Page 15 of The Game

“Jameson will help you—”

He shakes his head.

“He’s at the university, stalking all the undergrads.”

Fucker. Should’ve known he’d do his own reconnaissance without me.

“So what is it you want, Maks?” I growl. He feigns nonchalance by examining his cuticles, his heavily slanted brows low over his cunning eyes. He’s sporting new tattoos again, this time along his brow bone. I’m sure he’s run out of space everywhere else, and the sentimentubiytsais quite fitting, its meaning hidden from those who cannot read Cyrillic.Killer. A warning to those in our culture and in our world. I don’t even think Maks knows how many men he’s ended.

“I should think the same as you. To have our family whole again.”

Makes sense. Him and Violet are close. He took her in away from his family in Moscow to prevent her being married off. She’s the one thing in this world he cares about. I doubt he even likes his fiancée, a woman who was all but gifted to him. But his words sink in, and I can’t help but to play with fire. Smirking, I jerk my head back to where the man just exited and is still likely stumbling down the street.

“Then what is brother dearest doing running with that scum?”

His eyes shift to a look of pure malice in less than a second. It’s no secret his younger brother Dmitry is a fuck-up. An addict. A man Maks has to deal with constantly. Killing him would be the quickest, most merciful solution, but their father has forbade it, and the Volkov’s run a tight fucking ship. If Maks killed his brother, their father would ensure to tip the scales back into balance by offing Maks. They’re cutthroat, to say the least.

“Not sure, but he’s up to something, fucking worm.”

It’s then I understand why he’s stopped me.

“You’re following leads.”

His eyes drop to mine as his jaw works.

“Precisely. And I need it to be discreet.”

As anxious as I am, I know he can see things I cannot; a streak of brilliance runs in their blood. His brother Nikolai, a little over a year younger than him, has a photographic memory. Comes in handy when anyone can find him and get him to stay still long enough to help.

Sighing heavily, I consider this. Jameson would side with him, and so would Nick, and so my frustration mounts. He must see it, for a sick smile curls his lips.

“If you need a…release, I can always point you in the right direction.”

Pissed at his offer, I am about to break his jaw when he chuckles and shakes his head.

“A release catered to men like ourselves, cousin. Wait for fifteen minutes, and the city commissioner will leave with his underage toy. He just bought her last week,” he says, playing coy. It’s clear to see he doesn’t care either way, not one to subscribe to any morals, but the thrill still jolts my veins. At the very least, I’ll get to play with some rich fucker who will cry like a brand new baby when I pry his fingernails from their cushy little beds.

“Spaseeba,” I mutter with a nod, thanking him. He takes another step back, darkness covering his broad shoulders like a shroud.

“I’ll be in contact if I find your butterfly. Look in the most obvious places,da?”

Brows furrowing, I nod. With a final wink of his steely eye, he disappears back into the darkness, and this game becomes just that much more sinister.

CHAPTER9

Alice

The dawn over Seattle is frigid, coating me in a misty dew and clinging to my torn, puffy jacket. I have no money, no car, no real phone. Only a dorm room shared with an exchange student named Haddie, and an allowance of twenty dollars per week for food. I’ve grown used to sleeping on an empty stomach and lustfully eyeing all the amazing food in the massive cafeteria on campus. Would be nice if Dick made sure I was on the meal plan, but nope. My scholarship only pays for tuition, and the rest I’ve had to scrounge through loans. Sometimes I wonder why I am still enrolled and attempting to complete a degree I will have no use for, but the thought of not going to school makes my life that much more bleak.

At least there I can pretend to be normal.

Squeezing my stinging finger, blood still coats my skin, drying in patches now as it coagulates. My mind is on high alert, my eyes constantly swishing back and forth through the alleyway as my breath clouds in front of my face. My shoulders are to the brick wall behind me, a trait I picked up from Meg. Never let them get to you from behind if you want any chance of escaping.

As soon as the heavy door creaks open, my muscles tense, prepared to find another nasty man who will proposition me for dirty sex. I’m instead greeted by the chilling blue eyes of Teddy, his lids and bridge of his nose now devoid of the black make up, giving him a more normal appearance in some sense. He carries a black duffel bag and wears jeans and a black hoodie with a faded band logo across the front. Slicking back his inky hair, his eyes fall to mine, and he smirks.

“Haven’t bled out yet?”

“Nope,” I quip.

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