Rage boils his features. For a moment, he looks like a steamed lobster. “You’ll regret your behavior today, kid. This won’t look good later.”
“Only one way to find out.”
“You had your chance,” he states brightly while waltzing to the door. He pauses while glancing back at me, his voice flat as he adds, “And you fucking blew it.”
The lobby rustles with activity. Shoes squeak on the tile—fucking goddamn lazypricks—and rumbling voices fade into the sound of traffic just outside the penthouse doors. Kostya appears in the doorway, huffing with irritation.
“Tighten security,” I snap. “I don’t want that shit to happen again, understand?”
Russian curses reverberate off the walls, mixed with the commands I bark at my brigadiers. I’m fuming when I get back to my office, hungry for revenge from getting caught unaware by Cardona.
I knew he would find out. The city that never sleeps also never shuts the fuck up. If I thought for a second that I wouldn’t receive some kind of pushback for my deal with Jonas and Liya, then I would have been a fool.
That’s not who I am, I convince myself while locking the office door. I pinch the bridge of my nose, ignoring the cloying musk of Cardona sticking to the inside of my nostrils.I’m not a fucking fool. I know what I’m doing.
My eyes pop open.
But maybe that wasn’t the smartest thing I ever did.
One deep breath puts me into a better headspace. Two breaths relax my shoulders. After three, I feel solid enough to walk across the room and flop into my desk chair. I rest my hands behind my head and stare at the space where Cardona sat.
The upholstery is no different. But there’s something distinctly strange about the way the molecules vibrate in the air.
I fucking blew it.
Everything I ever learned from my father went out the window the moment Cardona suggested handing over Jonas and Liya.
No, it has nothing to do with Jonas, I admit hesitantly.
It’s Liya.
The wings of a frightened bird replace my heart.
“No,” I say out loud.
But I know it’s useless. My body is going to do whatever the hell it wants to do, whether I like it or not.
A group of drunk Russians is easier to control than my stupid emotions. It’s a shame I can’t get a Bratva to take over my central nervous system.
Karina’s words return. Cardona’s warning circulates around my sister’s advice. And in the haze of my thoughts, I hear a softer voice, one that makes me think about champagne and roses.
The sweet flowers of summer couldn’t compare to that aroma.
I shouldn’t have fucking done that. I scrub my forehead.Why did I do that?
My heart skips a beat.
It’s not like she’s that important to me.
I threw caution to the wind to keep a pawn on my board who serves as nothing more than a power play for me. She could just as easily serve her purpose to me without risking the Bratva.
But no. I had to throw it all on the line. Because of a quick fuck, a convenience, acontract.
What the hell was I thinking?
The drink cart is only a few steps away. I snatch the bottle of vodka, pour a shot, and raise it to my lips. The scent pinches my nostrils, but its familiarity is comforting. A sip turns into a gulp turns into another shot.
I’m three deep when I realize I have a huge price to pay.