“You think something’s funny, brother?”
He clears his throat and takes a bite. “No. This girl is just going to cause a lot of problems.”
“They’re problems I will deal with.”
Dimitri scoots his chair toward the table. “I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t think this plan is even going to work.”
“Did I ask for your opinion? You’re welcome to walk out the door if you don’t want to be a part of this.”
He looks down at the table, shaking his head. It’s good that he’s aware I wouldn’t let him leave alive. “Giovanni doesn’t even know you have her,” he says.
Agitation overwhelms me as I take in a deep, exhausted breath. “I’m sorry, do you want to take over, Dimitri?”
My attention is stolen by Sloane as she takes small steps toward the table, her hands clasped in front of her. She isn’t wearing the dress I told Mia to lay out for her; she’s still wearing my crewneck and a pair of shorts. Her long, natural curls flow with each step she takes. Her face is pale, lacking any color. Her hair is so blonde it looks bleached.
I get up and pull a chair out for her. She looks up at me and smiles softly.
“Thank you,” she says.
Her words run through my mind on repeat. Whether she realizes it or not, there’s a kind melody attached to her voice. I’ve never felt any reservations about what I do, and that won’t change just because she thanked me for my ingenuine actions.
I reach for my knife and grab a chunk of her hair, cutting it right off. “No, thank you,” I say, returning to my seat and taking another sip of my drink.
Her mouth falls open as she reaches to grab the strands of hair that are shorter than the rest.
“You’re not going to find the missing hair there, sunshine. He has it,” Dimitri chortles, pointing over to me. His childish attitude only puts me in a sour mood.
“And what was the purpose of that?” she asks, her voice stern but not intimidating by any means.
“Just eat your fruit,Koldunya.” I push the plate closer to her. “Adrian, package this up and deliver it.”
“I—”
“Yeah, we’ve done the stuttering game enough,” I say, looking right at her for a moment. She’s fragile. I can see the veins in her thin skin. “Here, cheers.”
She doesn’t pick up the glass.
Mia walks over to us, placing our meals on the table.
“Thank you, Mia.”
“Of course.” She nods and walks out.
I address my men next.“Ostavte nas.” Leave us.
They all nod and follow behind Mia.
Sitting back in my chair, I look at Sloane. Her oval face drops with disappointment. She won’t look at me, just like Mia won’t. I can’t blame her—I just humiliated her in front of my men.
“You’re going to need sunscreen,” I tell her while I admire how smooth her skin is.
“I think that’s the least of my concerns.” Her eyes go squint as she gives me a mocking smile.
I ditch the juice and grab my glass of vodka. “You’re right about that.”
“Just tell me what you want. Where are we even at?”
I lean around the table, grabbing onto the handle of her chair and pulling her close to me until her legs are touching mine. “You’re going to help me get what I want.” I trail a hand along her thigh. It feels smooth, as if she has body oil on her skin. “As for where we are ...” I look around us and smirk. “Looks like your own personal hell to me.”