Page 58 of Twisted Cage

He forges subtle bonds with the soldiers. Earns their trust. A small favor here and there. Making connections for them on occasion. Saving their asses when they screw up. He earns enough respect, he doesn’t have to find an in with the leaders of their syndicates, the soldiers do it for him with a word here or there, in his favor, to their superiors.

Those new, tentative alliances need nurturing—and babysitting.

Me and my team are quick to eliminate problems before they can bite us all in the ass. I like it that way.

Within the first few weeks watching, we knew who would be the most useful, who would be an asset—but a messy one, and who needed to be snuffed out almost immediately. Every day his allies grow and before long, I know we’ll outgrow this space for surveillance.

I didn’t know we’d start busting out of the seams like some fucked-up versions of Three Men and a Baby.

My safe house became a prison… one holding a woman who has swiftly turned into my greatest temptation—and most destructive secret.

Nikolaj strolls in with his hands in his pockets, coming from the direction of the office where he no doubt spends a good deal of time scouring those monitors himself.

“About time, Malikov.”

“The bigger the mess you make, the longer it takes me to clean up. You’re welcome.” I toss my keys on the island, cross my arms, and nod my head in Nikoletta’s direction. “You want to tell me what the hell is going on?”

“A party,” Nikoletta chirps from next to me like I hadn’t watched as she dripped blood while she practically sliced and diced a guy the night before. “You are familiar with those, right, Konstantin? It’s where people—the ones without sticks up their asses—mingle, laugh, drink, dance, you know, have fun.” Nikoletta aims a razor-sharp smile at me before turning away under Ahmad’s direction.

Keep it up and you’re going to have something up your ass, little girl. “No.”

“No, you don’t know what that is?” She tosses over her shoulder with a smirk.

“No. You’re not going.”

She tilts her head in a mocking way, reminding me just how young she is. “Funny—you actually think you have a say.”

Just as they did that long ago night in Illusions Cabaret, my fingers itch to redden that sweet ass of hers until just the idea of sitting makes her whimper.

Nikolaj gives his sister a warning glance before turning to me. “We have a plan. She’s going.”

“A word, Nikolaj.” I aim my index finger at Nikolaj and then the door to my office as I stride past him, ripping my jacket off along the way.

“Oh, not without me, you don’t.” Nikoletta gathers the skirt of her gown in her fingers and scrambles off the riser.

I hold the door for Nikolaj, but the minute he crosses the threshold, I take great satisfaction in slamming the door in her face.

Propping my shoulder against the wood, I hold it shut and flip the lock. “You want to explain to me why the hell she’s going to a party when she’s a walking fucking target for the Petrovs, Vlad, not to mention anyone else who might have it out for you?”

The door vibrates under my shoulder as she beats on it from the other side.

“Let me in, dammit!”

Nikolaj’s lip twitches with amusement as he glances at the door and back at me. “It’s a society party… no one will touch her there.”

“Konstantin, damn you, open this door right now or you’ll live to regret it!”

Oh, she’ll get touched there. With all the skin she has on display in that fucking gown… it is a goddamned guarantee.

And I’ll have to stand by and watch men through the evening touch what’s mine.

“Mafia will be there and you fucking know it.”

“A few, yes, but they won’t dare cross The Ophidian Order. I’ve already made it clear that she’ll be there with me and she’s not to be touched. They'll honor it.”

“I swear to God, you better open this door right now or the minute you close your eyes, I’m slicing your balls off.”

Nikolaj rarely shows surprise. He’d learned to school his features as a boy to keep from giving his father or brother the satisfaction of knowing anything they said or did affected him. But the minute balls comes from his sister’s mouth, his eyebrows rise.