Page 42 of Disguised as Love

“I’m just a man

A man on a mission

I want no trouble.”

Performed by Imagine Dragons

Written by Mckee / Platzman

Raisa was fuming as she flounced down the hall. The fire was coming off her like sparks. I’d basically patted her on the butt and sent her on her way, and she wasn’t the type of woman to take that sitting down. But it was the attitude expected of me from these men. It was how they all dealt with their women, as if they were decorations to be seen and used but not heard.

Raisa was barely out of earshot before Damien closed the distance between us and said, “Have your fun, Antonne. Teach her all she needs to know so that when I slide that ring on her finger, she’ll know what I mean when I say get down on your knees. But have no doubt about it…she isn’t yours. You got me?”

I wanted to slam his head into the wall until it bled, especially after the story she’d told me last night. Instead, I shrugged carelessly. “You never know, I might decide to keep her.”

He pulled a knife from nowhere and flicked it toward my cheek.

“You think she’s going to want you once I carve you up?”

My eyes flicked to his temple. “Maybe. Maybe not. But I know for a fact she didn’t want you at all when she gave you that scar.”

His face turned purple, and the tip of his knife found purchase at the corner of my eye. I could easily have broken his wrist and taken it. Damien Volkov wasn’t a threat to me in close combat, but I let him have his power trip.

“Enough,” his father said, coming out of the dining room. Volkov stuffed his hands in his pockets, eyeing us. His son didn’t back off. “Damien, go get some air.”

Damien looked at him with a flicker of surprise and a lot of anger. “What?”

“Go get some air,” Volkov repeated in a way that said he wouldn’t repeat himself again. Damien let the knife pierce my skin before backing off and slamming his way down the hall.

Volkov surprised me by handing me a handkerchief from his breast pocket.

I dabbed at the cut, coming away with a drop of blood. It wasn’t anything to speak of. A pimple would have bled more.

“We need Raisa Leskov, Antonne. We need her for more than her nano cells, although I’m sure that’s what she thinks. While it’s true?we’d certainly like to be the ones to package and sell her technology?I also believe she has something of mine her father may have given her for safekeeping. I asked my dear friend to hold onto it, but alas, he died before he could tell me what he did with it. I’d like it back.”

The hand dabbing at my eye stilled. “What?”

“I’m not absolutely sure Petya sent it to her, but perhaps you can find out,” Volkov said casually.

My breath left my body. What the hell had Leskov done? Sent something to his daughter that could be used against Volkov? Or was it codes and data that would allow them to take over Leskov’s kingdom?

“You find it, and I can guarantee you more money, women, and power than you’ve ever dreamed of. Gennady’s business is going to need a new man at the head of it. You can walk into it without even blinking with my full support.”

Gennady was dead. If I hadn’t known that from Damien’s comment the night before, it was clear now.

“What if the only thing I want is Raisa Leskov?” I told him, daring to challenge him.

He shook his head ever so slightly, his lips twitching again.

“You are quite the entertainment. Alas, she’s already been promised.”

“She thinks your son is a piece of shit.”

“You’re speaking of their misunderstanding when they were teenagers. An unfortunate incident. Damien was unused to handling innocent young girls.” He stared at me for a long moment before he continued. “If you find what we need, there may be room for negotiation.”

“What’s it look like? How will I know it when I see it?”

“It’s a simple SD card. Petya loved antiquities, especially from the Romanovs, so it might be inside something he bought for Raisa and gave to her years ago.”

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