Walking up the bar, I jerked my chin at the bartender, and he immediately set a glass of whiskey down in front of me. Lifting it, I tossed back the contents and motioned for another. This time, I picked up the glass and sipped as I turned to look around the club.
Across the room, Yury was standing guard, watching my back.
Pulling out my phone, I saw I had a few missed texts and grimaced.
Lexa: She doesn’t want your presents. She’s been in her room since this morning, from what Aunt Flick said. Didn’t you tell her you were leaving, dumbass?
Me: I didn’t want to worry her. Try again tomorrow with the presents.
Lexa: Fine, but I doubt she will accept them. You taking off without telling her, without so much as a ‘goodbye,’ is counterproductive to showing her you really do care about her, idiot. If you ask me…
Me: I didn’t ask.
Lexa: If you ask me, your words seem pretty empty. Good luck proving to the woman you love her when all you do is show her she doesn’t matter.
Muttering a curse, I tossed back the rest of the whiskey and motioned to the bartender for another. Lexa was right, but I couldn’t worry about that yet. Once I knew Tavia was safe, I would deal with proving to her how much she meant to me.
“Hey, Theo.”
I turned at the sound of my name to find a woman in a barely there dress walking toward me. Her long blond hair was curled over her shoulder, her lashes huge and fake, and I was positive those lips were just as surgically enhanced as her tits were. I couldn’t remember her name, but I did remember her trying to seduce me the last time I was in this club.
I leaned back against the bar, watching her draw closer. I wasn’t in the least bit interested, but the more people who saw me, the bigger the chance it would get back to Petrov. And there was no missing this woman.
Her hand slid up my chest as she stepped into my space, and I kept my face neutral to hide my revulsion. She wasn’t my Tavia, and I hated her hands on me. Grasping her wrist, I pulled her off me.
“What do you want?” I asked her, my tone chilly and uninterested.
She pouted her thick lips up at me, the stark red of her lipstick and her barely there dress that left nothing to the imagination making her look like a porn star. She probably was for all I knew, but that kind of look did nothing for me. My cock only got hard for Tavia.
“It’s been so long since I last saw you, lover,” she purred, rubbing her free hand up my chest before snaking her arm around my neck. Leaning in, she inhaled deeply and moaned as if I’d just touched her clit. “Mm, you look delicious. Let’s get out of here. I promise you won’t regret it. Come on, baby. I’ll ride your dick so good.”
Disgusted with this bitch, I lifted her up and placed her on her feet away from me. “Pretty sure you come with a shot of penicillin. I’d rather not catch what you’re carrying, honey.” Her face turned blood red, and her mouth dropped open. She was so dumb, she was still trying to figure out if I’d just complimented or offended her.
Turning, I tossed a few bills on the bar top to cover my drinks before moving around the gape-mouthed hooker.
After three more clubs, I’d had enough, sure that at least someone would let Petrov know I was back.
I was tired and ready to call it a night, but instead of going to my apartment, I went t
o the compound to check on my sister since it wasn’t too late.
The house where my aunt lived was so big, she and her husband and two kids lived there with Mom’s twin sister, Scarlett, her husband, Ciro, and their five kids, with plenty of guest rooms to spare for when Nova and Garret came to visit during the summer. As soon as I stepped into the house, I was assaulted by pure chaos with Samara running around, dancing and playing.
Of all my cousins, she was the only one I was biologically connected to. She looked so much like Anya, especially her blue eyes, that it was almost like looking at a miniature version of my aunt.
“Theo. Theo. Theo!” Samara chanted my name when she spotted me. “Let’s play.”
I bent to lift her into my arms, her long dark hair falling over my wrists as I kissed her cheek. “Sorry, little one. I don’t have time to play today.”
Her bottom lip pouted out. “Maybe tomorrow?”
“We’ll see,” I said evasively and placed her back on her feet as Mom came into the room.
Her brown eyes lit up when she saw me, and I was instantly pulled in for a fierce hug. “How is Tavia?” she asked quietly, eyeing Samara for a moment to see if she repeated anything she said.
“She’s healing,” was all I could tell her, because the truth was, I didn’t know how Tavia was doing at the moment. Lexa had said Tavia was in her room, and since she wouldn’t take the things I’d sent Raven and Lexa to buy for her, I wasn’t able to speak to her personally to know how she was feeling.
“And how has she been dealing with the loss of the baby?” Mom’s dark eyes filled with sorrow. Because of how bad her diabetes was, she’d always been advised not to have children. She never seemed to let that bother her, though, having adopted first me and then Sofia when I was still a young boy.