Chapter 2
LORENZO
“Not enjoying the party?”
My host’s voice startled me. That wasn’t good.
Ignoring one’s surroundings could be deadly in my profession.
Normally, I wouldn’t have missed the sound of someone approaching, even if they were walking softly on plush carpet like Dimitri.
But I’d been indulging myself, watching a young man who was forbidden.
Get yourself together.
I turned to face him with an obviously fake smile. “I’ve found it fascinating, so much so that I needed a moment away from the crowd.”
He glared at me. “I see. What has fascinated you the most? Nikolai’s engagement or the number of friends who’ve come to support him?”
The motherfucker deserved a punch to the face.
I fisted my hands at my sides instead. “From what I’ve heard, his engagement was expected, right?
” He didn’t manage to hide his surprise from me.
He really thought my family didn’t know his plans.
“As far as the number of guests, I assume they are all either here to suck up to you or plot your demise.”
“Which of the two will you be doing?”
“Neither. I’m here to negotiate.”
He raised his brows. “You’re not happy with our current agreement?”
“No. I’m not, and neither is Remington.”
He sighed dramatically. “I suppose I can spare a few moments to talk.”
Before I could respond, movement caught his attention, and he stared out the window. “That’s my son out there.”
I nodded. If he’d seen me staring at Nikolai, there was nothing I could do about it. “He’s a fortunate young man to have secured Miss Ivanov as his bride.”
Dimitri chuckled, but there was no mirth in the sound. “She’s a rebellious little bitch. I’m the fortunate one. It’s an alliance I’ve worked hard for.”
He wanted me to argue, but I wasn’t going to take the bait, no matter how disgusted I was that he’d describe his son’s fiancée that way.
“Isn’t your son enjoying the party? Did he need to escape?
” Dimitri looked ready to explode, but he held himself in check.
“He likely needed a moment to recover from the excitement of my announcement, just like you did.”
“I was surprised to see him after the toasts. I thought you’d send him away after the toast since you don’t want him involved in your sordid business dealings.
” As if I believed that bullshit he’d spewed when Nikolai and his mother were sent away.
Dimitri didn’t give a fuck about protecting Nikolai. He was being used as a pawn.
Dimitri glared at me. “Tonight is for celebrating, not for business.”
“Once he’s married, will he take an active role in your endeavors?”
“His role in my business is none of your concern.”
“Of course not. I was merely curious. He seems like such a polite young man, I can only imagine what living with the Ivanovs will be like for him.”
The glare Dimitri gave me was meant to intimidate, but it did the opposite. It made me want Nikolai even more. I turned back to the window, taunting Dimitri by watching Nikolai again. Had he ever been with a man? Was he willing to admit what he wanted? Did it matter?
I could be very convincing. But I also knew the consequences of indulging myself.
Since the night I’d been betrayed and then arrested, I’d kept my hands and my dick out of places they shouldn’t be. I’d played the game like a master, protecting my family, building our wealth, never putting my needs ahead of theirs. Was Nikolai worth breaking that promise I’d made to myself?
He turned and looked at the window as if he felt me watching him.
His father gestured for him to return to the terrace.
He nodded, but he walked backward for several steps, keeping his gaze on mine.
My cock stirred. What was it about him that had me salivating?
I didn’t know, but I wanted to find out.
“Nikolai has been sheltered,” Dimitri said. “I didn’t want him tainted when I offered him to our allies.”
Holy fuck, had he never been touched? Would I be the first man he’d kissed?
This only got more tempting the more I learned.
It also made me more furious with Dimitri for denying Nikolai the life he should have been living for the past four years.
From what I understood, he’d barely been allowed to leave the apartment he and his mother shared in Chicago.
I knew better than to take things with Nikolai any further.
I couldn’t risk my family. I shouldn’t damage the alliance Remington wanted to pursue, but no one would have to know, would they?
I could play with Niko, be satisfied with my silent revenge, then walk away.
I’d get him out of my system, and he’d have a chance to experience someone less chilling than Ivanov.
He deserved that, didn’t he? I wouldn’t hurt him.
I couldn’t say the same for his future father-in-law.
I had to know if the arrangement was exactly what I thought. “So Ivanov prefers his men untouched?”
“Stay away from my son.” Dimitri took a step toward me, and I was prepared to defend myself. I could take Dimitri in a fight, and I had my gun in easy reach. I’d managed to hide it well enough to go undetected by Dimitri’s guards.
“What about Alina? Who is she really for?”
“It’s only out of respect for your cousin that I’m not ending you here and now. Insult me or Ivanov again, and you will be sent back to your family in pieces. If you so much as look at Nikolai again, you’ll wish all I’d done was hack you apart.”
I nodded, indicating I’d heard his warning but never speaking the words. I didn’t make promises I had no intention of keeping.
What about the promise to never put your desire over the needs of your family?
I hadn’t broken it yet.
So you’re going to walk away? You’re not going to look for Nikolai later tonight?
If I had any sense, I would, but I’d been sensible for too damn long.
Later that night, I wandered outside. I desperately wanted another bourbon instead of my glass of soda water, but I knew better than to get drunk in Dimitri’s presence.
He might need my family’s business for now, but I’d provoked him.
If I pushed him hard enough, he might forget that Remington wouldn’t appreciate him putting hands on me.
I couldn’t let my guard down until I was back at home.
I wondered where Nikolai was now. I sat on the bench in the rose garden, wishing he’d appear there again. The buzz of conversation from the house was annoyingly loud, even out here.
The party was as insufferable as I’d expected it to be.
Like I’d predicted, everyone there had an agenda.
They all wanted something from Dimitri or one of the other attendees.
The dinner was mediocre at best. I could have done much better myself, and my cook would have blown Dimitri’s out of the water.
My car had been parked by a valet, so it would be a production to get it back. I considered walking down to Dimitri’s dock and stealing a boat. Remington’s family had a house on the lake. I could dock there.
I tipped my head back and sighed. In the past, I’d been to plenty of events that were just as tedious and didn’t feel so drained by it all. What was the matter with me? Was I just fucking sick of playing these games? Of being the model negotiator for Remington?
There was something dark inside me that I’d been keeping at bay.
It wanted to come out. At that moment, I didn’t care about alliances.
I didn’t care about business. I wanted to burn the world down.
I wanted to take Nikolai, drag him to my car, and take him somewhere no one would bother us.
I wanted to destroy him in the best possible way, and then I wanted to be alone so I could stop having to make so many fucking decisions.
I wanted to release myself from responsibility to myself, to my brothers, to Remington.
But that wasn’t an option. I’d tried being irresponsible once, and the results had been fatal. It should have been me who died for my sins, but I couldn’t change the past. All I could do was keep trying to make it up to my family.
I sighed as I leaned back and looked up at the stars.
How bad would it be to track Nikolai down, toy with him, give him a thrill before he was locked away with a pretend wife and a man who would treat him like an object with no feelings of his own?
Would that really hurt anyone? Most of the guests were drunk off their asses by now, and Dimitri was surely busy talking to everyone who wanted to beg him for a favor.
Don’t do it.
Even as I tried to tell myself no, I stood. After catching me watching Niko, Dimitri had likely sent him to his room to keep him out of trouble. If I found him there, he wouldn’t be able to run from me, but the house was enormous. I needed a way to narrow down his location.
I looked up at the row of windows. Only one room on the second floor had lights on. I’d start there.
I entered through the kitchen. My fierce expression dared the caterers to question why I was there. I grabbed a server by the arm and asked if there was a back staircase. The man stared at me, saying nothing. “I’m getting impatient.”
That seemed to snap the man out of his trance. “Yes, sir. This way.” When he showed me, I tipped him and sent him on his way.
As I climbed the stairs, I considered my position in the house.
The lit-up window had been the third from the end, which should mean the room was the third on my right once I was in the upstairs hall.
When I reached the top of the stairs, a door opened, and a man stepped out, followed by a woman who was still trying to get her dress zipped back up.
Even in the dim light, I recognized Dimitri’s brother, Matvei.
He glared at me, ignoring the woman as she slipped behind him and headed for the stairs. “What are you doing up here?”
I glanced toward the woman as she disappeared. “Same thing as you are, apparently.”
He snarled. “This is my brother’s house.”
“Would your companion’s husband be interested in how you’re using your brother’s house?”
Matvei reached for me, and I stepped out of his reach. “Think really hard about what you’re doing before you put your hands on me. There will be consequences.”
He dropped his arms to his sides.
“That’s better. Now. I will pretend I didn’t see you here, and you’ll do the same.”
“Watch your back.”
I gave him my evilest smile. “You do the same.”
I waited until he’d retreated down the stairs to continue my search for Nikolai.
When I reached the third door, I tried the knob, but it was locked.
Fortunately, that wasn’t an issue for me.
I slipped a lock pick from my jacket—never left home without them.
In seconds, the lock released, and the knob turned.
If Dimitri wanted to keep his son safe, he needed better locks and maybe a guard or two, not that any of those would have kept me out, but it would work for most of the scum he associated with.