Chapter 16
Paige
The door bangs before cracking open from the force. I’m left alone on a bench, drenched with steam and my own wetness.
Embarrassment burns just as hot as my lust.
Through the crack, I spy two other guys standing with Vanya.
As I do, I struggle to banish the image of a lazy, predatory Vanya wrapping his hand around his cock and daring me to show him what I wanted.
Because he already knew. He orchestrated every pulse in my body, spun me up until only desire remained. And, god, I gave him everything. Did exactly what he told me. I didn’t even hesitate. I’d never done that before, never even imagined allowing someone else to pull the strings like that.
But the best and worst part?
I wanted to, and I enjoyed every second.
I basked in his attention. I’d have kept going, let Vanya watch, let him make me come undone right here on the steaming bench, if not for our intruders.
Following my first orgasm, I have no doubt that I would’ve crossed the room and taken him into my mouth.
My thighs tremble, slick with sweat and desire from him seeing me touch myself, but I really need to listen to their discussion.
Survival wins.
So I scramble to cover myself, cinching the towel around me. My wet hair clings to my skin, masking only the top part of my shame.
The swirl of vapor gives me cover, but I still feel naked and exposed as I slink toward the door to eavesdrop.
Vanya’s already half-dressed as he talks to them.
The tension radiates off the three of them in sharp, angry waves.
In the fragments I glimpse when I’m brave enough to peek, I see the new men glide the way Vanya does. Like predators hunting for prey. They’re all cut from the same cloth.
Or more like different types of weapons forged by the same violence.
“No one’s seen Sasha.” This comes from the shorter man, who’s a little smaller than his companion. Disheveled, near-black hair sits atop his head, doing nothing to curtail the intense scowl on his lips. He looks like he might punch the doorframe just for existing.
Sasha. I heard that name last night. Vanya said Sasha somehow betrayed them with the detective. I wonder what the man did.
Vanya doesn’t look at either of his companions as he fastens his belt. “Calm down, Max. He’s not dead. If they killed him, we’d know. If he was actively working with them, we’d know. Though that still doesn’t explain how Gio knew enough about Paige to stage an ambush.”
Gio again. The other name I heard. Vanya thinks this man paid mercenaries to run me off the road.
None of them seem to like the guy. And if Vanya’s right, I agree. Gio’s a dick. I loved my sensible car.
“That’s not all.” Max lowers his tone, glancing up and down the hall before speaking. I catch a flash of deep arctic blue in his eyes, nearly the same color as mine. “There was an attack at the compound last night. Someone knocked out Gregor and left him in the bushes.”
The third man—big enough to be a heavyweight fighter—extracts a coin and starts flipping it through his fingers. “But that’s the thing. Gregor wasn’t hurt. Barely a scratch. The guy must have been a pro, because he went straight for the knockout and nothing else.”
Vanya pauses, seeming to chew on that bit of information. “That’s not Gio’s usual style. He makes gigantic messes to leave as a message. This is someone else, Alexei.”
“Or he got interrupted and couldn’t complete his plan.” Alexei pins both men with a dark look. With a face that rugged, I wouldn’t be surprised if those were the only types of expressions he could manage. “They also hit our ports. Again.”
Vanya clenches his jaw as he fixes his suit coat. His phone buzzes, sparking a fresh spat of Russian curses. “It’s Roman.”
The other men go still.
Just as when I first met him, Vanya keeps his voice cheerful and smooth. “Pakhan, what can I do for…” He trails off, his shoulders squaring. Like a soldier when the general starts barking orders. “That fucking detective was there? At the compound? Was he asking questions about the island?”
Max and Alexei exchange glances.
How in the world does any of this—and a volume the library received six months ago—connect to what happened on that island fifteen years ago?
What does any of this have to do with me? With my mother?
The remaining fragments of Vanya’s call provide just enough detail to paint the picture. “Can we make sure one of our judges gets the request for the subpoena? I can go talk to… No, I don’t have the book yet. There was an outside complication.”
It’s clear now just how much rides on them getting that book. All of this—men dying, lives shredded, families broken—comes down to a single object.
He’s not looking at me. None of them are. They’re in their own world. But in this moment, I’m more linked to these men than I’ve been to anyone in my adult life.
Vanya ends the conversation.
For a second, he bows his head. Then he rolls his shoulders and addresses the others. “Here’s what happens next. I take Paige back to the library. She gets me the book, and I kill anyone who slows us down.”
The idea should horrify me. This would sicken Rational Paige. Safe Paige.
This Paige, though, is aroused by a man who would lay waste to everything to keep his family alive. To keep me alive.
In romance novels, I’ve always preferred villains to heroes.
A hero will sacrifice everything he loves to save the world.
A villain will sacrifice the world to save what he loves.
Give me a villain over a hero any day.
Studying Vanya as he finishes his planning with his brothers, I realize today might be the day I get him.