me to even try to fight it.
Every part of me wanted to be near him. It was like his presence was a drug, and I was dying for another fix.
Itching to just be in his vicinity, to feel the addictive nature of his presence.
Nikolai watched me closely as I made my way over to him. His eyes swept me from head to toe in a slow, heated caress, like a lion sizing up his next meal. The trail of his gaze over my skin set my blood on fire. I felt dizzy from that feral look in his eyes.
I came to a stop opposite him. He finished putting back together his last gun and then stared up at me. Silence reigned between us, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. It was a building silence, like something big was about to happen between us.
“What are you doing here, Nicky?”
His eyes narrowed slightly. He cocked his head to the side, studying me with a predatory gaze. “I think I should be asking you that question, love.”
My belly did a flip. God, I loved it when he called me that.
“Your little stunt just cost me a free meal.”
He raised a hand and signalled a waiter to come over. The waiter placed a bowl of steaming hot carbonara pasta on the table and walked away. My favourite. He’d planned to have that ready for me. Of course he did.
I arched an eyebrow. “A little presumptuous. You think I’m going to sit down and have dinner with you, after what you just did?”
The chair in front of me slid out after he kicked it underneath the table. His eyes flicked to it and back to me, telling—no, demanding— that I take a seat. He said nothing. He just stared at me, waiting me out. The sexual tension between us continued to build with each passing second.
“Sit,” he commanded, voice rough. Dark and dangerous.
I sat down.
He nodded, satisfied, and pushed his guns to the side. Another waiter appeared, dropping a meal in front of him before he quickly cleaned up the glass on the floor and disappeared.
“How did you know I was here?” I asked, digging into my food. I almost moaned. It was creamy and delicious.
He pulled out a phone and placed it on the table.
I frowned. “That’s not your phone.” He unlocked it and my frown deepened.
That was my screen saver. It was a photo of me and my dad.
I dug into my handbag and withdrew my phone, placing it down right next to that one.
They were identical, right down to the placement of the apps and the setting themes.
What the fuck?
I picked up his and flicked through it quickly, realisation hitting me like a ton of bricks. “You cloned my phone?”
Sure enough, when I went into the messages, right there on the screen where the few texts Steve and I had exchanged. The where and when to meet up. Everything I did on my phone would show up on that one. Everything .
“You sound surprised,” he said casually, taking a small bite of his risotto. “But are you, really?”
I ignored that, because no, I wasn't overly surprised. It was right on par with Nikolai, actually. “When did you do this?”
“You disappeared after Nikolas died, and I couldn’t find you.
I vowed that would never happen again, so when you finally came back, I took your phone and cloned it, so I would always know where you are.
You might as well know there’s a tracker in there too.
” He didn’t know that I didn’t disappear.
Not really. I just hid out at my dad’s house and he assumed I went running as far away as I could get, when in reality, I was right there. Under his nose.
I should probably be mad at this huge invasion of privacy.
He was essentially monitoring everything I was doing.
At any time, day or night, he could just look at this and find out what I was up to.
I should have been mad. Stark raving mad.
A normal woman would be. But I wasn’t. Because it was exactly something that was classic Nikolai.
I already knew he was uber possessive and had zero boundaries.
That when it came to those he cared about, he would do anything and everything to keep them safe—including invading their privacy.
I continued to eat my pasta. “So, you saw the texts between Steve and I and just decided to show up here?”
“You think you can go on a date with another man and I’d just allow it?” He took a sip of his wine, his Adams apple working up and down as he swallowed the liquid. He chuckled, shaking his head. “Tati, I thought you knew me better than that.”
“It wasn’t a date. I was just doing my dad a favour.”
“Oh, I know all about that.” Of course he did.
Despite Illayana not talking to me, I still texted her and told her about the stupid favour my dad asked of me.
She hadn’t responded, but that didn’t stop me from messaging her again and again anyway.
Nikolai must have seen those texts. “And I’m going to deal with Ivan. ”
My whole body stiffened. “What?”
He stared me dead in the eyes, his gaze never wavering. “You heard me.”
I dropped my knife and fork. “Nikolai,” I growled. “Don’t you dare do whatever it is you’re thinking about doing. I will never forgive you.”
“I’m not going to kill him.” I relaxed at his words. “But I am going to punish him. You’re mine . I don’t care what he says or how he feels about it. He tried to set you up with another man. For that, he. Will. Be. Punished.”
I recognised that look on his face. I could hear the finality in his words. Nothing I said would change his mind, but perhaps my actions would.
I channelled all the rage I felt towards him into the angriest scowl I could muster as I got to my feet. He had the right mind to look a little uneasy. Good.
Words didn’t work with Nikolai. Actions did. He needed to see what would happen if he went through with whatever he was thinking about doing.
Without another word, I marched away.