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“How do I do that?”

Through the corner of my eyes, I saw Matvey’s gaze harden in our direction. His face was still blank, but the murderous look in his eyes couldn’t be faked.

I smirked as I wrapped one of my hands around the guy’s neck and lifted my face in his direction. “Like this.”

Lifting myself on my toes, I kissed him.

Not soft or subtle. I kissed him like I’d been dying for it.

The stranger was startled at first, then he cupped my cheeks and kissed me back with hunger and need, but I hardly noticed.

My eyes remained shut, my muscles straining. It wasn’t for him. It was for the man in the shadows.

After what seemed like an eternity, I jerked back, breathless, adrenaline pounding in my ears, and when I finally dared to look back, Matvey had left.

There was no trace of him anywhere. He’d gone just as smoothly as he’d come in, like a shadow that had vanished as unnoticed as it appeared.

Chapter 6 – Matvey

I told myself that I wouldn’t follow her.

I told myself that tracking her was protocol. That letting her run was strategic. That if she believed she was free, she’d burn out her rebellion before the wedding.

I lied.

Turned out she was even smarter than I expected.

She waited for the right window, the perfect moment when the staff rotated and the external feed changed angles—a two-minute window at most. And she took it.

She must’ve known I was watching her every move, and yet she’d wanted to be seen.

Was she trying to test me? To see how far she could push? How far she’d be able to run and what I’d do when she disappeared?

I leaned back in my chair, tapping a finger on the rim of the full glass of untouched scotch. “Where is she now? Did you manage to find her?”

“We tracked her to the city. We believe she’s at a club—Vanta. She’s with another. A woman.”

“Marielle Rue,” I told him without thinking. I’d looked up everyone she was close with, and only Marielle Rue out of her five friends had enough nerves to try and smuggle her out of the Carter estate at night.

She was going to be a problem, that one.

Kiril blinked. “How do you know it’s her?”

I steepled my fingers in front of me. “She’s my fiancée. You think I wouldn’t do my own research on who she surrounds herself with?”

I didn’t come this far in the mafia world by being dumb. Zoella was nothing like her sister. I knew this would happen, and it was only a matter of time before she tried something funny.I wondered if Carter knew his little girl was sneaking out of the house at almost midnight.

“Tell the men to keep their eyes on her,” I told him, standing up. “Nobody gets close to her until we’re there, and they should stay as far away from her sight as possible.”

Kiril nodded and narrowed his eyes at me. “We’re going to the club?”

Without glancing over my shoulder as I made it to the door, I answered, “Yes.”

***

Vanta was a pit.

An upscale pit, with velvet-clad and mirrored walls, reeking of money, pheromones, and the scent of irresponsible youth.