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“My brother is family, and I don’t want to kill someone I’m related to. It’s an honor thing. We aren’t friends by any means, and perhaps he’s less interested in our family values than I am, but I want to be the bigger man about it,” I explain.
“Well, that’s not very comforting,” she replies. I can’t tell if her annoyance is real or not.
“I’m just saying that I’m not going to put you in a situation that warrants Anatoly getting shot. The whole point of keeping you at my house is so that nobody bothers you. Less drama.”
“Oh, I’m aworldof drama,” she replies with a laugh.
I shrug. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“You’ll see,” she says with a sparkle in her eyes. “You’re in much deeper than you realize.”
I’m not sure exactly what she means by that, but I don’t have the opportunity to ask before we emerge from the woods onto the main section of the property. The house stands in the center of a flat grass field like a monument of my success, towering five stories tall with so many rooms it’d be a fool’s task to count them.
Valerie is impressed. I can see from the look in her eye, but she’d be even more impressed to know that this isn’t my own house. I own several on the north side of this city alone, and dozens across the country.
I don’t like staying in hotels. I prefer to be in complete control of what goes on behind closed doors.
“You live in a fucking mansion,” Valerie says, leaning so far forward that her breath fogs up the windshield. “I feel like I’m going to get lost in there. Is that your plan? Get me lost so I can never leave?”
I place my hand on her thigh and squeeze it. “Don’t worry, darling. I won’t let you get lost.”
“Or kidnapped by a vampire.”
“I didn’t think the house was that gothic.”
“The iron gate is pretty telling. You should be worried about vampires, not wolves,” she says, her eyes wide as she looks up at the house.
I park the car in front of the house, shaking my head at the sincerity of her words. She’s too cute for this world, and much too pure for the Bratva.
And yet, that’s what makes her the perfect partner. She balances me out in ways I didn’t know I needed, proving a softness to my rough exterior that changes the way I behave. Never before have a cared this much about another person, not my father nor my brother when we were boys. Valerie is my first experience with selfless love, even if she also happens to be a pawn in my overall game.
The meaning of it has changed. Her purpose isn’t what it used to be.
And my obsession keeps growing to the point where it’s almost painful.
20
Valerie
Idon’t know why I expected the house to be empty, but it becomes obvious that Pasha’s mansion is crawling with security, cleaners, and cooks the moment we step inside. A man with a rifle stands right next to the door, nodding at Pasha as he takes his coat. A woman rushes by with a mop. I can smell warm ham and biscuits in the air as I slip out of my shoes.
“Would you like a tour?” Pasha asks, rolling up the sleeves to his crisp black dress shirt.
The size of his forearms distracts me for a moment before I can answer. “Oh, sure. It’s a big place.”
“40,000 square feet.”
I’m pretty sure my apartment was something like five-hundred square feet, so the amount of space here is beyond my comprehension. I’m sure there are parts of the house that haven’t seen an actual person in them for years. It’s a bitscary knowing that someone could’ve died and decomposed here without ever being found.
One more thing to worry about, I suppose. Mummies!
I’m glad Pasha can’t read my mind as he walks me down a stone hallway. The vampire comments were probably enough for him. If he knew I was actually worried about ghosts and mummies here, he’d think I was stupid.
But I know better than to make assumptions about the supernatural. More specifically, I won’t assume they don’t exist. Julia used to swear she saw ghosts on a regular basis, and seeing as she’s my twin sister, I probably have the same ability.
I’ve just avoided looking for them. That’s my best bet here. Just keep my eyes closed and feel along the wall for guidance when I go to get water at night.
The spectacular decorations and elegant rugs are a welcome distraction from my thoughts, however, and I quickly forget to be scared as Pasha leads me through another luxurious hallway. It stretches out so far ahead of us that I can barely see what’s at the end of it.
