“You need to take me to see my brother.” I still sound confident for now, but uncertainty is starting to creep into my limbs with each passing second.
He raises his eyebrows. “You don’t strike me as the type of woman who trades sex for favors.”
I know if I concentrate on that insult, I’ll get side-tracked. So I stick to the point instead. “I told you I would do anything—”
“And I asked you to prove it,” he says.
“So I…”
I trail off when I realize the point he’s trying to make. I start to pale as he regards me with his gaze.
“You fucked me of your own accord,” he says. “I didn’t ask you to.”
I shake my head, but his chuckle makes me freeze. “You gave me your body before I even asked for it, Olivia. You showed me everything I needed to know. You want it. You want this. You want me.”
I rear back and twist around so that I don’t have to look at his face.
Oh God, what have I done? I walked right into the trap he set for me.
But even that isn’t totally true. I set the trap myself. I told him I’d do anything. Because I was blinded by my attraction to him.
“All I want is to be reunited with my family.”
His devil-may-care eyes see right through my lies. “If only that were true.”
17
ALEKS
THE NEXT DAY
She sits silently in the back seat, but I still can’t ignore her. She does that to me—demands my attention, consumes it without even meaning to. It’s very fucking irritating.
“Will you stop?” I growl, glancing back at her over my shoulder.
“I’m nervous,” she hisses. Her leg keeps bouncing up and down like a piston as she picks at her fingernails.
“I noticed that. Try being nervous on the inside instead.”
She throws me a dirty look and glances towards the six men piled into the back of the jeep. There’s no one sitting beside her, but only because I ordered it.
“Why are there so many men?” she whispers.
“Are there?”
“I saw at least five other jeeps when we pulled out of the compound. How many men are you bringing to this meeting?”
“A few,” I say casually.
“Why?” she demands. “This is supposed to be a neutral face-to-face, right? It’s supposed to be about opening a dialogue. Having a conversation.”
Demyan throws me a glance from the front seat that’s half-amused and half-disbelieving.
“Yeah,” I chuckle. “I’m well-known for my conversational skills.”
Olivia blanches. “Are you planning on hurting him?”
“I’m planning on doing whatever I have to do.”
She unbuckles her seatbelt and climbs over the center to sit between me and Demyan up front.
“What are you doing?” Demyan asks.
“I’m trying to convince your evil boss that this is not the right way to go about things. If you walk in with an army at your back, Rob’s going to think you’re not serious about working through this.”
“‘Working through this?’” I repeat. “Jesus, we’re not lovers trying to solve our relationship issues. He’s the thorn in my side. I just need to remove him.”
“That’s why I’m here,” she insists. “I’ll convince him to leave you alone.”
“Is that right?” Demyan and I exchange a knowing look. She definitely doesn’t miss it, but she chooses to ignore it.
“Listen, Aleks, my brother is a man of his word. If he promises not to come after you, he won’t,” she says earnestly.
Demyan shakes his head. He’s gone from half-disbelieving to full-on incredulous. “Must be nice living in a fantasy world.”
She turns towards him so that all I can see is a head of silky, dark brown hair. “Who are you, the resident cynic? Did someone piss in your cornflakes this morning? Or were you just not hugged enough as a child?”
Demyan and I lock eyes. I know exactly what he’s thinking: She is more than I was expecting.
You and me both, I think.
“Well, funny you should mention not getting hugged,” Demyan replies casually. “The cynicism actually started with my dad. He killed my mother when I was seven and then abandoned my brother and me. Then my brother overdosed when he was fifteen. Then it was my wife, who left me for a ‘normal’ life and took my daughter with her. So I’d say the cynicism is pretty well-earned, actually. As for the cornflakes, I’m not really big on breakfast.”
Olivia is silent for a long moment. Then she turns to me.
“Was all that true?”
I shrug. “He forgot the part where he tracked down his old man and killed him in retribution. But otherwise, extremely factual.”
“Didn’t forget,” Demyan says irritably. “I was just building up to it. Proudest fucking moment of my life. Now, you’ve robbed me of the joy of dropping that bomb. Bastard.”
“I’m sure you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me.”
“Jesus Christ,” Olivia mutters. “You guys are serious.”
“Why would we joke about shit like that?” Demyan asks.
“You really killed your father?”
“He had it coming.”
“But… he was your father.”
“He killed my mother,” Demyan says. “What was I supposed to do, put him in timeout?”
“You should… shit, I don’t know, get the cops involved!” Olivia exclaims, flummoxed. “Have him arrested and put on trial. He would have gone to jail.”
“Jail?” Demyan scoffs. “Fuck that. I’ve done time. It ain’t no punishment if you know how the inside works.”
Olivia sits back against the seat and turns to me. “Have you done time?”
I snort with laughter. “I was born the son of the most powerful fucking don on the West coast.”
“Which means…？”
“Which means there isn’t a cop, attorney, or judge alive who would dare try to put me behind bars.”
“So you think you’re above the law?”
“Miles above.”
She shrugs. “I wouldn’t count on it.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Is that a challenge?”
“It’s a promise. If you kill me, my brother will make sure you pay for it.”
“I wouldn’t kill you,” I say.
She looks at me with a curious expression, probably thinking I’ve softened towards her after last night.
I decide to disabuse her of that notion immediately.
“Mostly because you’re not important enough to kill.”
She frowns. “Gee, thanks. I feel so safe now.”
She skulks back to her seat and buckles in. Seconds later, her knee starts bouncing again.
“You’ll have to look a little more like the terrified prisoner when we get there,” I tell her. “I don’t want your brother thinking I’ve been nice to you.”
She snorts. “No one would ever accuse you of being nice.”
“I’m glad my reputation is intact.”
I don’t turn around, but I can feel her eyes attempting to bore a hole in the back of my head. “You’re an asshole. Are you aware of that part of your reputation?”