But then what? The only way to get the pakhan alone is to pretend I want something to happen between us. If I do, wordwill get back to Kirill. The thought makes me sick. He’d never forgive me, never look at me the same way, and I’d deserve it.
When it comes to Kirill, logic goes out the window. I have feelings for him that don’t make sense, feelings that aren’t according to plan. I haven’t seen him since that phone call cut our date short, but he’s been on my mind, and that alone should be a warning to stay away.
I’m about to step back inside when voices from the room make me stop. I freeze, the tray balanced in my hand.
“… those auctions were glory days.”
My pulse hammers in my throat.
“Spider sure knew how to pick them. Only the finest girls?—”
The air in the hallway feels too thin. I lean closer, desperate to hear more.
“Cost a fucking fortune to buy off the judges… would have been set for life if we hadn’t been forced to shut it down.”
“Enough.” Ruslan’s voice cuts through like a blade. “You know we don’t discuss this anymore.”
Silence falls inside the room.
Auctions. Network. Spider.
Spider sounds like a street name. Like the trafficker who brought women from Russia. The person who might have taken my mother.
Adrenaline surges through me, and I commit every word of their conversation to memory. But I can’t stand in the hallway any longer without someone noticing.
Drawing a deep breath to steady my hands, I push the door open and step back inside.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
KIRILL
I parkmy Ducati behind Velour and storm through the back entrance. Security takes one look at me and gets the fuck out of my way as I head straight for the stairs.
Twenty minutes ago, I was in a meeting with Dem’s tech guys, pulling data off Konstantin’s smashed hard drive, when a guard I assigned to keep an eye on Evelina called. Apparently, my father requested her to serve at his poker night.
Of course he fucking did.I don’t know when she caught his eye, but Ruslan Baronov has always enjoyed the perks of power. He’s handsome, charming, generous when it suits him, and never above taking advantage of his position to get laid.
But there’s no fucking way he’s touching her. She’s mine, and I’ll stake my claim in front of his entire inner circle if that’s what it takes.
I push through the door of the Sapphire Suite, letting it swing wide. “Hope I’m not too late to join.”
My father glances up from his cards, one eyebrow raised. Abram sits to his left, Grigori and Yuri across the table. Evelinastands near the bar cart with a fresh bottle of vodka on the tray, her posture controlled and professional.
Her gaze locks on mine and widens with surprise. I wink at her and pull out the empty chair between Grigori and Yuri, forcing them to shift apart. “Deal me in.”
My father drums his fingers against the felt. “You’re too late. The game’s started.”
“Then you’ll have to catch me up.”
Abram’s jaw tightens, but he can’t exactly refuse the heir a seat at the table.
Grigori exhales smoke, beady eyes darting between me and my father. “Always room for family.”
I’ve never asked to join these monthly games. I never wanted to spend an evening with the men who built their fortunes auctioning women like they were livestock.
These poker nights started back when Velour ran a different kind of business. Nights after the auctions closed and money changed hands, Ruslan and his inner circle would celebrate with cards and top-shelf vodka.
