Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
He pushes me away from him, but not without a final rake of my body. He is so fucking sleazy; he shouldn’t be as handsome as he is. He has nothing on the man I was admiring before all hell broke loose, but what he lacks in demeanor, he makes up for with looks.
“Are you okay?” Millie asks when I join Maria, who arrived separately to the rest, Taylor, and her next to the nightclub where we were meant to dance the night away.
Millie is the more reserved of the troublesome trio, but she still looks ready to sock a fist into Vasily’s eye. He has everyone’s last nerve frayed.
“Yeah.” I nod, even with my head screaming for me to express the opposite. “But I don’t think I’m up for dancing anymore.”
Taylor stares at me as if I’ve lost my scruples. Usually, if I’m not up for partying, expect me to be without a pulse, but more than my emotions are skewwhiff tonight. “Vasily Cabanow could turn anyone off dating, but as you said to Polina earlier, we’re here to dance, not hook up.”
“Tonight,” Maria adds with a snort, causing the trio to laugh.
“I know. I just…” I’ve got nothing honest to share. If they knew me—the real me—I’d have plenty of excuses, but since I don’t want them caught up in the mess I created both tonight and two years ago, I continue to lie. “I have a headache, and my feet are killing me.”
“I told you to fill your new pumps with wet newspaper,” Millie jumps in, forever at hand with a solution. “Works every time.”
“I’ll remember that for my next set of pretties.” I nudge my head to the nightclub with a line stretching down two blocks. “You guys go. I’ll wait here for Saka.”
Saka is my bodyguard. I don’t believe I need one, but ever since I was a little girl, my father was adamant that anywhere I go, a protective detail must follow.
Until four months ago, I had two bodyguards. An around-the-clock detail made it impossible to have alone time, but when Karlo was requested to return to my parents’ stately home in the 16th arrondissement region of Paris, the chokehold became less noticeable.
Saka can’t stay awake for the twenty-four hours of the day, so I push the threshold of sleep deprivation as often as possible. It pisses Saka off, but even with him unwilling to admit it, I know he prefers to be kept on his toes. His placement would be monotonous and life-draining if I didn’t cause havoc.
There hasn’t been a real threat on my life in almost two years.
As long as I remain hidden, it will stay that way.
This reminder has me desperate to unearth a way to come up with ten thousand dollars in two hours without calling my father for help. I haven’t heard from him since he suggested I leave, and I refuse to make the first move. I also can’t pray for the reins to loosen enough for me to stand on my own and then plead for money. That will make me a hypocrite.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Millie asks, returning my focus to my friends.
“Confident.” I hug them before hip-barging the ringleader in the direction of the line. They won’t wait in line—the Kronstadt Kittens never do—but if anyone can get the trio moving, it will be Taylor. “I’ll call you guys tomorrow.”
Unaware I promised Saka I’d remain in a group setting, they toss me air kisses and wiggling fingers before I lose them to the crowd swarming the nightclub. When the doorman grants their entrance even with the club at capacity, I hit him with a frisky wink before heading for the area of Novaya Avenue where Saka dropped us off.
Traveling through strange environments is nothing new to me. Before I was ten, I had lived in five different countries, but Russia will always be my home. It is the country that taught me I can stand on my own two feet and where I changed from a spoiled, undeserving brat to an independent woman.
After a deep exhale, I dig out the emergency burner phone Saka forces me to pack even with girls’ night only having one rule—no cell phones—before dialing a number I know by heart.
I doubt Saka has ten thousand in cash lying around, but I won’t get the chance to come up with the funds if I’m locked in my room by my overprotective watchdog.
Saka gives credit to my claim when he answers after one ring. “I’m on my way back now,” he announces, not bothering to issue a greeting. “Traffic is heavy.”
He wasn’t impressed when I asked him to drive Yev and Polina home, but he agreed the situation could worsen if I were caught up in Yev’s arrest. Even being cited as a witness on a document could cause a dire backlash for me.