“Whether I tell him anything is largely going to depend on how fast you move your behind. Come on.”
I take her arm and we start moving toward the emergency exit on the other side of the hall. My mind is racing about as fast as my heart. Being the teenage daughter of a Bratva boss has got to be the riskiest thing in the world.
We get outside and only get a few steps from the door before I hear the all too familiar bass tone of Roman’s voice, bellowing behind us.
“Sasha! Stop!”
We both freeze. Sasha looks at me fearfully, then we both turn around.
He’s standing in the doorway, his arm holding the door open. His eyes are dark with rage as he glares at us. “What. The.Fuck?”
“Dad—”
He storms toward us, his nostrils flared. He’s locked onto Sasha like a shark. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”
Instinctively, I step in front of Sasha, blocking his path. “Roman, calm down. She just made a mistake?—”
“Amistake?” He throws me a dangerous glare. “A mistake is a dent in the car. This is light years away from a fucking mistake.”
“I didn’t want to come!” Sasha says from behind me. “My friends?—”
Roman points his finger over my head and directly at her. “Don’t you dare lie to me, Alexandra Marie. You are fifteen years old. You do not belong in a fucking strip club!”
“Hey, cool it!” I shout over Roman. “She is just a kid. She did a stupid kid thing?—”
He steps back, looking me over as though he doesn’t recognize me. “What the hell are you even doing here? Stay out of this.”
“No,” I say, digging my heels in. “Not until you calm down enough to have a rational conversation.”
He takes a step back, then gives me a bitter smirk. “Get back in the club, Ember.”
“Roman—”
“Get back in the fucking club and stay the fuck out of this,” he growls. “This ismydaughter. I’ve raised her for the last fifteen years without your help, and I don’t need it now. Leave.”
The sting in his words rings in my ears as I stare up at him. I want to slap him or cry or kick him in the balls for that.
I feel Sasha’s hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay,” she says. “I’ll be fine.”
I look back at her. She’s scared. I can see it in her eyes. But it’s not the kind of scared I’ve seen before when Roman is angry. It’s not the same scared that Natasha was when she was afraid of Carter coming after her. And it’s certainly not the same as the look in Carter’s eyes when he was tied to that chair.
This is just a kid who is in hot water with her father. I should step aside.
I glare at Roman and say through clenched teeth, “You take it easy before you do something you’ll regret.” With that, I walk back through the back door of the club.
Dammit. Why did he have to be so cruel? The familiar thick feeling of a sob hangs in my throat. I swallow it down and straighten my stance. The night’s not even half over yet.
My phone buzzes before I can take a step. Rastelli’s text. Three o’clock in two days’ time, and the name of the diner.
Great. That’s just fucking great.
18
ROMAN
Sasha hasn’t said a single word to me since we got in the car. I don’t know what I’m going to do with this girl.
After Ember left, we argued in the parking lot for a few minutes before I brought down the hammer and grounded her again. Ijustlifted her previous sentence and this is the thanks I get for it. At this rate, I’m going to have to build a tower and lock her in it until she’s eighteen.
