Page 47 of Cruel Existence

I just wanted him to start the bidding. Get the charade over with. Get the fuck away from Amara before I made a mistake. Viktor sat next to me. He had instructions from my father to annihilate anyone who came close to the hotel. I was there to represent the Novikov organization. To demonstrate the family solidarity. Viktor had been my father’s legal counsel since I was a kid. A deal never floated across the desk that didn’t have his eyes on it.

The president continued to list the features of the hotel along with the tax codes and the registration numbers for the auction. Formalities bored me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Amara scribbling notes as quickly as the president spoke. She didn’t need to put herself through this. It was unnecessary. Why the hell did she need to be here?

I stared at the podium. The president opened the bidding. I sat back, letting Viktor handle our first bid.

The Amato attorney made a motion. I leaned near Viktor.

“Hold off until he’s finished,” I instructed.

Viktor nodded. “You know him?”

“I know the family,” I whispered.

“Anything I should know about them?” he asked.

“They’re new. Shouldn’t be a problem.” But I underestimated Lorenzo’s plans. I underestimated how he would react after Irejected his proposal. I rejected his daughter. I had insulted him. He was out for blood today. He sent Amara in as the assassin. I knew she had no idea what position she played on this chess board. She hated me. She had to.

I couldn’t wrap my head around everything that happened before it was too late.

Viktor kept bidding, but Amara didn’t stop. I was certain there was a cap for Lorenzo. He should have given her details on when to stop. She kept raising the price. It surpassed market value twice over.

Fuck.

“What do you want me to do, sir?” Viktor asked.

“Keep going.”

We were the only two in the room left bidding on the hotel. She didn’t know what she was doing. What consequences she was unleashing. There was no way her father had agreed to go this high. Was there?

“It’s too much,” Viktor whispered. “This is going to create a deficit I won’t be able to fix for your father.”

“If we don’t secure the tunnels, it’s going to be a catastrophic problem.”

I growled. It was obvious she wasn’t letting go of the hotel. I wondered if she knew about her father’s offer to marry her off in exchange for the property. Did she have fuel of her own? Had he given her another reason to hate me?

“We can’t back down,” I argued.

Viktor shook his head. “I can’t. They are going higher than anyone in their right mind.”

I let my head fall. “Fine. Let it go.” As the Sovietnik I had to make the final call. There was no way to tell Viktor I had a plan to take out Lorenzo. Our grip on the tunnels would come later. Fuck me.

I shoved back from the table and strolled out of the room. I left Viktor to clean up the mess.

I waited outside the bank. I reached into my pocket for a cigarette. The smoke swirled into the air. I resisted the urge to punch the marble pillars marking the entrance. I didn’t know if I waited too long on purpose or if I lost track of time. The doors opened, and Amara descended the steps.

“What did you do?” I confronted her.

I couldn’t read her emotions with the sunglasses pulled over her eyes. Ciro flanked her side, almost to the point of shoving me. A mistake on his part.

“I just bought a hotel.” But I didn’t see a smile or any sign of pleasure from her when she spoke the words.

“We should talk about this.”

She turned away from me. “It’s done. There’s nothing to talk about. You made it clear the last time I saw you.”

“Amara, no. You’ve made a dangerous error.”

Ciro stepped in between us. His hulking frame was a pain in the ass. It was pointless to shove him out of the way in broad daylight.

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