“I have no idea.” I run a hand across the back of my neck. “I doubt it, considering I’m going to be married off in two months.”
“When did you last speak to her?” Lila asks.
“It’s been at least six months since I spoke to her on the phone.”
“Nine for me.”
Our mother isn’t exactly very maternal. She’s rarely been there for us and I know it’s been hardest on Lila. As she’s younger and we left Mexico when she was twelve years old. I was eighteen and so didn’t need her the same. In a way, I stepped in to be the mother figure that Lila so desperately craved, but it couldn’t be the same.
I down the rest of my drink. “Come on, then. Let’s dance.”
Lila’s expression morphs into elation as she jumps to her feet. “You’re the best.”
I laugh and let her drag me onto the dancefloor, swaying my hips to the music. Although I don’t like dancing, I can’t deny that it’s the most freeing sensation in the world. That and making my baby sister happy is all I care about.
As we dance, a couple of guys notice us and move in. My stomach churns, as it’s always the same in these places. There’s no getting away from the assholes wanting to grind up against you.
“Hey pretty lady,” the taller one says to me, grabbing my hips as if he has the right to touch me.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Did I say you could touch me?”
He chuckles. “So uptight, relax.”
I try to push him away. “I’m dancing with my sister.” I glance over at Lila to see she’s being harassed by the shorter guy with blonde hair. “Let go of me.”
Suddenly, the man is dragged backward and the figure behind him punches him hard in the face repeatedly until blood runs down his chin. My heart pounds unevenly in my chest as the man drops him and I look into his eyes.
Adrik Volkov is standing there, staring at me with barely contained rage burning in his hazel eyes. Blood splattering his knuckles and his white dress shirt.
I feared him when he was cold and detached, but right now, I don’t know how to describe the man I’m staring at. Because he’s not a man, he’s a beast. An angry beast that looks like he wants to tear me apart limb from limb.
4
ADRIK
I’m sitting at my usual table in the VIP section of Podolka on the mezzanine floor, watching people coming and going. It feels good being a spy inside the walls of my enemy’s home.
Little does my family know that they’ve always had a spy living with them. My uncle is such a hot-head he believes his brother is working against him, which is not a ridiculous notion, since my father has always resented the fact that Spartak wears the crown.
I stand and lean over the railings of the mezzanine as two young girls walk through the entrance. My heart stills for a moment in my chest as I recognize one of them, as it’s my fiancée, who I only met earlier today.
What the fuck is she doing in Podolka?
I clench my fists by my side and track her as she fights her way through the crowd to the bar. Men gawk at her as if she’s fucking fair game, and it makes my blood boil.
I grind my teeth and watch as Zakhar, the bartender, stares at her cleavage as she orders her drinks. She’s wearing a revealing dress which cuts off just before her knees and fits her like a second skin, leaving nothing to the imagination. It’s not how I expect my fiancée to dress when she’s out at a club. Surely she knows it will draw unwanted attention.
My gaze moves back to the girl she entered with. A girl who looks remarkably like her, so I can only assume it’s her sister, Lila. I watch Eliza as she moves through the crowd with two drinks and goes to join her sister.
My eyes narrow as I watch them. If she thinks she can walk into my uncle’s club and parade around in front of me, she has another thing coming. I grip the mezzanine railing so tight my knuckles go white.
My match with Eliza is, of course, a secret. Thankfully, none of my family are here tonight, but the place is crawling with bratva members. I make my way toward the stairs, intending to confront my bride to be and ask why she’s here. When I get to the ground floor, I find she’s already left her seat and is dancing with her sister.
Motherfucker.
For a moment, I’m frozen as I watch her. The way her hips sway so naturally to the beat of the music has me mesmerized. I feel that same irritating tingling ignite low in my stomach and my pants become tighter across my crotch, making me clench my fists.
What the fuck is that all about?