Chapter 13
Kasimir~
I was seeing red in a way that I couldn’t ever remember before, and that was saying something when you considered how many people that I’d tortured over the years.
Still, what the fuck?
“Kasimir, is everything okay-”
Ignoring Stephanie, I stormed over towards Zoya, then grabbed the fucking girl by her arm, yanking her away from the group. “What in the fuck are you doing here?”
“You...uh, you know Montana?” Stephanie asked, and that just made my anger spike to an incredibly dangerous level.
Zoya’s hazel eyes were wide with fear, but I didn’t care.
I was too enraged to care about our audience.
I was about to murder her with my bare hands, and anyone watching was free to call the police if they wanted to.
I heard nothing but music in my head, and it was loud enough for me not to care if I went to prison for the rest of my life right now.
“Kasimir, please...” Zoya whispered, and her begging was enough to pull me back from the darkness that I quite enjoyed.
“Kasimir, is there a problem?” Stephanie asked as she stepped away from the rest of the girls.
Finally looking over at her, I lied. “No, not at all. I just need to speak to Montana for a second.”
“Oh, uhm...”
Not waiting for or needing Stephanie’s permission, with my hand still wrapped around Zoya’s arm, I dragged her behind me until we ended up in the back of the kitchen, and I didn’t stop until I was tossing Zoya inside a storage pantry, ensuring that we had as much privacy as possible.
Once we were securely inside, I asked, “What in the fuck are you doing here, Zoya?”
“I’m here for the auction,” she answered, and though her voice sounded panicked, she hadn’t stammered.
“Under the name Montana?”
Zoya closed her eyes as she let out a deep sigh, and I just knew that her explanation was going to send me over the edge. No matter what name she was using, she was here to fuck some random man for money, and I could feel my hands shaking with how furious I was.
When she opened her eyes again, she said, “The real Montana couldn’t make it because she’d gotten into an accident, so...so I took her spot.”
“Under false pretenses, I assume,” I bit out. “I mean, why else would Stephanie be calling you Montana, right?”
“Kasimir, please-”
“Please, what?!” I roared. “Please let you go fuck some strange man for money? Please let you join the auction under someone else’s name? Someone who’s been vetted months in advance, might I add. Exactly what are you pleading with me for, Zoya?”
“I need the money!” she yelled back, angry tears stinging her eyes. “Why else would I be here?!”
“Need the money for what?” I hissed.
“To leave!” she answered, still yelling.
“Zoya-”
“I have nothing, Kasimir,” she said, no longer yelling but still desperate to make her point. “My mother has gone through all the money that my uncle left her, and she refuses to work. All that I have coming is what I make at the diner, and it’s barely enough to survive off of.”
“So, you’re resorting to sleeping with men for money?” I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest to keep from strangling her.
“It’s the only way that I can make enough money to leave St. Moran,” she argued, and that one statement was enough to rile me up all over again. “And why do you keep singing? This isn’t funny, Kasimir...this is my life.”
“Oh, baby,” I drawled out as I lowered my arms before reaching for her again. “I am so far from amused that you have no idea.”
“Why do you even care?” she asked as those hazel eyes sparkled with her tears.
“What difference does it make that I’m taking Montana’s place?
It’s not like I’m going to run to the police or press with what happens here.
And since it’s a one-time thing only, after tonight, you’ll never have to see me again. I’ll be long gone from here.”
“Do you think this is about you, lepestok?” I snarled down at her, my hand wrapped around her arm again.
“You being here jeopardizes the integrity of the entire auction. We’ve guaranteed both the women and the participants safety and discretion, and you slipping in here under false pretenses is a fucking problem. ”
“Kasimir, please-”
“Begging doesn’t work on me, lepestok,” I informed her coldly.
Rage instantly filled those pretty eyes of hers. “I’m here because of you!” she yelled. “If you hadn’t gotten me fired, I wouldn’t be here!”
“You’re here because your uncle was a traitor,” I spat. “You’re here because your mother cannot be bothered to act like an adult. Do you know how many people apply for second jobs before resorting to prostitution?”
Forgetting herself, Zoya pushed at my chest. “I need the money to leave!”
That was the third time that she’d mentioned leaving St. Moran, and if she thought that I was angry over the auction, that was nothing compared to how I felt every time that she mentioned leaving me, and little did she know, there was no way that I was ever going to let that happen.
“And then what?” I taunted, letting go of her arm. “You’re going to find a good job, a nice apartment, and then when you meet the man of your dreams, get married and have children?”
“Don’t mock me,” she hissed, no longer yelling angrily.
Ignoring that, I asked, “Who’s the girl that helped sneak you in here?”
Zoya’s eyes widened again as she shook her head. “No, please...don’t...don’t ruin things for everyone else just because I broke the rules. Every girl here is because she needs the money, Kasimir. None of us are here for...this isn’t a game to us.”
“Then you should have thought about that before you masqueraded as someone else to con your way into this auction,” I replied pointedly.
I stepped to her, making her have to retreat until one of the shelves was digging into her back.
“And what’s in it for me, lepestok? How do I benefit from letting you get up on that stage? ”
“I would think that never seeing me would be good enough,” she replied quietly. “But...but if it’s not, then...I can give you half of whatever I make tonight.”
“Because you think I might be hard up for cash?” I drawled out.
That fire was back in her eyes, but I was more concerned with how she wanted to leave St. Moran than anything else. While she might not know it, I wasn’t done with her, and I wasn’t sure that I’d ever be, truth be told.
“So, what?” she asked. “You’re going to make me leave?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her that there was no way in hell that I was going to allow her to get on that stage, but then what?
While I could stop her from auctioning herself off tonight, I couldn’t stop her from standing on a street corner somewhere.
I also couldn’t stop her from selling pictures of her tits on the internet if that’s what it came down to.
I had no control over Zoya when she was out of my sight-tonight being proof of that-and I didn’t like it.
“No,” I answered. “Far be it for me to crush your dreams of fleeing St. Moran.”
Her brows immediately furrowed, not trusting me, which she shouldn’t. “What’s the catch?’
“There is no catch,” I lied. “It’s a simple business decision, lepestok.
We promised the participants ten girls from which to bid, and I am not going to allow your trickery to ruin tonight’s events.
Our reputations were born of our word, and I am not going to let you destroy that with your carelessness. ”
Zoya winced a bit, but she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Uhm...okay.”
“I guess you better run along with the rest of the girls,” I remarked dismissively.
“Thank you,” she replied, and it was definitely too early to be thanking me for anything right now.
Stepping back, I opened the pantry door, then moved to the side to allow Zoya to walk past me. However, instead of letting her run off on her own, I followed her into the lobby, and when I went to stand next to her near the elevators, that’s when she became wary again.
“What are you doing?” she asked as she looked up at me.
“Making sure that you’re delivered to the suite safely,” I answered, and I knew that she was itching to call me a liar.
Instead, she just said, “Oh.”
Once she was safely knocking on the suite door, I finally went back to checking things out, leaving her to decide what to tell Stephanie and the girls.