Page 10 of Wicked Vow

“It’s fine, I promise,” I tell her firmly. “We’ll be in the air and on our way to New York in no time.”

Ruby glances at me anxiously, pressing her lips together, but Mikhail and I are already getting out of the car. “Just follow me,” I tell her quickly, and then I step up behind Mikhail, keeping the gun on him.

The pilot is waiting just outside the plane, and I angle myself a little to one side of Mikhail, keeping the gun out of sight. “No tricks,” I warn him again as we walk up. I can hear Ruby just behind me, her breathing quick and nervous.

“We’re heading to New York tonight. Everything should be in order. Mikhail Kasilov.”

The pilot frowns. “You said you and one other passenger when you made the arrangements.”

“Well, things changed.” Mikhail shifts, looming over the pilot. “One more person shouldn’t be an issue. And if it is, I’ll make sure you’re well compensated for your trouble. Now, we need to get in the air as soon as we’re able. Understood?”

“I understand money, Mr. Kasilov,” the pilot says, and for all that, I’m as eager to get on our way as Mikhail clearly is; I can’t help but admire the pilot’s nerve. I can’t imagine there are very many people who would talk back to Mikhail like that.

“Here.” Mikhail reaches into his pocket, handing the man another envelope. “I think this should take care of it. Now, how long before we can fly?”

The pilot peeks inside of it, glancing quickly before shoving it in his pocket. “Fifteen minutes,” he says, backing away from Mikhail. “Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable.”

“You first,” I tell Mikhail sharply. “And I’ll be keeping an eye on you, so don’t think about trying to get the upper hand on me on the plane, either.”

I glance behind me once to make sure Ruby is still following, as we walk up the steps onto the plane. It’s hardly a private jet, but it’s good enough, and I motion for Mikhail to sit down towards the back of the plane. Once he’s seated, I push the gun into his abdomen as I reach over and cuff his wrist to the armrest.

“What if we go down?” Mikhail looks up at me as innocently as I think a man like him could ever manage, which isn’t much.

“Well, you better hope we don’t, and if we did, I don’t think the cuffs would matter much.” I smile sweetly at him. “I want to talk to my friend without having to watch you or keep my hand on this gun the entire time–it’s getting a little tired. So you can sit there and think about what you’ve done, while Ruby and I catch up.”

“The only thing I’m going to be thinking about is last night.” Mikhail tips his chin up, his ice-blue eyes fixed on mine. “And how I’m going to torment you the same way when Viktor gives you to me as a reward. I’m going to tie you up and tease you until you cry. I’ll make sure you can’t come even when you beg, until I’ve had enough. I might never let you come again after what you did, so I hope it’s worth it.”

“You’re not going to do any of that.” I smile at him, my face very close to his. “You’re never going to touch me again, Mikhail Kasilov. So you can think aboutthat.”

I expected a sharp retort, some comment about what else he plans to do to me, and more threats. But instead, he goes silent, a strange expression crossing his face that I can’t understand. More than anything, he looks–sad. And it makes no sense.

“We’ll be in the air soon,” he says finally, looking away from me. “So you and your little friend should probably find a seat.”

Ruby is sitting several aisles down, next to the window, her hands knotted in her lap as she looks out of it. At the sound of my footsteps, she looks up, her mouth in a thin line.

“Alright, Natalia,” she says slowly. “I think it’s time we have that conversation.”

Mikhail

Despite the fact that Natalia and her friend seemed to think they’d sat far enough away to keep their conversation to themselves, I manage to hear most of it. Not much of what Natalia tells Ruby is anything I don’t already know. She tells her about her father, about her last name, about her life before her father died, and the rescue of her half-sister. And then, as I strain to catch as much as I can, I hear her telling Ruby about me.

She doesn’t tell her everything, which surprises me. “He had a reason for wanting to hurt me,” I hear her say quietly, her voice restrained with an emotion I can’t quite read. “It’s not really mine to share. I can understand it, in a way.”

“It doesn’t justify any of it,” Ruby says back sharply, and Natalia is quiet for a moment.

“No, I agree,” she says finally. “But it’s more complicated than it seems.”

“And you really think this Viktor guy will help us?” I can hear the suspicion in Ruby’s voice, and I can’t really blame her. I’m surprised she went along with Natalia’s plan at all.

“I think so,” Natalia says slowly. “A couple of years ago, probably not. But about a year ago, some things changed. I don’t know everything–my father kept me in the dark about a lot of things. But his priorities changed from the gossip I heard. I don’t think he’ll be very happy about how Mikhail treated me. And I think he’ll be more than happy to have someone like you applying for a job as a dancer. I also think he’ll be happy enough that I’m bringing him Mikhail that he’ll hire you as a favor to me, once he hears the whole story.”

I lean back in my seat, not really wanting to hear another word of it. I’d let my obsession take over, let it get the better of me, and now I’m paying for it. But I can’t let myself believe that Viktor will take her side over mine. I’d worked for him for years and Natalia–

She’s nothing but the daughter of a man who was his enemy. He can’t have changed that much.

I close my eyes, wanting to get what sleep I can. More than anything, I want to stop thinking about Natalia. I want to stop thinking about what I’d felt when she’d said I’d never touch her again–because I’ve never felt that way about any woman. She’s the last fucking woman on Earth that I want to feel that way about.

It doesn’t matter if she’s brave, tough, smart, or even more insightful and understanding than I could have expected–that she’s beautiful and graceful and the only woman I’ve ever known who could stand up to me and win...hell, the onlyperson.

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