AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her laugh sent a chill down my spine. “Not anymore. He knows what you did to Yuri. To Viktor. How you destroyed his business here. Are you ready to face his wrath?”
Swearing again, I ripped the door to the library open and stormed out. Tonight went from bad to worse with two little words.Not anymore.
Pushing through the crowd, I scanned the area looking for Roan’s elaborate gold mask. Praise be to God, he listened. He was still near the bar where I left him, talking with someone else. A man in a peacock mask.
As I made my way toward them, the peacock laughed and reached forward, stroking beneath Roan’s chin.
All rational thought flew out of my head. First the unsettling conversation with Daria, and now this?!
Lunging forward, I clamped a hand on the peacock’s wrist, crushing it as hard as I could. Kazimir wasn’t above sending assassins. I doubted one would be so flamboyant, but I wasn’t taking any chances with Roan’s life. If Daria could make it in here, so could any number of hitmen.
“Sasha,” Roan whispered next to me. “Let go. Now.”
Like hell! I locked eyes with the other man, committing their olive color to memory. “Who the fuck does he think he is, touching you? He’s lucky I haven’t ripped his arm off already.”
“Easy tiger…” An American. Wonderful. Just what I needed.
The peacock smiled, sidling up to me. A low chuckle slipped out of him at about the same time something cold and hard thumped against the inside of my thigh. I didn’t need to look down to know we were in some sort of a standstill. The question was, who would come out in tact? “We’re just two friends having a conversation. Let’s not jump to conclusions.”
“It’sBennett.You know? The guy whoinvitedus,” Roan said, as if it that little tidbit would make a difference. I mean, it did and it didn’t. At least I felt fairly confident the peacock wasn’t one of Kazimir’s men now that I knew he was from Roan’s world, not mine. But he still shouldn’t be touching Roan with such familiarity. I didn’t give a fuckwhohe was, host or not.
Before I pissed Roan off anymore, I unlocked my fingers from the man’s wrist and lowered my hand. I refused to back off, however, and continued my stare down with the peacock, teeth clenched so hard they ached.
Bennett didn’t back down either. Giving me a smirk, he tilted his head and stared, unflinchingly. He must have been extremely sure of his knife skills, or he was incredibly stupid to keep pressing the issue. “Roan, who is this formidable specimen? A bodyguard?”
“He, um… No.” Roan shifted on his feet, glancing between us. “He’s a friend. Just a friend.”
“Uh huh.” That lie was so bad, even this idiot didn’t buy it.
“I didn’t want to come solo, so… you know. I asked and he was free. I mean, who wouldn’t want to come to one of your parties?”
“Uh huh.”
“This is Aleksandr. Aleksandr, this is Bennett.”
Another man approached from the side, like a shadow. He was dressed sensibly in black, unlike the fucking peacock, and carried two glasses of champagne. “Mon coeur. Is everything alright?”
“Of course, my love.” The knife disappeared from my thigh and Bennett stepped back, taking the champagne with a smile. “May I introduce Roan Sinclair and hisfriend,Aleksandr.” Hs gaze landed on me again as he spoke, like he was daring me to challenge him. “Gentlemen, this mysterious creature beside me is Leander Welles, your silent co-host of the evening.”
Leander nodded his greeting. His cold gaze raked across me, while I continued to assess Bennett, trying to see what his angle was and why he emphasized the word “friend” like that.
“Nice to meet you,” Roan said, offering his hand to Leander.
“A pleasure.” Leander shook it politely before disentangling himself and wrapping his fingers, subtly, around the crook of Bennett’s elbow.
“I’ll call you about the violin,” Bennett said in parting to Roan. He slung his arm over his... Leander’s shoulders and wandered away, pausing again to give me a knowing look. His lips twitched before he inhaled a breath. Thinking better of whatever it was, he laughed quietly and shook his head, giving me a parting wink before slipping off into the crowd with the other man.
A second later, Roan was in my face, his voice damn near a growl. “Coat room. Five minutes.”
He downed the rest of his vodka and stalked off.
Great. This night went from bad to worse to fucking awful. By the time it was over, there was no telling what sort of damage would be done.
First, I was dragged here to rub elbows with people I didn’t give two shits about, to fork out money for a charity I didn’t give two shits about. Now, not only was Roanpissed, but he was off preparing to scold me about my violent tendencies, as if I wasn’t completely aware of what I’d done thirty seconds prior. And I’m sure he wouldn’t care in the slightest that my concern was only ever for his wellbeing.
I signaled the bartender for another vodka. Tossing it back, I thunked the glass down next to Roan’s and set off for the fucking coat closet.
14
