Page 117 of Emperor of Lust

“Fuck you.”

He lifts a brow, smirking. “I’m afraid you’re not my type, Mr. Nikolayev.”

My jaw grinds I stalk over and sit across from him, regarding him with deadly fury.

Kolya clears his throat.

“Leave us.”

The response is instant, like a switch being flipped. Everyone—patrons, waitstaff, even his own guards—stands and files out.

We’re alone.

I glare across the table at him, ignoring the pain in my knuckles and chest. Kolya smiles slightly, setting his glass down.

“You understand that it’s considered rude to leave a party early, Mr. Nikolayev? Without saying goodbye to your host?” He smiles tightly.

I glare at him, my fury barely contained. “Funny.Iwas taught it was rude to crucify and almost kill your guests. Where the fuck is she?”

Kolya tilts his head. “Please. I’m not in the habit of keeping track of other men’s fiancées, Damian. It’s…unbecoming.”

Something inside me snaps and I reach for the blade hidden in my coat. Before I can even draw it, Kolya speaks again.

“There are three rifles trained on you right now, Mr. Nikolayev. One on your heart, one between your eyes, and the third on your balls.”

My hand tenses around the hilt of my knife, still in my jacket.

Kolya smirks. “And my mennevermiss.”

A sneer curls my lips. “You think I give a fuck right now about?—”

“Your balls? No.” Kolya shakes his head, picking up his wine glass and taking another casual sip. “But I do think you’d be interested to see this.”

He reaches into the breast pocket of his jacket, pulling out a phone. He taps something on it, sets it on the table between us, and turns it so the screen is facing me.

Instantly, my heart goes cold.

“It’s really a lovely home. I’m quite jealous of it, to be honest.”

It’s the Mori house in Kyoto, filmed using a night vision camera.

And in the center of the screen, sitting at a small table outside next to a koi pond, tapping away on her laptop, is Freya. Even in tones of green and black, I recognize her: the Doc Martens, the studded choker.

The room goes still. Slowly, full of poison and venom, my gaze drags like a knife back to Kolya.

He nods at the screen between us.

“My man has a clear, unobstructed shot. And as I was saying, my mennevermiss.” He smiles coldly. “Do you truly believe with everything going on right now, I’d simply be sitting here, waitingfor you to waltz in? If so, I’m almost offended that I’m almost at the brink of war with you and yours.”

Kolya takes a slow, measured sip of wine, his eyes never leaving mine over the rim of the glass.

“I made sure my schedule, which your intrepid cousin Freya found—though I do hope it wasn’ttooeasy for her—incorrectlygives the impression that I dine here almost every night.”

He leans forward slightly.

“I know Hana Mori is missing. But that’s not what we’re going to discuss.”

“The hell it isn’t,” I hiss dangerously, half rising out of my seat to reach across the table and throttle him. But then my eyes drop to the phone.

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