Chapter 19 Sera #2
The night yawns in front of me, empty and shapeless. I’m listless, unable to settle down to anything specific, frustration and hopelessness playing tug of war with my nervous system.
I flip through every streaming channel imaginable but can’t find anything to watch.
I pick up and put down the same book at least five times.
Not even the tub of ice cream in my freezer appeals.
I end up lying on the center of my living room floor, in my pajamas, staring at the ceiling as I do everything I can not to replay every interaction I’ve had with Alik since waking up in his apartment.
No, further than that—since hearing his voice for the first time.
Oddio. That man has wormed his way so deep under my skin I’m worried I’ll never be able to extract him. A thought that’s about to send me spiraling when there’s a knock at my door.
I startle at the unexpected sound, then jump to my feet, idiotically hoping that an infuriatingly sexy Russian will be on the other side.
Hope that dies a very appropriate death when I find a different Russian entirely.
Dimitri scans my clothing before stopping on my bare feet.
“Good evening, Miss Sera. You need shoes.”
“Shoes? Why?”
“We are going.”
A little pulse of excitement bursts in my stomach. “Going?”
“Yes, Miss Sera. Going.” Dimitri looks nothing short of baffled. “The boss changed his mind. Time to go. Unless you’ve changed yours?”
“No, no! I haven’t changed my mind. I’m ready.” I shove my feet into the sneakers I left by the door as Dimitri grabs my puffy coat from the hook. “Let’s do this.”
I follow him to the garage where he holds open the front passenger door of an oversized SUV. “Where are we going?” I ask when Dimitri gets behind the wheel.
“No clue. Boss didn’t say.” We pull out of the garage and drive around the side of the mansion, coming to a stop just before the drive curves to meet the front entrance. Engine running, we sit there, waiting.
“What’s—”
“Pomolchí, pozhálusta, Miss Sera. I don’t know why Boss told me to do what we’re doing, so please stop asking. All your questions, they give me a headache.”
Dimitri sounds genuinely weary. The clock on the dash reads five minutes to ten.
He’s been on duty all day and his instructions from Alik have landed him the night shift as well.
The guy could use a break. “Sorry,” I mutter.
Arms crossed, I snuggle down into my heated seat and wait for whatever is going to happen next.
At ten on the dot, a black Mercedes sedan comes down the drive and stops in front of the mansion’s portico entrance.
The beast driving gets out and holds open the rear passenger door.
Dimitri and I watch a woman step out. High heels, long bare legs, a gold dress that barely covers her tits and ass, long blond hair curling around her chest and the top of her butt like it’s being paid to put her curves on display.
It’s well below freezing outside and the mystery woman isn’t wearing a coat. No outerwear of any kind. From our spot in the car, we have an unobstructed view of how bouncy her breasts are as she walks up the main steps.
The front door opens before she knocks. Alik stands on the other side.
He’s traded his standard dark jeans and black Henley for an exquisitely cut suit.
He looks bigger, broader, his shoulders stretching the limits of the fabric, the upper planes of his chest exposed where the white dress shirt is open at the collar.
He’s gorgeous, and I can’t stop my hands from curling into fists when the woman smiles at him like a cat about to lap up a bowl of cream.
I feel my nails cutting into my palms when she places immaculately manicured claws against his chest, her torso angled so Alik can get a view straight down her dress.
“Who is she?” I hiss.
Whatever Dimitri says is lost to a humming inside my head when the woman slips her hand into Alik’s and he leaves the house, following her and her evil swishy hips down the front steps and into the car. The driver gets in a moment later and the Mercedes drives away.
“Where are they going?”
“Miss Sera, please—” Dimitri waves my agitation off, waiting until the other car gets some distance down the drive before doing the same.
They turn left out of the driveway; so do we.
We match them turn for turn and irritation turns to excitement as I realize—a little late—that we’re following them.
“Where—”
“Khvatit. We’re going to find out.”
I’m practically vibrating in my seat when the Mercedes leads us to a nondescript part of the city, cutting its headlights as soon as it comes to a stop.
Dimitri pulls to the curb several yards behind them, also killing the lights.
It’s dark outside, only a few scattered streetlights, but I scan the buildings as best I can.
We’re in an industrial warehouse area, the kind of place where delivery companies have their distribution centers and restaurants can buy fruit wholesale. The kind of place that’s packed to the gills at five A.M. but dead to the world at ten-thirty at night.
Alik and the mystery woman exit the car and head toward a path that cuts between the two buildings directly outside my window.
Thanks to the SUV’s heavily tinted windows, I can see them, but they can’t see me.
She’s still not wearing enough clothing and touching him in a way that makes a growl vibrate in the back of my throat.
“Do you know where we are now?” I ask Dimitri.
“Still no, Miss Sera. But Boss wants us to sit here, so we sit here.”
“How am I supposed to get involved if I just sit here?”
Dimitri gives me a look. “His point exactly.”
I mutter some not-so-nice words about his boss under my breath, eyes glued to Alik’s back as he trails two steps behind the woman, letting her guide him down the path by their linked hands.
It doesn’t take long for them to vanish into the darkness and I’m about to turn away in a huff when a splash of strobing light spills out of some unseen doorway.
It provides me enough of a view that I can see a ridiculously large man giving both Alik and the woman a thorough once-over before waving them past.
A heartbeat later they’ve vanished into whatever the hell that place is. The path is dark again.
I turn to Dimitri, irritation making me antsy. “So, what, we just wait?”
“Yes, Miss Sera.”
“Until…?”
“Until Boss says otherwise, Miss Sera.”
“And that could be…?”
“No way of knowing, Miss Sera.”
“You aren’t very helpful, Dimitri.”
“As you say, Miss Sera.” Dimitri tips his head back against the seat, eyes closed, obviously thinking it will be the fastest way to get me to shut up.
“Did you at least bring snacks?” If he wanted me to be quiet, snacks would’ve been the way to go.
“No, Miss Sera. Now shhhh. My head.”
“Right, right.” I stare back out the window. Why the hell did Alik agree to let me come here? So I could see him go into some mystery location with some stupidly gorgeous woman? Is this his way of telling me that no matter how intense our moment in the pool was, he’s not interested in me?
As if I want him to be interested. Ugh. I tap my forehead against the glass, wondering what the hell has gotten into me. Everything about the past few weeks, months—no, years—has twisted me up in the head.
I’m not falling for the grumpy Russian who saved me by accident and has regretted it ever since. I’m sure as hell not jealous of the big-chested blonde who seems to have free rein to touch him wherever she wants. Let her deal with his orders and rules and bossiness; I don’t need any of it.
The only thing I need from Alik is for him to keep his promise: to help me exact revenge on the assholes buying and selling women as their playthings. Once we’ve put them in the ground, I’m gone. On to a life I can live on my own terms.
Terms I’m still trying to establish when another car pulls up behind us about thirty minutes later. The headlights are blinding as they hit my sideview mirror, but a beat later they go off. Darkness returns as I hear someone get out of the car, the door closing behind them.
The person is nothing more than a shadow as they follow the same path Alik and the woman took. I’m staring, hoping this will be the moment I get a hint about what’s going on.
The same door opens, the same strobe lights washing across the pavement, the same dump truck of a bouncer sizing up the newest arrival. The new guy is about to go inside when he stops, turning as he pulls something from his back pocket.
The movement puts his profile on display, the sharp edges highlighted by the trippy lights coming from inside the building.
I know my eyesight is still healing but I could be a mile away and still recognize that face. It’s one I haven’t seen in years. One I hate so much I instantly taste bile.
What the fuck is Renzo di Salvo doing here?