Dominic and I share a look. “What are we going to do?” Dominic asks.
“Let him stew. He’s young and emotional. He needs time to sort out his priorities. In the meantime, we need to get to that party. It’s time I met these men.”
“And you want to see Anya again,” Dominic smirks.
I roll my eyes, but can’t deny that he’s right. I do want to see Anya again.
Alexi still hasn’t come out of his room by the time Dominic and I leave for the party.
All the lights are on when our driver drops us off in front of the house. There is a group of four ahead of us: an older man, a woman who appears to be his wife, and two young men following. I recognize Artem, one of the younger men, immediately. The older man repeatedly glances back at Artem. I can see the man’s mouth moving, but can’t hear what he is saying. Whatever it was had the younger man’s shoulders hunching.
Dominic and I increase our pace to catch up to them.
“You need to do whatever it takes to gain Alexandr’s attention,” Denis Sorokin admonishes his son. “You need to inherit the role, or we’ll lose everything.”
“I’m working on it,” Artem responds.
“How are you working on it?” Denis asks, using air quotes. “How is partying every night working on it? How do you know your friends aren’t working against you? They’re under consideration, too. How do I know you haven’t done something they could blackmail you on?”
“I haven’t,” Artem snaps. “They’re my friends. They wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Like they didn’t hurt Alexi?” Denis hisses. “Don’t tell me they weren’t involved in getting rid of that boy.” Denis and I lock eyes when he realizes we are behind them. His mouth snaps shut as he rushes his family inside.
“That’s interesting,” Dominic murmurs as we follow them inside.
“Very. Maybe they all worked together to get rid of Alexi. We need to talk to the other two. We should mingle. You find Oleg and get close to him. I’ll take Pavel.”
“Do you think we’ll get lucky and overhear a similar conversation?”
“No, but they might let something slip. Denis’s comment makes me think his art galleries aren’t doing as well as I thought. We should dig deeper into them. Prescott was doing research. I need to touch base with him and see what he’s learned.”
Dominic sneers at the mention of Prescott, but he doesn’t voice his displeasure. Instead, he disappears into the crowd. I see Oleg with his father in the direction Dominic headed. I’m a few inches taller than the other party-goers, so I easily spot Pavel standing with a woman. Her back is to me, so I can’t see her face. I see flashes of blue as I approach the couple. My focus is on Pavel, but when the woman turns her head, I catch a glimpse of her profile. Anya. The crowd shifts, and I see her in all her glory. She’s wearing the blue dress, and she’s even more stunning. I stop dead in my tracks as I let my eyes roam overevery delectable inch of her. When my eyes reach her face, I find her staring at me with humor flashing in her eyes.
“You look as if you’ve seen a ghost, Mr. Zoloth,” she murmurs.
“Not a ghost,” I whisper. “But a vision.”
CHAPTER TWENTY: ANYA
When I precede Skylar down the stairs to join the party, I feel several eyes on me. However, I don’t feel his eyes on me. Glancing around the space, I feel disappointment when I don’t see Vladimir. However, I smile at my father’s guests as I greet them.
“He isn’t here,” I whine to Skylar a few minutes later, after we’re both sipping champagne.
“He’ll come. He probably didn’t want to be early because he didn’t know many of these people. If he comes in later, he can blend in and meet them organically. Don’t worry so much.”
I nod at her words. She’s right, he’ll come. He has to.
“Damn, I’m such a slob,” Skylar complains.
I glance over to see her wiping at a spot on her dress.
“I need to go clean up,” she tells me. I’ll be right back.”
“Ms. Stepanov, you look exceptionally beautiful tonight,” says someone behind me.
Turning, I find Pavel grinning down at me. He leans back to take in my appearance. He has a wolfish look in his eyes that reminds me of the look Vladimir had in the store. Only on Pavel, the look isn’t nearly as charming. Instead, his perusal makes me feel uncomfortable.
“Thank you,” I murmur. The dress I felt so alluring in a few minutes ago now leaves me feeling naked and exposed. I didn’t mind the appraising looks Vladimir gave me, but I don’t like the way Pavel is looking at me. He makes me feel like a piece of ham hanging in the butcher’s market.
