Page 15 of Kidnapped Bratva Toy

Eyes up here, buddy.

“I want you to find out everything you can about the club and the people running it. I just know they’re up to no good, and I won’t stand for it in my beautiful city.”

Emiliano oozed charisma the way politicians do. It felt slimy and off when you were far away from it, but being right up in the splash zone, as it were, was so much worse.

“Of course, Mr. Labriola. I understand this means a lot to you, and I’ll do my best to ensure no stone is left unturned.”

He nodded, sipping at the drink he’d ordered. I, of course, stuck with cucumber water. You don’t drink on the job. When the waiter came to actually take our order, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye from the table behind me. The tall man seated a few feet away wasn’t facing me, and he’d worn a simple blazer.

There was no reason to think it was anything, but I couldn’t stop the tremble that rippled through me.

“And you miss?”

I realized the server was speaking to me, and I turned back to the man now that it was my turn. Because, of course, Emiliano went first.

“Oh, right. Thank you. Umm, I’ll have the Caprese salad and the pasta primavera, please. That’s no meat, correct?”

“Correct, miss. I can ensure the order is prepared vegan for you?” The waiter cocked a brow.

I smiled nervously. “Oh, no. Just dairy is fine.”

“Very well.”

The man left us, and Emiliano returned to detailing what he needed to do. I chose to focus on the incredible food I was being treated to instead of focusing on how every minute around him put my nerves more on edge.

After our meal, I was quickly instructed to get to work, and I spent the remainder of the afternoon trying to track down leads. It took all afternoon to come up with a whopping nothing, and I was so far past run down that it actually hurt a little. Dragging my ass to the car one last time as I came out of a restaurant near Delerium, I decided that it was time to head home.

You need to talk to Pietor.

The thought was equally familiar and infuriating. I knew I needed to hear Pietor’s side of the story and potentially get more information from him, but the idea of meeting with the guy…did something to me.

Probably because you haven’t been able to stop thinking about him or using him as spank bank material.

Sitting down behind the wheel of my shitty car was a great reminder of my situation, and I fired up the engine to drive the few minutes back to my apartment. It was a quiet drive. I didn’t even bother turning on the radio. There was just so much on my mind.

I had a promotion to think about, a real chance to get out of this shithole apartment and work for someone who wasn’t a casual misogynist. Not that my client right now was much better. That much was easy to tell. There was also something about the guy that just…rubbed me the wrong way. And the fact that Nicholas was friends with the guy spoke volumes.

“God, why is he friends with him?” I murmured to myself.

But I didn’t really have the time to give it much thought. I was home and needed at least one night of rest before I got back to work on the Labriola case. This was likely going to involve calling and emailing Pietor Vadim, who was way too attractive for his own good—hell, for my own good.

***

One whole week. I’d been calling and emailing Pietor for one whole week, and he’d still not given me anything.

“Ugh!”

The charges were serious enough now, and he’d yet to meet with my client either, so I was running out of options. I couldn’t back down from this, and worse, I was running out of ways to avoid a formal summons. I knew I’d be after it if this were any other case, but…

Some odd part of me didn’t want to see Pietor arrested. It wanted to see him in plenty of other ways, usually sexual, but not behind bars.

I flopped backward onto my pillow, grabbing the other one next to it and pulling it over my face. I let out a good scream before I allowed myself some air again and sighed. This was beyond frustrating, not the least of which was because Pietor was still plaguing my mind in a way he had no right to.

I’d been seeing glimpses of him all over town. At least, I thought I had, but I knew I was just some paranoid, horny freak who was far too intrigued by the notion that Pietor was following me.

But something had to be done. I couldn’t just sit there and let this whole mess slip through my fingers. I was officially out of other options.

A summons it is. I’ll…I’ll give him one last chance.

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