It’s one thing to be speaking to them as members of my alliance, working as a team, so to speak, but it’s an entirelydifferent thing if they start thinking we’re friends. I don’t do friendships…or trust. Not anymore. That lesson was learned the hard way.
***
At four, we arrive at the airport together in one darkly tinted SUV. I’m sitting in the back next to Maria, who is sitting between Kaz and me, while Ben takes the front seat, given his massive size.
Joe parks us on the runway right in front of the stairs to board the plane.
“Ready?” he asks, switching the car off.
I push the door open and climb out without answering him.
Head up the stairs, I walk into the lounge area and take a seat on one of the leather sofas. The air hostess immediately asks me if I want something to drink.
“Bring a bottle of champagne, and I’ll have a vodka on the rocks,” I tell her. I’m sure my guests will enjoy some bubbles as we take off.
My private jet is a state-of-the-art luxury. Everything I have, I worked damn hard for.
Misha was right about one thing—I did come from nothing. I came from less than nothing, and I worked my ass off to get to where I am now. And I didn’t do it once, I did it twice, because the first time I thought I was close to the life of my dreams, he snatched it all away from me in the most brutal way.
But I don’t share his sentiment on how coming from the ground, from the lowest point, makes me any less worthy of my status than he is. In fact, being a good person makes me moreworthy of it than he’ll ever be. His bullshit about pure blood and tainting his family’s purity…it’s a side of him I didn’t know existed. Sure, I knew he was arrogant. I saw it even when we were friends. But he wasn’t arrogant toward me. Not until the end.
Perhaps it was the point where he realized I might bebetterthan him that changed him. Or just brought out his true colors.
I would have been better than him. He hardly had to work for anything he had. He didn’t know the meaning of putting effort in. I never judged him for it. Not until after it all went down, as it did. Then I overanalyzed every aspect of his character while I tried to figure out what the hell went wrong.
“Art?” Ben shouts, calling for my attention. I snap out of my thoughts and narrow my eyes at him. He’s holding out a glass of champagne, waiting for me to take it.
“Earth to Artur, are you going to join us in a toast?” he asks.
“Sure,” I mutter, leaning forward to take the bubbling gold glass.
Maria is grinning from ear to ear, dancing in her seat.
“We’re about to take off,” the hostess tells us with a polite smile. “Please strap in.”
“Done,” Ben says, grinning at her.
She nods and leaves.
Ben lifts his glass again. “To working as a team. To taking a little break from the madness of the city…”
“And the heat!” Kaz adds.
“And the heat!” Ben laughs. “To an alliance that is going to grow stronger,” he says, nodding in my direction.
“To that,” I say, clinking the side of my glass against theirs.
We all take a long sip. The plane starts heading down the runway, and I turn my eyes out toward the window.
It was so strange seeing Misha again. The mix of emotions I felt was unexpected. I’ve told myself time and time again that he means nothing to me anymore. But it hurt. Hearing his voice and seeing his face genuinely hurt.
I get greed. There are many greedy men in this world. I might even be one of them. Greed drives a man to chase what he wants. It’s not a foreign concept to me. I also get Misha wanting to protect his sister. Most older brothers are very protective of who their sisters get involved with. He could have spoken to me about that.
But the way it looks…the way he made it sound…it actually had nothing to do with protecting Maria and everything to do with protecting hispure bloodline.
All because of my background.
I sigh loudly and look at Maria.
