My heart nearly jumps from my throat, but I breathe deeply and push the button. I have no doubt that Maya succeeded.
Just as I expected, the timer goes on.
I go back through the garden—my plan B. There’s no way in hell I’m returning to that bathroom, where Landon can ambush me again.
Note to self: Never be alone with the bastard.
He’s a damn pervert, and a persistent one at that.
It takes me longer to return to the main hall, but I arrive at the back of the partygoers just in time.
After I join Maya, she signs, “What the hell took you so long? I was getting worried.”
“A small complication, but don’t worry, it was absolutely nothing.”
I don’t believe my words, even as I sign them.
That definitely wasn’t nothing. It was everything but nothing. My body still tingles with both frustration and rage.
“What do you mean there was a complication?” Maya hisses under her breath. “What happened?”
I place a finger to my mouth when none other than Landon walks to the stage and taps his glass of champagne with a spoon.
Just in time.
He’s wearing his mask, but it doesn’t matter. After our encounter just now, I’ve developed the useless power to recognize the asshole from a mile away.
“Thank you for coming to our party,” he starts in his suave, elegant voice that could be mistaken for a politician’s.
That gorgeous British accent is lost on him. Just saying.
“We’re delighted to open the Elites’ doors for the people we consider VIPs. Tonight, we’re going to have a personal meet and greet with yours truly, the man and the legend, Landon King.”
Barf.
“He sounds and looks edible,” Maya signs. “Too bad he’s a dick.”
“What’s taking so long?” I sign back as the crowd goes wild for the potential future cult leader.
Did I somehow not click the right button in my haste? I was temporarily out of my mind after the bastard touched what he had no business touching.
No, I’m sure I did…
He raises his glass. “To the Elites.”
“To the Elites,” everyone else echoes.
Just then, the gates of hell open and pour right on top of him. Pig blood bathes Landon and his glass of champagne in an instant, turning him into a messy goo of ugliness right in front of the people who worship at his feet.
A collective gasp overtakes the crowd. I laugh behind my mask.
Take that, prick. You’ll learn not to mess with me or my family ever again.
People and security rush to the stage, and Maya tugs on my hand. “Time to go.”
I chance one last look behind me just to see the asshole looking like a fool, but he’s already removed the mask and his eyes meet mine.
A wide grin lifts his lips, looking even more terrifying when he’s covered in all the blood.
He does the universal ‘I’m watching you’ sign, and I don’t know why I run the fastest I ever have.
3
MIA
“You didn’t answer me.” Nikolai’s voice booms in the room as he nudges me with a foot.
I lose balance, but I go back into position and don’t open my eyes.
Anyone with any form of common sense would leave me to meditate in peace, but my brother and common sense have been fighting each other for his entire life.
He pushes me again, and this time, I fall to my ass and start to glare up at him, but I startle when I find him in my face.
Literally.
He’s leaning so low, the bent position appears creepy at worst and awkward at best.
My brother is a year older than Maya and me, but he couldn’t look any different. Where we take after our mom and her identical twin sister, he takes after Dad. They share the chameleon eye shade of turquoise blue, some of the same body structure, and dark hair—though my brother wears his long.
It's currently tied in a low ponytail at his nape, which highlights his unwelcoming, grim face. I love my brother, and he’s actually handsome, but you have to look past his usual manic expression to see that.
Also, he’s shirtless ninety percent of the time—now included. And that puts all his hedonistic, scary tattoos on display for the world to see.
Add the fact that he’s quite buff, and you have the perfect recipe for a disaster waiting to happen.
It doesn’t help that he was brought up as the mafia heir for my parents’ positions in the New York Bratva.
At times, he’s like a psycho with a license to beat, maim, and even kill. Other times, he’s just my brother who used to take me and Maya for ice cream and defend us in front of a deadly stray dog.