Page 97 of Sinful Promise

Mm. I have no idea what she found to be worthy of more pictures, and now I’m curious.

We retire briefly after our late lunch, and Irina comes to get me for the mask.

Just as she described, the goo on my face is unusual and takes time.

“This is a silicone mask. It will fit me perfectly. I have contact lenses and a wig the color of your hair. I’ll be a double of you,” she replies with satisfaction.

“You’re enjoying this entirely too much, Irina,” Francesca says from across the room, where she’s sitting with a magazine in her lap.

“Well, I like being creative,” Irina replies, carefully peeling the mask off my face.

“This is a bit freaky,” I say when I see the final mask in her hands.

“It is a bit freaky. However, when one needs to look like someone else, it’s highly effective.”

There are voices in the house, and even though the brothers all sound very similar, I can tell Roman is laughing. Funny how I can distinguish his voice from others.

I scurry out of the room to clean my face before he sees me.

34

ROMAN

My heart sinks when I enter the room, my smile and spirit fading because Dasha isn’t there.

“Is everything okay?” Francesca asks. Damn her and her keen eye. It’s not bad enough that Irina is telling me I love the Belarusian.

Fuck.

“Oh, yeah. Long day,” I reply to hide my disappointment.

“Dasha will be down in a minute. I did a mask of her face.” Irina reads me well, but it appears everyone knows my secret, as my brothers give me The Look.

I’ve done the same to them when I thought they were being sappy over the women in their lives. It appears it’s my turn to fall for the young goddess who’s transformed into an astute woman before my very eyes.

Dmitry can’t hide a snicker.

A man on staff brings in a bottle of vodka I always have in the freezer. We love it cold, and a short drink is downed while it’s still chilled. Alex opens the bottle, and the server returns with a tray of glasses, which he sets on the coffee table.

Dasha quietly enters the room.

The server collects drink orders from the women, and I hear Dasha politely ask for plain lemonade.

“Give me the details,” Irina says abruptly.

“Well, we scoped out the area. We’ll try to pin down where their guards are if we don’t hear from Albert. Keep in mind that we don’t know whether he’s using Katsia and Dasha’s goodwill or not.” I have to be honest with my crew, even if it hurts Dasha’s feelings.

She sits unmoved, but I know she’s on edge, and I made it worse. We both have brothers who are putting their lives on the line tomorrow.

“I think Dasha should know how to fire a gun,” Nikolay says.

“Oh, man, really?” I quip. After clinking my glass with the men, we all down the vodka.

“Great idea. We can show her tomorrow,” Francesca says, solidifying the plan.

“Where? We have enemies in town. We can’t run around like it’s Bastille Day, for God’s sake. Besides, I’m not sure I want her using a weapon.”

“I’m right here, Roman.” Dasha moves toward the center of the room. Good for her. She’s moved out of the shadows. “I might be new to this, but everyone has a part to play but me. I can hold my own. Just show me what to do.”

---