Page 57 of Cruel God

The crowd grew larger, and I rushed up the staircase with Hope sticking close to me. As we reached the top, I pulled her to the side, cocooning her between my body and the wall, slamming my lips against hers as if it was the last thing I would ever fucking do. I didn’t beckon her to open for me. I didn’t slip my tongue inside her mouth so I could devour her and get high on her taste. All I wanted to do was kiss her—one simple act of affection between two lovers that far surpassed the selfish needs that spawned from the sexual endeavors of monsters.

I pulled her close, pressing her body flush against mine. The sweet moans that vibrated from her lips danced along my spine, and I snaked my arm around her tiny waist, loving how she so easily melted into me.

Our lips parted, and there were so many things I wanted to say, but I couldn’t find the words. There was just this daunting regret that slithered around my throat, threatening to suffocate me.

Without saying a single word, I took her hand and led her down the hall toward the room where Anatoli waited. The men outside his door didn’t stop me when I approached, already aware that their boss had been expecting me—he had been expecting this meeting for years.

As I stood in front of the door, I inhaled deeply and pulled my phone out of my side pocket halfway to glance at the time.

Time was a bitch; no one could rush or stop it. It had the power to cripple the strong and taunt the weak.

I glanced at Hope one final time, hating that she wore that stupid fucking mask. I wanted to see her face, the color of her cheeks, how her golden-brown hair would fan down her neck and shoulders. But instead, I let go of her hand, her arm dropping to her side as I straightened my sleeves and steeled myself before finally opening the door and walking inside, not even checking to see if Hope was following me. I proceeded like she wasn’t even there, like she was now the ghost I had demanded Piper be.

Anatoli sat on the white and gold striped couch across the room, clutching a thick cigar between his fingers while blowing smoke from his mouth.

“Mr. Cain,” he started. “I have been expecting you.”

“I know you have.” Without looking back, I felt Hope slip in behind me. “You’ve been expecting me for quite a while now.”

A naked girl bound to a Saint Andrews Cross moaned, and I pretended not to notice the blood that dripped from what looked like a thousand fucking cuts across her entire body; a grotesque bruise painted along the side of her face.

Anatoli placed his cigar in the crystal ashtray on the table in front of him and stood. “I assume you have finally come to your senses.”

“Fair warning, Anatoli. Don’t everassumeanything when it comes to me.”

He snickered, buttoning his suit jacket across his fat belly. The bastard was in his sixties and had so much money; he’d never be able to spend it one lifetime. But even with all the riches in the world, there was nothing that could make him less of an old, ugly motherfucker.

“I would not be so quick to throw threats around, Cain.” His accent was thick as he pronounced every word with clarity. “Do not forget who has the upper hand here.”

“I don’t give a shit. I just want to be done with this.”

“Give me what you owe me, and you will be.”

“I owe you nothing. This debt was my father’s, and I only inherited his fortune. Not his debts.”

“Nevertheless.” His voice raised an octave. “You are of Cain blood, and with that same blood, you will pay what is owed.”

Unease settled in the back of my neck, but I kept my shoulders squared, making sure I exuded nothing but confidence. “You’ll keep your end of the bargain?”

“Of course,” he exclaimed. “Give me what is mine, and do not interfere with my return to Russia.” He shrugged. “Then it’s all yours.”

I crossed my arms. “I’d be a fool to trust you.”

“You’d be a fool to cross me.”

For what felt like eons, we stood glaring at each other, the air thick and filled with malice. I had enough fucking motivation to drive a knife through Anatoli’s heart—but if taking care of this problem was that easy, I would have done it a long time ago.

Anatoli glanced over my shoulder behind me. “Is that her?”

I swallowed, fighting against my instinct to protect her. “Yes.”

“Oh, I remember those eyes.” His voice dipped low as he walked closer. “That’s the reason I chose her. Those beautiful doe eyes of hers scream with an innocence men like me only dream of.”

Hope sucked in a breath behind me, and I suppressed a snarl as I put myself between him and Hope, blocking his view of her. “If you double-cross me, I will hunt you down and tear your heart from your chest. I fucking swear it.”

“I might be a lot of things, Mr. Cain. But I am a man of my word. I do not believe in bullshit or undermined tactics to get what I want because I simply do not have to. What is right is right. And in this case, you know as a businessman that you are doing the right thing by keeping your father’s word.”

“My father was a bastard.”

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