Page 100 of Shark’s Pride

As soon as Viktor directly addressed Abbi again, she stiffened.

“You have nothing to say to her.” My snarl was as rigid as my poor woman, who could’ve doubled as one of the nearby I-beams from the second her name tripped off his tongue.

“No?” Blake volleyed. “But this explains so much…” He canted his head as if I were just a tree in his forest, getting in the way of his prey. “Am I right, sweet Abbi?”

She jerked backward. Stumbled away from him like a fire-breathing dragon. But also, and very clearly, away from me.

“Don’t call me that,” she spat.

“Whatever I choose to call you…it doesn’t change a thing. About why I understand so much more now.” He circled his index finger between Abbi and me. “This…well, this explains a lot, actually. Definitely why you’ve turned down my advances so adamantly.”

“Your what?” I shuttled a stunned gape between him and Abbi. “His what?”

A desperate grimace twisted her lovely face. My entire gut was given the same brutal treatment. “Sebastian…”

“Abbigail?” I fired back. “What. Is. He. Talking. About?”

“It’s all right, Abbigail,” Viktor crooned. “You don’t really have to answer. I have the information I need now. And I have it on good authority that your master can be a bit…overbearing anyway.”

“And controlling.”

As the blonde muttered it in her Eastern European accent, I gave up my empathy for her. But I directed my low, lethal snarl completely his way. “Shut the fuck up, Blake. Shut up right now, or you’ll be spitting teeth.” I punched a commanding nod at Elijah. “Dispose of this trash before everyone gets sick from its stench.”

“Gladly,” Elijah growled.

Viktor grinned, seeming to think he had the last laugh despite Elijah summoning a pair of burly guards to usher him away. I thought nothing of his bluff, until hooking a hand around Abbi’s and preparing to move in the other direction.

The bastard was calculated about throwing his final blow.

“Just be aware of what you’re getting yourself into, Ms. Gibson.”

I wheeled back on him. “Last warning, Blake.”

But the fool persisted. With a snakelike hiss, he finished, “Like his namesake, this man is a predator. You need to remember that. And Shark, if you’re as serious as you claim about her, it’s time to level with her. About everything. Including your past.”

“Elijah! For fuck’s sake.” My friend and his buddies started physically pulling Viktor away from the group, but he still threw back over his shoulder one last leveling blow.

“Have you told her where all the bodies are buried, Shark? All of them?”

So much for thinking I was done with uncomfortable for the day. And unnerved. And on the verge of unhinged.

“I need to get out of here.”

I readjusted my hold on Abbigail, meshing my fingers firmly between hers. I needed the increased contact of her strength and warmth—and selfishly sucked it all into my system so I could stride away from Viktor Blake without succumbing to the temptation to wrap my hands around his thick Russian neck and squeeze. And squeeze. And squeeze…

Ten minutes later, Abbi and I found our way to an empty office inside the building next to the construction site. While Rio and Abstract’s staff still bustled in the kitchen a few feet away, all was blissfully still inside the little room with a steel desk facing a single chair.

I needed to decompress. Not that I thought even two weeks in Bali could do the trick for me right now, but at this point, I’d take what I could get.

I studied Abbi carefully. She was directing the same intense focus to her manicure. Apparently her nails had become the most fascinating thing she had ever seen. I’d challenge her on it, but the rigidity in her body hadn’t dissipated since Blake had showed up with “Miss Dobrochev.” Her posture was laced with tension as she leaned against the edge of the desk. I started pacing back and forth in front of her. It wasn’t a good idea for me to consider being still right now. My pent-up fury felt like a bomb on a very short countdown timer.

“I can’t believe he showed up here.” She shook her head incredulously. “I mean, what was he honestly thinking?”

“He wasn’t,” I spat. “Because he’s an asshole. Just trying to start trouble for me—for us—as always.” It felt important for me to modify the statement as I had. She needed to start thinking of the entity as “us.” I sure as hell was—and honored that commitment by taking a deep breath, determined not to misdirect my wrath toward Abbi.

“Do you remember when I told you I saw a woman leaving his office in tears? She had a mark on her face as though she’d been hit, but Viktor acted as though it was just another day at the office?” She waited for me to acknowledge the memory. It didn’t take long. After I dipped a curt nod, she stabbed a finger in the direction of the event area. “Well, that woman—that blonde—was her!”

After a few moments of silence, in which we both processed that information, I muttered, “I wish I could say that surprised me, even a little bit.”