Page 20 of Beautiful Enemy

Until now. Until I saw her crying.

I had the strange urge to hug her, which is fucking ridiculous because I don’t care for her. Ihateher. I feel it in every fiber of my being.

And yet, I didn’t like to see her cry.

Fuck.

I leave the ranch house and head straight to the nearest club I can find. I need to put Nadia from my mind for the night. Get wasted and fuck a woman who isn’t a part of Mafia/Bratva politics. Something just simple.

That’s the one perk about being around normies. They don’t know who I am. Most people in the Mafia recognize me. They either know to fear me or come after me.

But with normal people, I can just fucking relax.

The dance club is packed with people, which isn’t surprising since it’s a Saturday night. I order a beer, since I don’t want to get too drunk and accidently let slip anything about Nadia. She’s a secret I need to keep close to my chest.

I lean against the bar and sip on my drink as I scope out the room. Which willing woman will win my attention?

A beautiful blonde, that’s who.

She’s in a slinky black dress. Her red lips shine under the lights. She’s the epitome of sexy and she comes right over to me. Good. She’ll make it easy for me.

“Hello,” she practically purrs.

“Hello.”

She’s a stark contrast to Nadia, with her seductive eyes and confident walk. That’s perfect. I don’t want to think of Nadia right now.

“I’m Jessica.”

“Chris.” I always lie about my name to normal people. It’s better that they never know I’m a part of the Mafia. Safer for them. It’s not that I care if they live or die. It’s more that I care they don’t go to the police.

“Well, Chris. I saw you looking at me. Why didn’t you come over and ask me to dance?”

“Because you came over to me instead.”

“I know and I didn’t like it. I like a confident man who’s not afraid to speak to me.”

“Oh, honey, I’m not afraid. I don’t need to impress you. You’re already impressed.”

She huffs. “And what makes you say that?”

“You came over here of your own accord.” I place my hands on her waist and she leans into my touch. “So, why are we wasting our time here when we could be having fun somewhere else?”

“You’re a stranger. You might kill me if I go off alone with you.”

“Smart girl. But I have no intentions of killing you. I just want to fuck you. I want you to enjoy it. How does that sound?”

She eyes me suspiciously but I can already sense her desire to be with me. “Are you clean?”

“As if someone doused me in Clorox. Want to get out of here?”

It only takes a beat to nod yes.

Jessica’s apartment is small but cozy. So different from the mansions and opulence I’m used to. So different from the dingy basement Nadia is in.

Fuck. I push Nadia from my mind. She’s not welcome here. Nadia is my prisoner and nothing more. There was no reason I should have felt bad about her crying. Feeling bad about anything is a wasted emotion. It’s pointless. Guilt never gets a person anywhere. Action does.

I grab Jessica’s face and kiss with all of my pent up emotion. The adrenaline from the kidnapping and shootout. The slight fear of knowing I could die if Erik found me. And the passion I feel about ruining his and Anya’s lives. Nadia’s too.

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