31. Nikolai
NIKOLAI
“ W ow, I feel like I’ve been living under a rock,” Sienna says as she looks up at the Balmere Club sign.
She’s wearing a tight beige dress that I promised to spank her over if she didn’t wear a long coat to cover it.
She told me I had no right to tell her what to wear and wore it anyway.
My cock jumps at her defiance, and I admire the way her hips shift beneath the fabric.
“You and me both,” Romi says from beside her.
My temple pulses as I glance at Sienna’s friend and Dante, the latter of which glares at me.
When they arrived this evening as our escorts, I was irritated. But even worse, they brought an extra.
“I’ve never actually been in here,” Lily Taylor says.
When she received news that her beloved friend, who had been kidnapped and used as a bargaining tool, had returned to Manhattan, she was on a flight from Italy immediately, leaving behind her fiancé, Lorenzo Moretti.
At least he’s been forced to remain there while he deals with Luca’s affairs.
That’s another problem I don’t want to add to my plate.
I’m certain it’s a trap I’m walking into, and so be it. If something happens to me, I’ve charged Andrei with getting Agata out safely. And at the very least, Sienna will be safely taken in by her friends. But I’m curious as to how long I can continue running this game.
Sienna absently touches the diamond snake necklace. I like marking her throat, a staple piece to not-so-subtly tell everyone that she’s mine.
It became the focus of her friends’ attention when they arrived to pick us up.
Sienna simply looped her arms with Romi and Lily, stating she was “simply excited to leave the apartment.” Most likely because Sienna suspects the explosive is a bluff.
My reputation says otherwise, which is why her friends are more cautious.
“Maybe we should go a few rounds in the ring to liven up the party?” Dante suggests to me.
I smirk at the little shit. I feel as if we might’ve gotten along in another life. And as much as I want to go a few rounds with him to put him in his place, I suspect he can hold his own. I don’t take his reputation lightly.
“Only if we’re permitted to use blades; increase the bets a little, shall we?” I reply dryly .
Dante’s smile splits from ear to ear. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“Enough,” Romi bites. “This situation is so fucked up. If you two keep flirting like this, you might end up as fucking friends. Hostage, remember.” Romi points at Sienna and then me. “Using her to get what he wants.”
“I’ll have it noted that it’s my boss who wants direct dealings with the Armanis.”
“You’re just here for the ride, huh?” Romi narrows her gaze on me.
“I’m here on personal matters.”
“Well, if you could please release our friend and go about your business without her, it would be much appreciated,” Lily adds with dry sarcasm, and I’m surprised by the sweet, innocent-looking one having some backbone.
It would appear all the women Sienna is close with know how to not only deal with unhinged men but shut them down as well.
I can’t help but continue to be mildly impressed by these people.
Dante suggests the women enter first, but I grab Sienna’s hand. She doesn’t seem bothered by it, and though the others take note of it, they say nothing. At this point, I don’t care who sees.
I hide behind the pretense that I want her to look like my captive little doll. But the reality is, I don’t trust this situation. No one should. I’m walking into Diablo’s den.
The bouncers size me up, as expected, but at the instruction of Dante, they let us through without issue. It’s late in the evening, and people are lined up, disgruntled at our preferential treatment.
Naked men and women dance inside cages, enticing members between winning—or more likely losing—fortunes at the gambling tables.
Sienna leans in and whispers, “I feel like I’m in Amsterdam all over again.”
I hide my smirk. Yes, the red-light district might’ve opened her eyes to some things, but selling sex isn’t something uncommon in the underworld. However, I always find myself charmed when she takes in the world through a very different lens.
I keep her close, noticing how others’ gazes roam over her, and I hook my arm around her waist and pull her closer to me. There is a price for looking at my woman so openly. Though, I’ll refrain from doing anything in front of her or her friends for the time being.
Businessmen sit at the gambling tables on the left, smoking their cigars with minimal conversation. On my right, the long wooden bar is occupied by many who are part of Manhattan’s elite. A few look at Sienna, Lily, and Romi with recognition.
“She was our girl first,” Romi says to me as she hooks her arm around Sienna’s elbow and pulls her from my hold.
“It’s okay,” Sienna says when I find myself reaching out for her. I curl my fingers into my hands, regretting bringing her here. But if I hadn’t, I’d be a dead man. The Armanis want to see her, to make sure she’s alive and well.
Selfishly, I want to keep her all to myself. But I’ve struggled to make Sienna look as lighthearted as she does while the three women whisper amongst themselves.
Dante comes to my side, and I keep part of my focus on his hands, as he’s known to be quick to pull out his scalpels. “Of all the kidnappings to transpire, this, I think, is the strangest,” he says as we urge the women toward the back of the bar.
“You’re telling me,” I reply, not at all enjoying the fact that we’re agreeing on anything.
I scan the room, noting the security guards, knowing that at any moment, they could swarm me.
A part of me fucking dares them to try. It’s been a while since I’ve had some fresh blood on my hands.
I’ve been playing house for so long now, I’m beginning to enjoy it, and that could cost me a blade to my throat.
But when my gaze dips back to Sienna, and I see her smiling and laughing, I can’t help but think it’s all worth it.
Truly, besides my desire to kill, what else have I lived for?
Agata might be the only person who will mourn me if I die here. But since everything I have is willed to her, I’m sure she’ll be very depressed wiping her tears away with a lifetime’s worth of retirement money .
Two hounds stand at the entrance, one with a green gem, the other with a yellow. These aren’t the same two who came to Sienna’s penthouse that day. Though, they size me up the same. They have no reaction as we pass between them and down a hallway.
“I don’t like narrow spaces,” I tell Dante.
“Really?” he asks mockingly. “I thought someone with the nickname Udav , would be used to slithering into all types of places. Isn’t this what you wanted, after all? A front row seat? This is what your boss wants, isn’t it? Access to the fights?”
“That’s between your boss and The Wolf. I, however, have a special affinity for underground fights.”
Which is the truth. I’m reminded of when I fought in underground clubs as a teenager.
My father might’ve forced me to participate, but it was me who chose to become the champion.
It’s what cultivated my bloodlust. Outside of the ring, I enjoyed the hunt even more, especially when I discovered all the different ways to kill a man.
We pass a room where another hound stands guarding the door. This man is bigger than the others, with a brown-gemmed mask. He watches us intently, and I wonder if that’s the door to Luca’s office. Whatever it is, it’s guarded for a reason.
At the end of the hallway, my steps come to a halt so I don’t run into the back of the ladies. Arabella Armani, her black hair in a high ponytail, and her tight, black leather dress fitting her curves, stands before us, glaring at me and looking seriously pissed.
“Ah, shit,” Dante says. “He’s not going to be happy.”
Her head whips in his direction. “Oh, is that what we’re monitoring now? Luca’s happiness?”
A hound stands behind her, the one with the blue gem. His blue eyes intently lock on me. Luca Armani’s men are fiercely loyal to him, and it appears they respect his wife equally as much.
And by her commanding air, I can understand why.
“I don’t consider someone who kidnaps my friend and chains a bomb to her throat a guest,” she spits furiously.
“Ara,” Sienna says. “I’m okay.”
“No, you remain in one piece. That doesn’t mean you’re okay. This never should’ve happened. We should’ve been more cautious and?—”
Sienna steps toward her, and I find myself moving with her, my hand outstretched behind her, but the others swarm around me. I know they won’t hurt her. The worst they can do is take her away from me.
The reality is, she’s much safer with them than me anyway. That doesn’t mean I won’t put up a fight for her.
Sienna hugs Arabella, and she seems surprised by the embrace. But then she sinks into the hug while still glaring at me over Sienna’s shoulder.
“Big softie,” Romi says under her breath .
“Shut up. I’ll have you know, I still have a lot of hormones running through me right now, and my tits are probably leaking because of how fucking long I’ve been waiting,” she snaps.
Sienna laughs as she wipes away tears. “I know shit is really weird, and we still have to have conversations around, well…” She points at the hound and then me. “This. But I’ve missed you all.”
Arabella’s gaze snaps in my direction. “I should shoot you where you stand for what you’ve done.”
“No, Ara, please listen to me,” Sienna implores, moving to block Arabella’s view of me. I notice the strange looks her friends give her. It’s best they don’t know about any of the finer details. Because they’re right to protect her. I am, after all, the enemy.
“They’re right, Sienna. Listen to them. They’ll be the ones standing by your side once all of this is over,” I tell her, then for the others, I add, “Until then, she belongs to me.”
Sienna seems hurt by my intentional choice of words.
“Even with a collar, you don’t own me,” she hisses, pointing to the snake necklace as she turns toward me, and I can see her hurt has shifted into an inner menace that I evoke in her far too often.
“Perhaps you might look better with a collar,” she taunts with a smile. “Maybe I’ll make you crawl to me .”
I mask my expression as I lean in and quietly whisper, “If you can get me on my hands and knees, I’ll worship you in other ways, mishka .” And her cheeks turn a heated red. “Until then, be a good girl and do as you’re told. Don’t leave my side.”
Heated tension ripples between us, and my jaw tics in irritation that I can so easily lose my focus on the threat around us by getting distracted by her.
“Uh, am I the only one questioning what the fuck is happening between you two?” Romi asks.
Lily’s gaze narrows. “Sienna, if he’s done something to you that you don’t?—”
“No, it’s not like that,” Sienna says quickly, and her friends seem taken aback as she wraps her arm around mine.
I fume internally as she exposes my vulnerability.
Her . She’s my weakness.
Yet my chest expands, the deep weight in my stomach setting in, proud as fuck that she would so openly claim me, protect me in her own way. Even when I know how this most likely ends for the both of us.
Fuck .
I have no words to argue what has become so obvious.
I’ve fallen for Sienna Falcone.
And I think she’s fallen for me.