Page 52 of The Pakhan

“Except the security will be solid. Speak of the devil. Look who’s headed in this direction. I was right in bringing you here.”

I pushed my plate away, tossing my napkin and sitting back in my chair. Both the governor and his brother had quarreled with me, but Chipino wanted my lucrative contributions, which was really why he’d invited such a cast of characters to his festive event.

Even though he’d tried to disguise it as a charity event. Men like him, the ones who slithered behind a cloak were the worst crop of humanity there was. At least I was out in the open about my status as a human being.

Evil.

The governor sauntered closer and I could tell Stefano was watching. The entire scene was like watching a movie. The man had two men trailing behind him, both so young I wondered if they were both his lovers. I’d heard he swung both ways, even if he had a trophy wife to show off when obligated. Plus, the conservatives in the state had yet to fully embrace the concept of having anyone in the LGBTQ community in a position of power.

Ridiculous but not something I could change.

“Governor. How lovely to see you.”

“Mr. Chernoff. Mr. Semenov. My favorite Russians. Mr. Pakhan himself, world’s most notorious leader of a Russian gang.”

It was his standing joke, a poor attempt at putting down my ancestry and riling me. I ate men like him for breakfast. I merely smiled. “Well, I do appreciate such notoriety.”

“You both are coming to my event tonight. Yes?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Aleksander answered.

“I must admit, Vadim, it’s good to see you. I was certain your injuries could still be life threatening given your absence in society. That would have been such a shame.”

There was something almost threatening about the way the governor issued the words. “You should know by now that I’m not the kind of man anyone can destroy. I do own this city.”

“Ah, yes, the arrogance I’ve grown to adore is still intact. Good to see. I am very much looking forward to seeing who you bring as your date tonight. I’m assuming you’ve found some lovely eye candy for all of us to admire.”

I laughed and swirled my drink, acting bored for a few seconds. “I guess you’ll need to wait and see. Won’t you?”

“Yes, I guess so. Keep in mind, I’m not a patient man.” The governor didn’t give the courtesy of waiting for a response before walking away, the two young men looking at me as if I was fresh meat. Another game being played involving politics.

Aleksander whistled when they were out of earshot. “Is it just me or did the room just become frigid?”

“On the contrary, my friend. I think things are starting to heat up. Only I’ll be the single person with a fire extinguisher. If I choose to use it.”

He laughed. “Back in full form. It’s good to see. I guess it’s settled.”

“What in particular?”

“You’re bringing the pink-haired girl with you. It should be an explosively good time.”

“Yes, I guess so.”

My thoughts once again drifted to my guest. It would be difficult to keep from feeling completely possessive of Caroline. The taste of her lingered in my mouth. Perhaps I was in the mood to attend a party after all.

CHAPTER 14

Caroline

“You’re awfully quiet,” Sofiya said as she dragged me into the bathroom.

Yeah, I was quiet alright. I was hurt and angry and… frustrated. Heartache had kept me awake all night but even more than that, fury had. I was enraged with myself for being so stupid not once but twice.

And I’d all but seduced him. Jesus, I was out of my mind or something.

Vadim had ignored me all over again, barely saying two words before leaving the house earlier in the day. At least he’d given me a burner phone, which allowed me to feel some sense of freedom. Right now, I’d take what I could get.

“Just a lot on my mind,” I answered, which wasn’t a lie.

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