Page 61 of Hate Mates

TWO

Ekatarina

Ilooked helplessly at Andreas as he disappeared leaving me alone with Kingston and his fucking goon. As a daughter of a Russian Pakhan, I was no stranger to organized crime. Although, in New York City, it was well known which groups ran what, and the Irish Mafia was nearly as powerful as the others in these parts. This man standing feet away from me was heir apparent to his family’s mafia throne. The family was also one I knew well.

I wanted to think about Princeton Brannington even less than his older brother. Kingston was staring at me so intently that his gaze nearly singed my skin. After a shudder wracked me, I looked over at him and politely smiled.

“It was nice meeting you,” I lied, then looked at the other man watching the two of us closely. “And you as well.”

“Likewise,” the one man said, but Kingston remained quiet.

Rude much!

I glanced back over at him and caught him staring at me. While most would’ve turned away to make it appear less obvious, he gave no fucks whatsoever. I wasn’t sure why that made me a bit light-headed, but it did. Never one to beintimidated, I kept my gaze on him, even though it slowly started to wander.

The man was lethally handsome, with short blonde hair and ink I could see creeping down his neck and disappearing between the crisp black of his tuxedo. His hands also sported tattoos, and it made me wonder how much more of his body might be covered in them.

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I dismissed it. I still lived with the nightmares of his kid brother’s touch. The last thing I needed to think about was his. It was a shame, though. He was the hottest man in the room, and had he’d been someone else, I might’ve considered at least flirting. The time and place would also have to be right. For us, it never would be, so I cleared my throat.

“Bye,” I said before disappearing and inwardly cursing myself as I hurried away from him. I rolled my eyes when I still felt the heat of his gaze on my backside.

Take a picture. It’ll last longer.

I quickly found my date for the evening, and while he made a fetching sight, he didn’t send electricity through my veins like Kingston had when he’d kissed me, or make me weak in the knees with his intensity. Hell, he didn’t even make me wet, which was for the best because I didn’t sleep with my clients like some of the other girls at the agency.

“There you are, beautiful,” the wealthy attorney said to me as he took my hand. “I was wondering where you’d disappeared to.”

“I saw the man of the hour, and I wanted to congratulate him,” I said using almost the same words as Kingston had earlier.

“He hasn’t won yet, but he’s ahead in the polls by double digits. I think Mayor Ruffalo’s endorsement will be the very thing to get Daniro elected.”

“We’ll see. He’s the perfect man for the job.”

“That he is. Are you thirsty? I was just about to head to the bar.”

“I could use a drink,” I responded, and for more reasons than he’d ever know.

As I took his hand and followed him over to the open bar, I no longer felt eyes on me, so I assumed Kingston had found something, or someone else, to grab his attention. I had no idea if his being in New York City was a temporary thing or not, but I hoped it was. Last I’d heard, he was in Ireland, but that’d been before his brother’s death.

I hated thinking back to that time as it was a very difficult one for me. Princeton had been enrolled in the same private school I’d been in, and he’d always seemed nice enough. A party invitation I never should’ve taken, a drink I never should’ve drank, and a car I never should’ve been driving all combined to create the worst night of my entire life, and one where someone had ended up dead. I’d walked away physically and legally fine, but emotionally a fucking wreck.

That was why the hate simmering in Kingston’s eyes earlier should’ve unnerved me more than it did, but I was not the same girl I’d been at seventeen. I’d grown into a confident, beautiful, and dangerous woman which was the reason Aram Grigoryan wanted to marry me. My father had gotten into quite a bit of debt back in Moscow, and I’d known nothing good would come from his visit to me in Saint Petersburg that fateful night.

“I’ve fallen into some real trouble, Ekaterina. I need for you to save not only my life, but that of our family.”

“By doing what?”I’d asked him.

“It’s already done. You’re betrothed to Aram Grigoryan, and he’ll be coming in two day’s time to take you home with him to Yerevan.”

None of that had come to fruition because I’d reached out to a friend from boarding school, Rebekah, who I’d kept in contact with since fleeing New York City after the car accident. She worked at an exclusive escort agency, and one that only catered to the wealthiest and most powerful of clients. I’d need someone with power soon to help me, especially if the rumors of Aram traveling to New York were right.

My father had mentioned it, but he was also in hiding at the moment because of my actions. It was something else he’d used to guilt trip me, especially since he’d been the one to make all the trouble here in New York City go away. Princeton’s death had been ruled an accident, and that was that. Only, parts of my testimony about the attack had been leaked to the news media, and it was what had made me flee back to my native Russia afterward.

I never thought I’d come back to this place, but I needed to put some space between myself and all the oligarchs my father kept in his company. I wasn’t marrying Aram, who was rumored to be a very cruel man, but also one as old as Andreas Daniro. I’d just turned twenty-four, and I refused to give up the rest of my life before it even truly started.

“White or red,” I heard my date say, but before I could answer, a deeper voice did for me.

“She looks like a Cabernet woman to me,” Kingston said.

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