Page 66 of Beautiful Deception

“Fine. But you’re going to regret not touching me. Never getting a taste of me. A lot of men want to marry me. You just made me your enemy, Viktor. I’ll marry another Bratva man and give him my money and connections and make him powerful enough to take you down. If you don’t want any of that to happen, then you’ll marry me.”

“You will not threaten me into a marriage, Natasha. I do not bargain with psychotic people. Now, leave Inessa and me alone. And we won’t have any problems.” I walk down her front stoop.

“Oh, Viktor. You know you’re going to have problems. A Bratva man like you always has problems. There’s no escaping it.”

I ignore her as I walk away. Natasha means nothing to me anymore.

Chapter Ten

Inessa

Inallthecommotionof everything, I realize I’ve forgotten to pay for another week at the motel for my dad. It’s something I can’t seem to stop doing even if I would be better off without him. But he’s still my dad and he always will be.

“Where are you going?” Viktor asks as I head for the front door. After he came back from Natasha’s, he’s been in a bad mood. I’ve been giving him his space.

“I… to see my dad.”

“Where is he?”

“Staying at a motel. I’ve been paying for it to make sure he has some place to live.”

His hard eyes soften. “You’re a good daughter.”

“I try to be.”

“I’ll go with you.”

I squeak. “Uh… why?”

“Why not? It would be good to meet your dad. Make sure you’re safe. I promised I would keep you safe after all.”

The last thing that can happen is for Viktor to meet my dad.

“Um… I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with you meeting my dad. It’s just… you’re my boss. It might be weird. I want some alone time with him. If that’s ok?”

“That’s understandable. I just want to make sure you’re safe.”

“I’ve been going to this motel for the past month since I’ve been working here. It’s safe. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

I hesitate by the door and look back at Viktor but he nods me on my way. Letting out a relieved sigh, I leave the house.

I pay for the motel room right away, then go in to see my dad. He’s asleep on the bed with a beer bottle in his hand. Half of it is spilled onto the blanket. Great. An extra charge.

“Dad?” I poke him and he jerks awake.

“What’s going on?” His eyes focus on me and a wide smile spreads across his face. “Inessa. It’s been forever since I’ve seen you.”

“It’s been four days.”

“Feels like forever.”

“How have you been?” I nod at the beer in his hand. “Getting along? Eating real food?”

“As real as it gets.” He lets out a loud, gross burp. “Honestly, I’m not even hungry.”

“Have you just been drinking? You need food, Dad.”

“The beer fills me up. But I do eat.” He nods at a potato chip bag on the nightstand. “That was my dinner.”

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