Page 25 of Chasing Danger

She dismissed me almost immediately. “Your family isn’t worth mentioning, but the Pahkan likes you purely because of blood ties. So, you’ll become a marriage trophy, following in your mother’s footsteps as a sacrifice for peace.”

Her words were not a proposition. They were a command. She fully expected everything to happen exactly as she said. There was probably already a hit squad with their sights on Alex, and a plane fueled up at the nearest airport waiting to ship me off to Russia.

Whatever I decided to do in the next thirty seconds would determine everyone’s future.

With my right hand, I blatantly reached for the knife hidden up my sleeve. Aslanov caught my wrist before I’d moved more than an inch.

“Don’t be a fool. I’ll kill you before you even unsheathe that blade.”

I grinned at her. “Not my style. I didn’t get where I am by being a fool. I know I can’t beat you in a head-to-head fight.”

While she’d been focused on my right hand, I’d used my left to slip one of the needles from the broken remains of my watch. I grabbed her hand that was still holding my wrist, and watched her pupils dilate when she felt the prick of the needle against her skin.

“What?” She pulled her hand back and looked down at the small drop of blood staining her white suit. “How did you...”

I held up the needle between two fingers. “You were careless. Breaking my watch only destroyed the deployment mechanism. The poison was still intact.”

“But you...” She gaped at me, eyes zeroing in on the drop of blood rolling down my palm. “You’ve poisoned yourself as well.”

The needles were small, sharp and double sided. Without the watch to deploy them, there was no way to handle them without pricking my own skin as well.

“Yes.” I sighed and shook my head over the drop of blood sitting on my palm. “Annoying, but harmless. Did you really think I would carry around something that could just as easily kill me as my enemies? That poison is an invention by my family. Of course, I’m immune.”

She seethed, but I held up my uninjured hand before she could speak.

“Don’t get too upset. There is an antidote.”

I pulled a small vial out of the inner pocket of my jacket. Only two inches tall, it was filled with a crystal clear liquid.

“Right here. Just the one vial, I’m afraid. The antidote is rather difficult to make.”

She tried to grab it from me, but I held it out to the side, threatening to shatter it on the stone table.

“Ah, ah. None of that. This poison is fast acting. The antidote must be delivered in a few minutes, or it’s lethal. If I break this vial, even I couldn’t get another dose for you in time.”

Her teeth ground so hard together I was surprised they didn’t crack.

“What do you want?”

“Here’s what’s going to happen.” I stood from the table, keeping both my arms up so everyone could see the vial in my hand. “My bodyguards and I are going to leave. Once we’ve gotten to our car, I’ll leave this vial behind. Then you’re going to report to the Pahkan that we are looking into the theft of your shipment, and will tell you if we find anything. Deal?”

I started walking out of the room before she replied. She would agree. There was no choice. While she was certainly willing to die for her Pahkan and the Russian mafia, she obviously hated me due to my mixed heritage. Her pride wouldn’t let me be the one to kill her.

Eva and Gavriil still had their guns drawn when they met me at the door out of the room.

“Sir,” Eva said through clenched teeth.

“Not now.” My chest felt tight, and the words didn’t come out as strongly as I wanted.

“But, sir,” Gavriil whispered so low even I could barely hear him. “You’re not immune to...”

“I’m aware. Keep walking.”

For once, I wished my family’s invention wasn’t so efficient. By the time I reached the stairs leading to the lower level, my legs were already starting to go numb. I clung to the railing with a white-knuckled grip, forcing my feet to move one in front of the other. Aslanov’s people were watching me. I had to remain calm and maintain the ruse that I was fine. If they knew I was dying as quickly as she was, I would lose my advantage.

Gavriil ran ahead of us to fetch the car and bring it right up to the front door of the museum. Just before I slipped inside the safety of the backseat, I smiled at Aslanov’s people and set the vial of antidote on the curb for them to retrieve.

Then we drove away before they could try to stop us.

---