Page 119 of Emperor of Lust

He leans right down into my face, his eyes slicing into mine.

“Where. The fuck. Is she.”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about!” I roar. “Even if I did, you could use that thing until the blade went dull, and I’d still never fucking tell you.”

Kolya’s face tenses. For a half second I wince, straining against the men holding me down as Kolya starts to add pressure to my finger.

Then he stops.

He pulls the blade away, the icy, calm expression back on his face. Then he turns and nods past me. I struggle and grunt as I feel hands yank up the cuff of my pants. Metal wraps around my ankle, and I snarl when I feel it click into place.

“Release him.”

The four big fuckers holding me down instantly stand and step away from me as I lurch upright. I whirl on Kolya, seething as he meditatively wipes the blade of thetantoknife on the edge of the ruined tablecloth.

“I’m choosing to believe you, Mr. Nikolayev,” he says quietly. His gaze drops to my ankle. I follow it, frowning at the little black box I see strapped around it.

“That’s a tracking device, Damian,” Kolya explains. “You will not attempt to remove, damage, or even tamper with it. If you do, I’ll know. And I should mention—it’s not just Freya that I’ve got my eye on.”

He turns and taps the phone on the table. Instantly, another greenish-black live video feed pops up.

This time, it’s Annika who’s dead center of the screen, standing on a balcony outside her and Kenzo’s room, running a hand through her hair distractedly, a worried look on her face.

Slowly, I rake my gaze back to Kolya, my eyes narrowing.

“What thefuckdo you want.”

Kolya nods again. A man steps into my peripheral vision before walking over to his boss.

Ryu.

He glares at me before he leans close to Kolya, the two of them speaking quietly before Ryu nods, bows, and steps away again.

“What I want, Mr. Nikolayev, is simple: go find your woman.”

My jaw ticks. “What’s the catch?”

“Catch?”

“You’re letting me go with a tracking device strapped to my goddamn ankle after accusing me of fuck-knows-what and almost cutting off my goddamn finger,” I hiss quietly. “So why don’t we stop jerking each other off and you tell me:what’s the fucking catch.”

Kolya’s face is dark and lined, without a single trace of smugness now.

“The catch, Mr. Nikolayev, is that someone very close to me is also missing. And my gut says that when you find your fiancée, you may very well findheras well.”

My jaw tightens. “Why does it sound like you know things that might help me, and yet you’re not sharing them?”

Kolya’s face is unreadable as he slowly rolls his neck, adjusts his dinner jacket, and buttons the top button.

“When you and I fight, Damian…or when Kenzo Mori and I fight… It won’t be from the shadows. We will be looking each other in the eye when we draw blood, so we can watch it flow.” A twisted smile spreads across his face. “Otherwise, where’s the fun in that?”

He exhales. “I believe we’re both being played, Mr. Nikolayev. Make of that what you will. In the meantime, I suggest you find Hana Mori. Your life depends on it.” He turns to nod at the phone on the table again. “So do Freya’s and Annika’s.”

37

HANA

Consciousness slamsinto me like a fist to the face.

---