Page 56 of Kings of Cruelty

Women really are ridiculous.

“Besides, you’ll want something for when—” I begin, but when she narrows her eyes at me, I stop before I mention the pregnancy progressing. “Okay. Get dressed, and let’s go.”

Sierra has developed quite the wardrobe since arriving here, and it takes her a long time to go through her clothing to decide what to wear. I eye her phone, wishing I could go through it and find out what had bothered her, but we’re trying to give her at least a little space.

Why, I’m not really sure, but I guess it’s more important that she comes to us willingly now—especially when shit goes down. Hopefully, she’ll remember that we tried to respect her, or some other bullshit.

I remember the way those women looked in the container.

I don’t want Sierra to ever look at me like that.

When she finally finishes getting dressed and puts on a pair of stylish but apparently uncomfortable shoes, she grabs her phone and shoves it into the back pocket of her jeans. “Ready?” she asks, like I was the one who was taking forever.

“Sure.” I take a quick detour to my room to grab my wallet and keys, then we head out of the mansion.

I’m not like Yuri, who likes speed and danger, and the car I drive is modest enough to look at. Expensive as hell, with all the latest gadgets and gear, but even so. Sometimes we need something that at least tries to blend in, and I don’t need a red sports car to feed my ego.

I open the passenger door for her with a grand gesture, feeling the need to spoil her because I’m not sure how much longer she’s going to let me.

Sierra gives me a weird look, but she gets into the car and puts her seatbelt on.

“Got a specific place in mind?” I ask as I drive us out of the neighborhood.

“Yeah. My favorite shoe store.” Sierra gets quieter. “It’s downtown though. On Blitz Avenue.”

I sigh, because of course her favorite shoe store would be one of the high end luxury stores. It’s not like we can’t afford it, though.

Her phone pings another two times while on the drive, but she doesn’t check it. I can see her debating leaving it in the car when we get out, but she puts it in her purse with a shake of her head.

“I can’t believe you have a favorite shoe store,” I say as we walk toward the store.

She blinks at me. “Why wouldn’t I have a favorite shoe store? Don’t you have a favorite site to use for all of your… ah… toys?”

I scoff. “You don’t buy monsterfucker dildos at one place from one person,” I tell her, ignoring the strange look I get from someone passing by even as Sierra winces. “There are a lot of indie shops that do different things. Commercial sites are boring, and they steal ideas from other places.”

“I didn’t realize that was something you’d be passionate about,” she remarks.

“Anyway, can’t you get the same shoes from a bunch of different places? They take the same shoe and slap a different label on it.” I laugh at her horrified expression.

“That’s not… You just… You don’t…” she sputters. “That’s counterfeiting!”

I open the door for her, ushering her through. “Uh-huh,” I say, not convinced. “It still sounds like a good strategy to me, instead of wasting all that money on shoes.”

“What else am I going to waste my money on?” Sierra retorts, smiling absently at the clerk—who looks like she wants to approach but thinks better of it when I shoot her a steady glare. Sierra elbows me. “Be nice,” she mutters.

“It’s technically Kotya’s money,” I point out.

“Even better,” she says tartly, before going to the clerk. “Hi, Mindy. Are there any new shoes I should take a look at?”

The clerk glances at me nervously, then turns her attention back to Sierra. “Of course, Ms. Winters. The spring collection came in last week, and there are some sandals that I think would suit you well. I could box the whole collection up and charge it to your account, if you’d like?”

Sierra’s smile freezes, but she recovers after a beat. “Sure, I’ll take the collection,” she says. “My boyfriend is going to cover it, though.” She bats her eyelashes at me.

I’m just the one holding Konstantin’s credit card, but I’ll take the somewhat warm feeling that comes from her calling me her boyfriend—even though I don’t understand it. “You’re going to bankrupt me,” I grumble like it’s actually my money she’s spending.

I have no idea what an entire collection is going to cost in a high-end shop like this, but right now, I have a feeling Konstantin would give her anything she wants to keep her distracted. She’ll probably want to wear the shoes out to show them off, which means more opportunities to keep her out.

“Sure!” Mindy chirps. “Give me a few moments. You can try them on to make sure they fit to your liking.”

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