Page 23 of Brutal Promise

I sit back in the chair and observe her in silence. She’s too smart to bluff.

“True. Do you know what’s going on in his business?”

“Very little. Although Alena says she’ll probably be married off soon. I mean, it’s so barbaric, don’t you think?”

“It’s how our world operates. The women of powerful men make powerful alliances as bargaining chips. You wouldn’t understand. We’re from different worlds. Alena knows how it works and doesn’t fight it.”

“Maybe she should. I can’t imagine going to the trouble of getting a college degree not to use it.”

“Ha, most women attend universities to find husbands and drop out as soon as they find one. Every woman wants something from a man.”

“That’s not true. I don’t.” She acts like I insulted her.

“Says the woman who wants to tie me up.”

“You started that.”

“Do you always talk so much?”

“Probably. Why?”

I’m saved when our order number is called. I jump up to grab our food. She makes me nervous because she appears to understand more than I gave her credit for. I place the food on the table and go back for our cold bottle of sake and two cups.

Izzy takes the food off the tray and sets the meals on the table. I sit again, busy myself with the sake, and glance out the front windows as I do so. It’s a habit of mine to keep my eyes peeled for trouble. It’s one reason I’ve lived this long—being diligent. Idiots are so predictable. The men from outside her apartment building are sitting in a car across the street.

We begin to eat. I have Pad Thai noodles with chicken, and it’s delicious. Russian food is relatively bland by international standards. Things are quiet, and I realize food keeps Izzy from talking. We sip the sake and eat in silence.

I finish eating and put down my chopsticks.

“I need you to slide your purse under the table.”

“What? I’m not doing that. Are you crazy?”

My eyes bore into hers. “I gave you an order, and you need to do it.Now. Without making a scene.”

“What if—”

“Now, Izzy, no games. And if you don’t, I’ll be bending you over this table in two seconds, and you won’t be happy with what I’m prepared to do in public.”

Her eyes spring open as wide as her legs when I satisfied her with my tongue. Without another word, she slides her purse under the table.

“Good girl. Now wasn’t that easy?” I say with a smirk.

She downs the last of the sake, crosses her arms over her chest, and pouts her lips. I resist the urge to pull her onto my lap and let her feel my hard cock under her ass.

Instead, I feel around inside her purse, trying not to be conspicuous.

“Ah. There it is, a tracking device.” I pull out a tiny tracker and drop it into the empty sake bottle. “It was at the bottom of your purse, hidden in the lining. Tell me why someone is tracking you. Are you working for the Sicilians?”

I eye her suspiciously. Could she be a plant? She and Alena have been in college for several years. It would be the perfect cover, acting like she needs Alena, getting into the inner circle.

“What? Are you crazy? Alena’s father would kill me. I live with her for a pittance of rent. She has two rules, I can’t have men over, and I can’t tell anyone who I live with. It’s for her protection, so I’ve never broken the rules.”

As much as I’m an untrusting bastard, I believe her. So, what am I missing?

“Keep your eyes on me when I speak,” I tell her. She goes to open her mouth.

“I don’t have time to explain. Please do as I say until we’re out of here. Do you understand me?”

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