I was distracted for most of the meeting. Even after we left the restaurant, I barely said a word to my brother in the backseat of the car as we drove away. He’d been on his phone for the past fifteen minutes anyway.
In my head, I kept replaying the brief encounter with the courageous waitress in the restaurant. Her voice still echoed in the back of my mind, reminding me of the subtle humiliation she put me through. I was there to eat and have a good time with my brothers, not to be corrected by a gorgeous young blonde.
It had been a while since someone had last left a mark on me so quickly. It was both intriguing and disturbing. I recalled the flash of intelligence in her eyes and the calm edge to her tone, and it stirred something inside me.
Her boldness was unsettling, especially the way she looked me in the eyes without fear—something most men twice her size wouldn’t dare.
“Still thinking about the waitress?” Demyon’s voice cut through my thoughts.
I glanced at him with a flat expression, just in time to catch the teasing smirk on his lips.
He ignored my disinterest in indulging him. “Anyway, I’ve got news.”
My silence was his cue.
“We now know who’s behind Uncle Akim’s murder,” he declared.
I squinted. The report ignited a flame of anger within me, and my fingers clenched into a fist on my lap.
Uncle Akim was like a father to the Tarasov men—loved and respected by all of us. He was a man of valor who had taught me everything I knew. Uncle Akim was murdered a few years ago, and we hadn’t been able to find the man who did it. Until now.
This news was music to my ears, and in my mind, I was already cooking up the most gruesome ways to make the bastard suffer. I couldn’t wait to exact my revenge, and the mere thought of it darkened my face.
“Send me the files,” I said to Demyon, shifting my gaze out the window. “I’ll take care of this myself.”
Chapter 3 – Scarlett
Tired as fuck, I walked down the hallway of my apartment, my heels clicking against the floor, fingers rubbing my eyes. My body was aching all over, and my head was banging—I just needed some rest to get rid of this exhaustion.
I grabbed the door handle and pushed it open, the low cartoon chatter from the TV drifting through the air. Locking the door behind me, I flicked off my heels with practiced ease and strolled into the room, the floor cool beneath my bare feet.
When I stepped into the living room and shed my jacket, my eyes fell on the beautiful girl sprawled on my couch. She was wearing pink pajamas, and her soft chestnut-brown hair was a tangled mess.
Littered beneath her feet were a bunch of empty takeout containers and two empty plastic bottles of soft drinks.
I draped my jacket over the couch’s headrest and stared at her innocent face, her eyes closed and her chest heaving. She was fast asleep, yet even in that state, the girl was still an epitome of beauty.
Evaline Harlow had dropped by earlier today to spend the weekend with me before returning to her college dorm. She and I had known each other for ages, which was why she was more like a sister to me than a friend. Eva was the only person on planet Earth with the guts to show up at my place unannounced.
She was supposed to be watching TV, but she ended up sleeping like a baby. What a beautiful sight to behold.
“Eva,” I called softly, walking around to the front of the couch.
“I’m wide awake, I promise!” The words fell from her lips in a frantic rush as she jerked upright.
I stopped in my tracks, eyebrows lifted in shock with a suppressed grin on my lips.
She met my suspicious gaze. “Don’t look at me like that. I wasn’t asleep.” Her tone was quiet, yet defensive.
“Yeah. Right,” I answered, sinking into the couch, the worn leather crunching beneath my weight. “You ate all of this?” My fingers gestured toward the takeout containers scattered across the floor.
“Is that judgment I hear in your voice?” she asked, mustering a fake frown.
My smile broadened. “No. Just curiosity.”
She let out a heavy sigh and leaned back on the couch with a hand over her belly. “Yeah, I ate them all.” Her stormy blue eyes flicked toward me. “Sue me.”
I laughed, reaching to ruffle her brown hair.
