Page 21 of Twisted Secrets
One night won’t kill me. It might even give me the breathing room I desperately need.
Flimsy excuse firmly in hand, she turned back to face him. “Okay. One date.”
And she’d pray to the God she wasn’t sure she believed in that she wasn’t making a horrible mistake.
***
Sergei stood out on the street, looking up at Beacon Hill Hotel. He didn’t like that his Olivia had taken the O’Malley there, and he liked it even less that she was still up there. When Dmitri sent him to Boston to keep an eye on her, he’d thought it was a reward, a chance to finally get close to her again. Now he wasn’t so sure. It had been over a year since he could last call herhisand mean it, but he still couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that she was walking into a hotel with that goddamn bastard.
He didn’t like thinking about the possibility that his Olivia had turned into a whore.
His phone rang, a welcome distraction. Spending time thinking about what she was doing up there with that bastard made him want to march through the door and deal out the sort of pain he was known for.
He couldn’t do that.
Dmitri didn’t want Olivia to know he was watching her, and he’d be pissed if Sergei fucked up whatever plan he had going in that twisted head of his. “Da?”
“Where is she?”
Speak of the devil. Sergei might put theRomanov family and its interests first, second, and last, but he still hadn’t forgiven the man for being the reason Olivia walked away.He promised she’d be mine in the end. Remember that.“She’s with that O’Malley.”
“I see.” Dmitri sounded like he always did—cool and composed—but there was an underlying tension there. Apparently he didn’t like that his little sister was going Irish any more than Sergei did.
“Do you want me to take care of it?” Sergei asked. He was the best at what he did and with good reason. No one fucked with him and his in New York. He’d worked his ass off to get that reputation and, if he sometimes enjoyed what it took to keep it…sue him. There was no shame in being proud that he was a man people thought twice about before crossing.
But this wasn’t New York and he wasn’t in charge here.
That didn’t stop him from hoping that Dmitri would give him the go-ahead to fuck up the enemy who thought he could touch Sergei’s woman.
Then Dmitri went and dashed all those hopes to hell. “No. You had your chance to deliver the message. Now your job is to watch her, and that’s all I want done. No further contact, Sergei.”
He clenched his jaw. Always with the orders when it came to Olivia. Everywhere else, Dmitri gave him plenty of freedom and trusted his judgment. If he’d done the same a year ago, Olivia would still be in Sergei’s life and bed. “If you’re sure—”
“I am.” Just that. No explanation, but Dmitri never offered them. He was boss, and his word was law.
He was vulnerable to mistakes just like any other man, though. Sergei was sure this was onesuch mistake—just like the last time he’d gone head-to-head with the O’Malley family. If Dmitri had sent him to Boston six months ago to take care of business, they wouldn’t be in their current clusterfuck. He would have handled things here just like he handled things at home, and that O’Malley bitch wouldn’t have had a Halloran to run to.
But he couldn’t say as much to his boss. If there was one thing Dmitri Romanov hated more than being disobeyed, it was being questioned. He had a plan, and he expected Sergei to fall in line and do what needed to be done without opening his mouth. “Got it.”
“Call me if anything changes.”
“Will do.” His gaze flicked from one illuminated window to the next. Was she up there right now, sucking O’Malley cock? Or was she riding him, giving him the view of a goddamn lifetime? A sharp pain brought him back to himself. At some point, he’d pulled the knife from his pocket and engaged it, and begun running his finger along the edge. Sergei looked at the dark line of blood against his skin and imagined it was the man’s throat.
When the time came that Dmitri was ready to get rid of the little shit, Sergei would be the first in line to get the job done.
Chapter Seven
Stop pacing.”
Olivia spun on her heel to face Cillian. Ever since agreeing to the date, she’d been full of nervous energy. It was all well and good to say yes to him, but the next few hours stretched out before them, and she wasn’t sure what they were supposed to do to occupy themselves.
No, that was a lie.
She could come up with half a dozen solutions without even trying, all of which would probably reinjure his head. It didn’t help that he sat on the bed, watching her have her little mental breakdown. She made an effort to stand still. “What do you do for fun?”
Cillian barked out a laugh that made her jump. He rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m sorry. That was unexpected.”
Which only served to make her feel more awkward. Olivia threw up her hands. “I don’tknow how to do this.”
