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“River,” Igor says to River, ignoring my last question. “I don’t care to entertain your fling any longer. I’ll accept your forty million in good faith that I will be considered the first choice in your next collection.”
“Fling?” I scoff.
“Anya,” River warns.
“No.” I jerk my arm free of River. Fuck this guy and these men. I’ve played nice for far too long. “Do you not know who I am? Whose fucking city you’re in?”
“Apologies if we’ve offended you, miss,” Igor says insincerely.
I laugh hysterically. I’m hungry and pissed. The last fucking thing I needed on my plate was another asshole thinking he has some entitlement to fuck with me in my own city. The men look at one another.
“Miss?” I reply rhetorically. “Oh, now come on, Igor. That just won’t do. My name is Anya Ivanov, and don’t forget it.”
I raise my hand, and, suddenly, a bullet is shot straight through the eyes of the man standing next to Igor. With a wicked smile, I pretend to blow out smoke at the tip of my fingers. Perhaps I forgot to mention how exceptional my men are with long-range shooting.
Igor’s men explode into action, pulling out guns and aiming at me, and my carnal smile only grows as I open my arms wide, daring them to fucking try. “You’re in my fucking city!” I shout. A reminder to them and River. “And you will play by my rules and bow to a woman while doing it. Do you fucking understand?”
Igor holds his hand out to ensure his men don’t shoot, and River’s stepped closer to me now. How chivalrous, but I doubt he’d really take a bullet for me. Or maybe he will. Maybe even he is no exception to my charm.
“Now, tell me. Who was the girl?” I ask again, and this time, any politeness is dipped in venom.
Igor looks at River, who I can feel is glaring at me. But I don’t care. He should know the risks involved in taking me on. If he did his research better, he would know that being quiet and a “good girl” are not qualities I possess.
“You killed my man,” Igor accuses without heat.
“You underestimated me. Why? Is it because I’m a woman?” I ask him.
He seems mildly amused. Now he looks at me like he would’ve if I were a man. Much like he respected River, he now holds the same impression of me.
I don’t play when it comes to power.
I am power.
“Yes, I do think I judged you for being a woman. Next time, I will know better,” Igor agrees. “He was chasing some dancer. That’s as much as I know.”
A dancer?
Why?
I raise my chin and step out of River’s grasp. “Finish up your business. I’ll wait for you in your car. Move it along, I have things to do.” River’s jaw clenches, and I purposely walk out of his range so he can’t reach for me. Because the way his gaze burns into me, I know he wants to pull me into him, and I don’t know if it’s to punish me or fuck me. Both are fine with me if they’re mixed together and clear my debt.
When I walk away, I overhear Igor speak. “Dangerous game you are playing with a dangerous woman there, River.”
Who knows? Perhaps out of the two, Igor’s the smarter man.
I slam the door shut behind me and curse feverishly in Russian. I want to kick and tear apart the interior of his car, but I know it’ll do very little to remedy my frustration.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I pluck my phone out of my clutch on the bottom of the car floor and hit call.
“Come on, Alek, pick up. Please,” I say quietly.
Ring.
Ring.
Voicemail.
