Chapter 176 176

Chapter 176 176
Sergey’s face flushes. “How can I be jealous of a man that I built? I created the man you think is so wonderful. Timofey would be dead without me.”

“That must make it even worse,” I say. “You adopted him because you thought he’d be your puppet to control. But you couldn’t even do that right. He outshined you in every way. Now, you’re struggling to hold onto the reins.”

His nostrils flare and his smile uncovers a new edge to it that wasn’t there before. “I didn’t come here to hear your amateur theories.”

“Why did you come here?”

“To pick you up, my dear,” he says as though I should have known it all along. “We have a gala to attend.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you. If you don’t leave, then I’ll—”

“Die.”

I blink at him, shocked. But Sergey only shrugs.

“You’ll die,” he repeats. “You are not a crucial part of the plan, to be honest. More of the icing on top. If you don’t cooperate, I’ll kill you.”

“But if you—You can’t. If you do, Timofey will never forgive you. He’ll kill you.”

Sergey grins, and I feel like there’s ice water in my veins. “Come on, Piper. It’s time to go.”

He takes a step towards the bed, and this is my moment. There’s no time for subtlety.

I lunge for the end of the bed, scramble onto the floor, and grab my phone. The moment I get my hand around it, Sergey swats it out of my hand.

The man has a surprisingly powerful hit. My hand stings. But I barely have time to register the pain before he has me pinned to his chest with the iron band of his arm. His free hand skates down over my hip, teasing the hem of Timofey’s t-shirt.

His breath is heavy on the back of my neck. “It would be rude to take a call in the middle of a conversation, Piper. You have company.”

“You are not welcome here,” I spit.

“Oh?” He slips his hand down my thigh, curling his fingers dangerously close to the edge of my panties. “Am I imposing? I hate to intrude. I prefer a warm welcome. Then again, sometimes you have to do what needs to be done. If someone doesn’t give you what you want, you have to take it.”

My heart is thundering in my chest. Sergey’s words are too plain to be misunderstood.

He sighs in disappointment. “Unfortunately, we don’t have time to linger. As I said, we have an event to get to. Are you ready?”

“Fuck you.”

He chuckles and slaps my ass hard enough to bruise. “Don’t tempt me.”

Then he leads me out of the room, down the hall, and out to a waiting car.

I don’t see a single other soul the entire way.

48

PIPER

The front of Viktorov Industries is lit up. Garden lights lining flower beds and the manicured lawn. White and blue colored beams streaking up the white stone face of the building. The Viktorov Industries logo is projected on the water flowing from a stone fountain in the middle of the entryway.

People in their finest evening wear are mounting the stairs and making their way inside. Staff hired to work the event hold the doors open, ushering everyone into the warm glow of the lobby.

Sergey drives past all of this and wraps around the back of the building to the loading bay.

A single flickering white light hangs above a large garage door. The rest of the lights in the alley are burnt out. Or, more likely, shot out.

“What’s the matter? You didn’t get an invite to the big party?” I ask. “You have to sneak in the back like a commoner?”

Sergey’s hands tighten on the steering wheel. “Shut your fucking whore mouth.”

I jolt at the venom in his voice. I’m used to Sergey being the sly, smiling conman. The kind of snake charmer who will shake your hand as he empties your pockets.

But he is rigid now, his expression bleak as his eyes search the dark alley.

It hits me all at once: he’s nervous.

“Are we here to meet someone?” I look out the windshield, seeing monsters in every shadow.

Suddenly, at the end of the alley, a light flickers on and off.

Sergey hits the gas and drives down to the end of the alley. As soon as he stops the car, a door opens.

I’m staring into the black mouth of the door, trying to make out anything about what’s beyond it. About what is waiting for me.

Then I feel a gun pressed to my spine. “Get out and walk to that door. If you run, I’ll shoot.”

I hold up my hands on instinct. They tremble in the air. “Do you really need a gun to handle me, Sergey? I thought you were tougher than this.”

“The plan is delicate now,” he admits, his voice low. “I can’t have you fucking it up. Now, move.”

I’m barefoot and wearing nothing but a t-shirt. I won’t make it far like this. Running isn’t an option.

So I climb out of the car and walk towards the door. I hear Sergey moving behind me, his footsteps careful as he matches my pace.

“Who turned on the light? It flickered. Someone told you where to go. Who was it?”

“Shut up and keep moving,” Sergey barks. “We don’t have time for your—”

“Hello again, Piper.” The man in front of me is doused in shadow, but I don’t need to see his face to recognize his voice.

Kreshnik.

I try to scramble back, but Sergey’s damned gun jabs into my spine. “I thought we were going to make the reveal once she was inside… and gagged.”

Kreshnik Xhuvani smiles at me, a sick kind of amusement in his gaze. “I just couldn’t wait. There’s something about this one, isn’t there?” He reaches out and strokes my cheek. “I like to see her scared.”

“If we don’t move quickly, lots of people are going to see her. This plan doesn’t work if he—”

“This plan is going to work perfectly because I’m the one executing it,” Kreshnik snaps. “You came to me, Sergey, remember? Trust that I know what I’m doing.”

I turn back to Sergey, doing my best to ignore the gun aimed at me. “Be a good dog, Sergey. Do what Master says.”

Sergey’s face turns beet red. He raises his free hand like he’s going to slap me, but Kreshnik claps his hands together loudly. The sound echoes down the alley.

“Save it for our audience, Sergey.”

“What audience?” I ask.

Kreshnik shakes his head at Sergey, and the two men lead me silently into the hotel.

We walk down cinderblock halls with exposed pipes running along the ceiling, far from anywhere a guest might wander. We turn into a kind of storage room. Metal shelves line the walls. An artificial Christmas tree broken down into three massive sections hulks in the corner, covered in a large drop cloth. Two chairs sit in the middle of the space.

Sergey pushes me towards them. “Sit.”

“Who else is coming?” I ask.