Chapter 17
“ S top staring. I’m fine.” I pull my jacket tighter around me.
Rurik’s eyes have wandered to my side of the car half a dozen times since we left his penthouse to meet with Alexander and Megan.
“You didn’t eat very much this morning.”
“I wasn’t hungry. Just leave it alone.”
Rurik misses nothing. After I lost my dinner, he found me sitting on the bathroom floor. I just wanted to make sure the panic had eased enough to keep whatever was left in my stomach down. But Rurik went straight into overdrive when he realized I’d been sick.
“I’m going to have a doctor meet us at the house. You need to be checked over. All those months barely eating, and the stress…you need to have a full once over.”
“No. I don’t need a doctor. It was probably from having the cops show up at your place last night. It was a lot. I’m fine now, I swear.”
There’s an overcast sky today, blocking out the sun and making the day even more dreary.
“What is this place?” We drive past massive iron gates and down a winding road that leads to a foreboding mansion of dark brick with arched wooden doors. It’s giving medieval gothic vibes.
“This is Obsidian. A club Alexander and his brothers own.”
“I’ve heard of almost every club in this city, but never this one? Is it a nightclub or something?”
He raises a brow as he opens my door for me. “No, not a nightclub.”
“So, what? A men’s club where they all get together and tell each other how manly they are?” I climb out of the car, fixing the strap of my purse.
Rurik’s mouth kicks up, amusement playing in his gaze. “Something like that, but with a lot more money and power and secrets at stake. You shouldn’t see any of the members while we’re here, but if for some reason you do, you didn’t.”
“If I did? I didn’t.” I laugh.
A man dressed in a well-tailored suit opens the door just as we approach, nodding a greeting to Rurik. He averts his eyes when I smile at him as I pass through.
“That was rude,” I mutter under my breath as I walk in step with Rurik down a hallway that looks like it should be in a castle nestled inside the Black Forest, not in our little city.
Soft gold lighting from the sconces along the stone walls illuminate the narrow hallway as it winds into a small foyer.
In the middle of a dark mahogany round table sits a gold painted skull with a glass vase set inside.
A dozen blood red roses fill the vase, making it look as though the skull has a halo of roses.
I stop short at the table.
“Is...that’s not real, is it?” I point.
Rurik glances at it and nods. “Yes. The Volkov’s have a habit of keeping the skulls of their enemies. That one used to sit in Alexander’s office at his home. I’m not sure why it’s here.”
“You can tell the difference between skulls?” I draw up short. “How many have you seen?”
He shrugs, like I’ve asked him how many fruit flies he’s seen in his life.
“A lot.” He grabs my hand. “Alexander’s expecting us, let’s go.”
“What exactly happens in this place?” I question as he tugs me down another winding hallway. “Are we underground?”
“We are.”
“You didn’t answer my first question.”
“I know.” He squeezes my hand as we get to a closed door. “Behave today, Mira.”
It’s a warning much like others, with an underlining promise of punishment if I don’t. But this one is slightly different. There’s a softness to his command today.
Maybe I’ll give behaving a try.
Inside, several men sit around the room. I recognize Alexander sitting behind the desk from yesterday, Megan standing behind him. As soon as she sees me, she rushes up to me. Rurik leaves my side to join the men huddling around the desk. It appears they’ve been waiting for us.
“You’re all right.” Megan grasps my arms. “He scared the shit out of me last night.”
“Yeah. He’s good at that. I wanted to call you back, but he wouldn’t give me a phone to use. Mine’s no good.” I frown. “Can’t use it anymore.”
“I heard Alexander talking to Ivan about it this morning. The police showed up at his place?”
“The same detective. He won’t let up.” I glance over to where Rurik is talking with the others. “Who are all these people?”
She glances over at the group. “The one to the right of Rurik is Kaz; he’s Alexander’s youngest brother. Ivan is to his left; he’s the middle one. And the one behind Rurik is Lev. I’m not sure how he’s related, but he’s always in these meetings when something serious is happening.”
“You’ve certainly found a home here.” I link arms with her and lead us over to the leather couch tucked in the corner of the room, where we’ll stay under their radar.
No need to tempt Kaz into looking in our direction and possibly remember me. While Megan knows what happened with Kaz years ago, she doesn’t know it was him. I’d kept his name out of the retelling. It wasn’t relevant, and now it’s even better that she doesn’t know.
“It’s Alexander. He’s all consuming, you know. And…” She pauses to check that none of them are paying any attention to us. “I’ve never felt safer or more loved.”
“You deserve that, Meg.” I squeeze her arm.
“So do you.”
“Don’t start. Just because your mafia guy has turned into your Prince Charming doesn’t mean they all will.”
“Not all.” She smiles. “But Rurik has said he’s marrying you.”
“You can’t believe everything a man says.” I roll my eyes.
“Mira.” Rurik touches my shoulder.
He moves like a ghost, this giant of mine.
“I have a meeting. Stay here until I get back.” His eyes are hard again, like he’s letting me know he’s not in the mood for any sort of complaining from me.
Well, I’m not in the mood to be dropped off at a babysitter’s.
“Actually, I need to swing by my apartment. I could use a few more clothes. Megan can take me.”
“The apartment is off limits. I’ll have your things packed and brought over for you. You stay here. I won’t be gone long.”
“It will be fine, Mira. We’ll hang here.” Megan taps my leg, a small gesture to let me know not to argue.
I get off the couch, go toe to toe with him.
“I don’t need a babysitter. ”
“Who’s babysitting? You’re spending the afternoon hanging out with your friend.” It sounds benign, but I know beneath it is him doing his controlling thing.
Trying to gauge his motives by his expression is pointless. He’s gone stony on me, hiding what he’s actually thinking.
Except for his left eyebrow. That twitches, like he’s doing his damndest not to give me a direct order.
Probably because he knows doing that all but insures I’ll be finding a way out of this club.
In the end, he wins. Spending the afternoon with Megan is probably the best ways to pass the time.
“Whatever. Fine.” I wave him away.
Not one to be dismissed, he grabs my wrist and pulls me into his chest.
“Behave yourself while I’m away,” he mutters, just before he smashes his mouth over mine.
The moment our lips touch, though, he softens the kiss, sliding his hand up my neck until his fingers are lost in my hair. Gently, he curls his hand into a fist, just enough to send tingles through my scalp.
When he breaks the kiss, I’m dizzy. It’s not right, how easily this man can throw me off balance. With a little goodbye kiss? I’m losing it. Obviously, I need to recommit myself to my goal.
“How long will you be gone?” I retreat a step and clear my throat.
“Two hours, max. You can behave that long I think.”
“I know how to behave. I don’t need you to keep saying that. I’m not a little girl.” Really. I’ve gone twenty-four years without any assistance from him, or anyone.
And if you don’t count the mess with Nico, the guy he had to kill in the woods, and the relentless detective, I’ve done just fine.
“No. No you’re definitely not a little girl.” He agrees, but it doesn’t sound like I’ve won the argument.
The hunger is back in his eyes. His expression tightens, like he’s realized I’ve distracted him from something important, and he needs to get his head back in the game.
Without another word, he turns on his heel and stalks from the room.
“He looked pissed,” Megan says.
“No. He always looks that way after we talk.” I lift a shoulder. “For a man who insists he wants to marry me, he looks like he’s ready to murder me every time we have a conversation.”
She laughs. “Alexander gets the same look. It’s not murder they want.”
“Then what is it?”
The door opens again before Megan can answer. A blonde woman wearing a black dress with gold embellishments walks in with a bottle of whisky.
“Sorry to interrupt. Darren said to bring this up here for you.” She holds out the bottle to the small group of men staring at her.
The man Megan introduced as Ivan disentangles himself from the group and takes the bottle from her. When she turns to leave, he grabs hold of her arm and spins her back to him.
Ivan’s stern expression turns murderous as he lifts her arm and exposes a bruise wrapping around to just above her elbow. Like someone other than him had grabbed her tightly and wouldn’t let her go.
“What is this?” His demand could shake the floor.
“It’s nothing.” She tugs her arm back. He releases her but settles a heated glare on her.
“Who did it?”
“Really. It’s nothing. I have to get back.” She spins away from him and hurries from the room.
He wants to chase her. It’s all over his face before he does the same magic trick Rurik does, and his expression goes blank. Well…not completely. He could probably part a few seas with his stare.
“What’s happening there?” I nudge Megan with my elbow.
“I don’t know. That was Vivienne; she works downstairs.”
“Are they a thing? Cause he looks like they’re a thing.”
“No, I don’t think so.” Megan climbs off the couch. “But I don’t know Ivan that well.”
“What about Vivienne?” I look over my shoulder at her with a smile.
“Not really.”
“Well, maybe we should go introduce ourselves.”
“You’re both staying here. I have lunch coming for you.” Alexander appears out of nowhere, the big brute .
“Do you guys take ninja lessons or something.” I press my hand to my chest to keep my heart from escaping.