Until he got out of prison. Now he was different.
No women, at least not publicly. Never more than one drink, at least not publicly. And not only was he mean, he seemed almost cruel at times.
I stopped on the photo of him taken as he was walking to Hunter-Bailey one day. The PI caught him on the sidewalk, his black suit coat whipping in the wind, his white shirt collar open, a duffel bag hanging on his shoulder, and his black hair making his eyes stand out, looking stern. I stared at his crisp shirt, remembering the feel of the man underneath when it was a T-shirt and hoodie.
Warm. That’s what I remembered.
Really warm.
I shut the folder, inhaling a deep breath and shoving it under the seat with the others. I’d seen my brother play with countless girls, treating them like insignificant toys and then throwing them to the side like trash. I knew how horrible men could be to women they were fucking. And the women not only took it, but they came back for more. Begged for it, in fact.
That would never be me.
“Where the fuck is he?” David grumbled from the driver’s seat, flicking the ash off his cigarette through the crack in his window.
I turned my gaze out the rear passenger side, looking through the streams of rain pouring down the window, up to the black brick house. We arrived fifteen minutes ago, and I’d texted him to let him know we were here. He hadn’t texted back, but I knew he was home. His RS7 was in the driveway, under a tree, getting shit on by all the thistles above coming loose in the rain.
Checking my phone, I saw it was now eight-fifteen. If he didn’t get out here, I was going to leave. I had other things to do besides wait on him.
Lev yawned to my left, and I glanced over, seeing his seat reclined, and his eyes closed. He still wore the same black jeans and sleeveless white T-shirt from last night, and he smelled like a bar bathroom.
“When is Vanessa due to arrive?” David asked me.
I stared back out the window, my heart pumping hard despite itself. “A week or so.”
“How did she take the news?”
“Does it matter?”
I could feel his eyes through the rearview mirror but ignored him. Gabriel had made the call to London late last night and sent me instructions to handle her when she arrived. She wasn’t happy, but she knew this day was coming. Eventually she would’ve been sold off to someone, and as long as that someone kept her in the lifestyle to which she’d become accustomed, she’d do what she was told.
She was, Gabriel divulged, happy that Kai was at least young and good-looking.
I let my eyes drift closed for a moment. Kai won’t go through with it. That was one thing that I was confident hadn’t changed. His integrity. The Nikova princess, who pouts if she has to suffer a sneeze, would annoy him to no end.
I smiled to myself. There was no way he’d endure her.
“You know, if you need me,” David said, and I opened my eyes, meeting his in the mirror, “—anytime—I’ll be there.”
I wanted to give him a nod. I’d worked hard to get the notice and respect I now had in Gabriel’s house. I hated being sent off like I was expendable. But my shoulders relaxed a little, knowing I wasn’t really doing this alone. They were still there for me.
He blew out smoke, shaking his head as if thinking out loud. “I don’t like this guy.”
I kept my smirk to myself. “What kind of guys do you like?”
Lev started laughing under his breath, his eyes still closed, and I glanced up, seeing David shoot me a bemused middle finger in the rearview mirror.
I looked back up at the house. The shades on the windows were so cheap. I could tell from here. The outside paint was worn away, and the bricks were chipped in so many places. I hoped the inside was better. It would take a shit-ton of guys to get this place in shape in two weeks.
“Damon was fucked up,” David went on, “but he never hid it, either. This guy…” He looked over through the passenger side window to the house. “I don’t know.”
He laid his head back on the headrest, and while my heart warmed that he was actually worried about me being left with Kai, I didn’t want him to be. I wanted to keep the power I had and earn more. It didn’t help if the guys I worked with tried to help me traverse every damn puddle just so my petticoats didn’t get muddy. I could handle Kai Mori.
“He’s too controlled,” David said. “People who are wound that tight are unpredictable.”
I tucked my phone inside my ski vest and pulled down the sleeves of my sweatshirt.
“Don’t worry about her,” Lev said, eyes still closed. “In two weeks, he’ll have his pretty little bride to play with.”