Chapter 48
CHAPTER
FORTY-EIGHT
CHASSIS
“This is where the Russian works?” Gauge asks.
I don’t even bother responding to him. Instead, I walk up to the intercom and touch the button that I know is connected to Samuil’s office. I expect his secretary’s voice to come through the speaker, but it doesn’t—it’s his.
“You ready to give me what I want?” he asks.
I don’t know what he wants yet. I told him I would do anything, but I regretted that the moment I said it. I don’t want to give him anything—not a damn thing. What I want is for him to rot in hell.
He used and embarrassed me. He wants me to do something that could ruin my life, because if it were something harmless, he’d have already told me instead of torturing me for days.
I might need him. I might be desperate for this to be over and done with. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to respond to him. That doesn’t mean I’m happy about where I am. I’m so not happy. I wish I were anywhere else.
In fact, I would take being alone in a room with Minty and that horrible Rocky woman over this any day. I don’t want to have this meeting, see that man, or be in this situation ever again, but here I am.
“I’ll buzz you and Gauge in,” he states.
I look back at my brother. His brows rise. He wasn’t expecting that either, so that’s something. I hear the door unlatch, so I reach for the handle and tug it open. I walk into the building with Gauge close behind me.
Moving toward the elevator car, I anxiously wait for the doors to open. Gauge stands close enough behind me that I can feel his presence. His silent support. The elevator car doors open before I can turn back to look at him.
Stepping inside, I smooth my hands down the front of my skirt. I don’t know why I’m wearing a dress. It’s not like I give a shit what Samuil thinks of me. He can go straight to hell, and maybe he will soon—one can only hope.
“Do I need to be worried about a fight when these doors open?” Gauge asks.
As much as I want to tell him that there isn’t going to be a fight of any kind and that Samuil can be trusted, I know he can’t. Samuil was never honest with me, not for one moment of us being together.
I will never be able to trust him.
Not ever.
“I don’t know,” I confess. “He’s manipulative, and he’s an asshole.”
“Sounds like every man I know,” Gauge states.
Looking over my shoulder, I meet my brother’s gaze. “Even you?”
His lips twitch into a smirk. “Especially me, sister.”
Just as he says those words, the doors open, and I turn forward before stepping out into the hallway. I only take two steps forward before I see him. Samuil is leaning against the window that overlooks the sparkling Las Vegas city.
Luckily, it’s daytime, so there isn’t much to see other than some buildings and people moving around. Otherwise, I might get mesmerized by the skyline and forget.
“You didn’t answer me,” Samuil murmurs.
“I’m not answering anything until I know what you are going to ask.”
Samuil doesn’t speak immediately. Instead, he smirks, his eyes shifting from me to Gauge, and then back to me.
An uneasy feeling slides down my spine.
My flesh breaks out into goose bumps as I stand stock-still, staring at him and waiting for something to happen. I don’t know what, but I can tell the shoe is ready to drop.
“So you won’t do anything because you want to know what it is before you agree?” he asks.
Arching a brow, I shake my head once, pressing my lips together. I don’t know what he thinks I’m going to say, but I’m not confirming or denying anything. What I am going to do is hear him out, let Gauge hear him out, and then I’m going to let my brother handle the outcome, whatever that is.
Samuil pushes off the window and makes his way toward us, using that swagger that I used to love watching so damn much. I don’t love it anymore. Biting the inside of my cheek, I worry the skin back and forth with my teeth.
“I don’t want much. Nothing illegal, nothing crazy,” Samuil begins, and that’s when I know that this is going to be bad. I can tell by the way he smirks, the sparkle in his eye. I know nothing good is going to come from this.
“What is it, then?” I demand.
He chuckles, his gaze flicking from me to Gauge. “Step to the side, Chassis. Let the men talk.”
I could slap him, and I might still do that… depending on what he’s about to say. Then a noise causes my spine to straighten. Samuil lifts his hand, motioning for someone to come out of the office.
When I turn my head, it’s as if everything happens in slow motion. I see her walk through the office door. She's wearing an expensive short dress, high heels, and she’s made up to perfection, hair and makeup on point, not a hair out of place or a smear of lipstick on her teeth.
She smiles.
“What the fuck,” I whisper.
“Hey, babe,” Rocky purrs before she slithers up against Samuil’s side.
She places her hand on his chest, and I almost laugh. If she thinks she’s making me jealous, she’s missed the mark completely. I couldn’t give less of a fuck if she wants to sleep with Samuil.
I’ve had him, and I can’t even remember what it was like. All I can think about is how amazing Amos feels buried deep inside me, and I want to run back home to him.
“What is it you want?” I demand.
Samuil chuckles at the same time this snake bitch giggles. I feel fingers curl around my shoulder. It’s my brother. He’s holding on to me but really holding me back because he can no doubt feel my anger bubbling inside me. It’s not like I’m trying to suppress it.
“I want you to leave him.”
“Leave him?” I ask.
“Dare.”