45. -44-
Nina
“You know,” Lucas drawled as the car stopped in front of the Starlight building, “most women don’t solve their spouse problems with murder plans.”
I shot him a flat look while adjusting the slit of my black evening gown over my thigh holster.
“Good thing I’m not most women.”
The bastard snorted and stepped out before I could elbow him.
Cold evening air brushed my bare shoulders as I followed him onto the sidewalk, looking up at the Starlight building glowing against the Manhattan skyline.
Expensive cars lined the entrance while men in dark suits watched every movement with predatory focus.
The lion’s den.
Excitement and dread twisted in my stomach. Dorian was somewhere inside. And somewhere nearby were his psychopathic brothers.
Lucas lightly touched my elbow as we approached the entrance, his teasing demeanor gone.
He looked sharp in a dark suit, his blond curls elegantly styled for once, but tension lurked beneath his calm expression.
After I told him about Malin digging through my records and deliberately leaving traces behind, even he stopped joking, which terrified me more than swimming with sharks.
Inhaling a deep, steady breath, I hooked my arm with Lucas, but we barely stepped into the private lobby before two security guards peeled away from the wall and blocked our path. Their attention immediately dropped toward my clutch and Lucas’s jacket.
“Phones. Weapons. Bags,” one of them ordered coldly.
“No,” I refused, smiling politely.
“Miss Valentino.” The guard’s face remained blank. “Everyone gets checked.”
“Do I look like everyone?” I asked sweetly, not bothered that they knew my name. They’d done their homework.
Lucas coughed, clearly trying not to laugh at my rapidly deteriorating patience.
“I’m serious, Miss,” the man continued, unmoved by me. “Orders.”
My fingers tensed around the crystal purse. Irritation crawled beneath my skin at the thought of strangers putting their hands on me and discovering the carefully hidden weapons beneath silk, diamonds, and couture fabric.
“I don’t enjoy being touched by men I don’t know.” My cold gaze jumped between them. “Call a woman.”
The guards exchanged a glance, but before either could respond, Lucas straightened beside me. The subtle change in his posture made me turn toward the elevators, my stomach knotting when I saw why.
Malin Zhumagulov appeared near the elevators as if the shadows decided to take human form.
He approached us without a sound. Black suit, black gloves, deadly expression, everything on him was designed to underline the lethal aura surrounding him.
His empty brown eyes, a shade or two darker than Dorian’s, settled on me, every instinct in my body screaming danger.
“Well, well, well.” Malin’s deep, menacing voice bounced off the walls as he stopped beside the security guards. “What a nice surprise.”
“It’s hardly a surprise, Mr. Zhumagulov.” I cast him my best innocent smile, immediately choosing attack over pleasantries. “Considering how invested you’ve been in my life lately.”
Lucas inhaled sharply, and Malin’s eyes narrowed a tiny bit. One corner of his mouth twitched, barely noticeable. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he'd fought a smile.
“Careful.” His gaze dragged slowly along my face. “My attention comes with a price.”
A chill crawled down my spine, but I tilted my head lightly as if we were discussing the weather and not the fact that he’d been dissecting my life piece by piece.
“I’m just flattered by your interest.” I threw my hair over my shoulder and raised a brow at him. Not a challenge, just a message that I wouldn’t let him win easily.
“Okay,” Lucas muttered, forcing out a nervous laugh. “This sounds like foreplay between serial killers.”
Neither of us looked at him. Malin’s focus stayed glued to me with terrifying intensity. Something deeply unnatural about the way he watched people, like he peeled skin away and studied whatever hid beneath.
“I wonder,” he mused, “do you enjoy making bad decisions, Miss Valentino, or are you simply incapable of recognizing danger?”
My pulse kicked harder.
“That depends,” I replied smoothly. “Are you referring to tonight or to my actions in general?”
Lucas made a strangled sound while Malin went completely still. Not a mimic muscle moved on his face. For one horrifying second, I genuinely thought I’d pushed too far, but then his gaze fell to the bracelet on my wrist, and he smirked.
“Garrote wire?” The words rolled out of his tongue like a curse. My stomach dropped into my shoes, and Lucas turned toward me so fast I almost heard his neck crack.
“Nina,” he whispered through gritted teeth, “please tell me you didn’t bring your special toys.”
I ignored him. Malin’s expression remained unreadable as he extended one gloved hand toward me.
“Purse, please,” he said in an unnaturally soft voice.
Every muscle in my body screamed not to hand him anything. Still, refusing Malin Zhumagulov sounded like an excellent way to end up dead before dessert.
Slowly, I placed the clutch into his hand. His fingers moved with unnerving calm as he opened it and inspected the contents. Lipstick. Phone. Compact mirror. Keys. And…
A second later, he pulled out the small pearl-handled gun.
“That’s just an accessory,” Lucas tried to save the situation. “Look at her outfit. A perfect black cat ener—”
Malin cut him off with a sharp, unexpected movement, pointing my gun at him. Lucas instinctively pulled out his silver semi-automatic pistol, aiming at his chest. Six men arose from the shadows, all armed and deadly, joining their boss against us.
Malin smirked arrogantly, while Lucas was visibly nervous, but his hand stayed still, firmly gripping the gun that had felt like an extension of his arm for as long as I could remember.
I looked around, assessing whether I could take down at least one giant before the mayhem Malin would unleash on us.
“Accessory, huh?” Malin inspected my gun, disturbing my thoughts. “You’re just like her, Mr. Colapino.” He stopped aiming at Lucas, but his men didn’t move. “I considered you smarter.”
Lucas’s lips turned into a snarl as he glared at him. His father spent years putting him down. Mocking Lucas’s intelligence was the fastest way to get under his skin.
“It goes both ways,” he hissed, anger written in every inch of his beautiful face. His fingers tightened around the handle, my instincts kicking in to prevent disaster—because Malin looked at him like he had just decided which train to hell he would send him on.
“It’s just a small gun,” I interjected, but none of them reacted. They stared each other down like boxers before a match.
“Lucas.” I placed my hand on his forearm and pushed lightly so he would stop aiming at Malin, but he didn’t react.
“Lucas,” I hissed through gritted teeth, standing before the barrel of his gun. It pointed directly at my face, and he instantly moved it away.
“Thank you,” I said, flashing him a sharp look before turning to Malin. “Just take it.” I waved toward the gun that my grandpa gifted me for my twentieth birthday. “And we can forget about all of this, right?”
“You brought a firearm to my brother’s private event,” he ground out, rage flashing in his brown eyes.
Fuck! The last thing we needed was a furious Malin. I heard stories, too many stories…
“You say that like your family doesn’t carry enough weapons to invade a small country,” I countered, crossing my arms over my chest. My pulse hammered violently beneath my ribs, but I kept a strong front.
“Why do you carry so many weapons, Nina?” he asked casually. “Are you planning on kidnapping someone?”
My eyes widened, fingernails dug into my biceps, while Lucas exhaled behind me as if the world had just ended.
“What?” My brave mask was slipping. That remark couldn’t be a coincidence. He knew I kidnapped his brother.
Jesus Christ!
“The holster is visible through the slit,” he informed me, his eyes drifting lower toward my exposed leg. “Sloppy.”
My fingers instinctively moved toward my thigh, and heat crawled up my spine.
Impossible! I checked it three times before leaving the apartment.
Malin’s gaze sharpened almost unnoticeably at my expression, and I instantly realized the truth.
The asshole was bluffing!
“Remove it,” he commanded, handing my gun to one of the guards before extending his hand toward my wrist. “The bracelet, too.”
“It’s jewelry,” I objected, hiding my hands behind my back.
“It’s a garrote wire.” His tone was almost excited, like a boy with a new toy. “Planning to strangle someone?”
“Depends on how boring the party gets.”
For the first time, real amusement flickered across his face. It was just a speck, brief and gone in the blink of an eye, but it was there. I saw it.
“Take it off, Nina,” he repeated, warning lacing his words. Slowly, I unclasped the bracelet, glaring at him when he nodded toward my thigh. My beautiful knife fell into a plastic box, followed by Lucas’s and my guns.
“You’ll get it on your way out,” one of the men said as Malin stepped aside to let us pass. My eyes shot daggers at him the entire time since he confiscated my toys, but arguing was pointless. Still, I felt as if I was walking naked through Times Square.
“One more thing, Miss Valentino.” Malin stopped me when I reached his level. He leaned down, the expensive cologne hitting my nose, and a hot breath fanned my skin when his falsely sweet voice pierced my ear.
“I hope not to find that hairpin in someone’s eye.” My shoulders tensed, but no threat followed. “Enjoy your evening.”
He stretched his arm toward the ballroom door. I looked at him for the last time; the psychotic glint in his eyes would surely haunt me in my sleep.
“Jeez, he’s nuts,” I exhaled, wiping my sweaty palms on my dress once we were a safe distance from him. Paranoia climbed up my neck. How much did the fucker know?
“Yeah, and you made him smile,” Lucas groaned, all the color drained from his face. “The psycho is preparing us like pigs for slaughter.”
“What?”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.” He stopped me mid-step, grabbing my elbow. “The mind games. The personal check-up. He waited for us, and…” Lucas paused, licking his dry lips. “He was intrigued.” My eyes widened in shock. “We are so dead, Nina. So fucking dead.”