Page 222 of Bratva Jewels Box Set
I take a couple of deep breaths. “But Dmitri knows I’m scared of him. He thrives on it.”
“You’re right. He would probably suspect something is off if you weren’t.”
“Here.” Sergei passes something through the partition. “Suck on this.”
“I don’t think candy is going to calm her down,” Maxim says dryly. “It will when it’s pot candy.” Sergei laughs.
“What! Are you crazy? Don’t eat it,” Maxim yells at me, but I’m
too quick and pop it in my mouth.
“Fuck, Grace. Seriously, spit it out. Now!”
I shake my head.
“If I didn’t need you right now, old man, I would fucking shoot you. She’s a recovering drug addict.”
“Shit.” Sergei looks at Grace apologetically. “It’s not strong stuff, but it will take the edge off, so she isn’t so … you know, fucking freaked out.”
“I was addicted to prescription drugs, Max. Not this stuff,” I say.
The candy tastes funny, and I’m not sure if it’s working, but my knee has stopped shaking so that’s a good thing.
“Grace.” Maxim looks at me, and I can see the pleading in his eyes—he’s worried.
I take another good couple of sucks of the candy and grab a tissue from the limousine door, wrapping the candy up in it. He’s right, I need to keep my wits about me.
“Thank you,” Maxim says.
“It’s showtime, kids—we’re here,” Sergei says. “I’ll be with the car, listening in on everything, okay? Good luck, be good, save the day.”
Sergei gets out and opens the door for me. “Good luck, princess.” He kisses my cheek while holding the door open for us and turns and gives Maxim’s hand a stern shake. Even though Sergei is joking around, I can see the worry in his eyes.
“You ready?” Maxim asks.
I can do this, I can do this, I chant to myself.
“Yes.” I link my arm with his.
“Now remember, tonight we are not Maxim and Grace. We are
master and jewel.”
I take a deep breath. I understand what he means. I need to act the
part of a slave.
I take in the imposing palace before us. The marble columns shoot up to the sky, and the gold leaf wraps around the building, showing off impressive wealth. I could imagine back in the day people would attend balls here, but instead of the palace being filled with criminals, it would have been filled with aristocrats. I watch as people arrive, women in jewels, furs, and couture gowns, and men dressed in tuxedos worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Maxim urges me up the grand staircase. Security is tight as we enter, men with M16s standing at the entrance guarding it. We stand in line as they mark off everyone’s name. The doorman looks up and nods at Maxim, obviously recognizing him, then looks at me. There are a few moments of silence before he lets us pass.
“My heart is racing. I thought he was going to stop us,” I whisper to Maxim.
“It’s okay, the guy just wanted a few moments to check out your tits.”
I turn to him, shocked, which makes him laugh.
“Did you not notice? He was pretending to look for your name while he stole glances at you. I was ready to punch him, but we needed to get into the ball.”
