Page 64

I turn quickly. “I told her I wouldn’t take advantage of a drunk woman. I never have, and I never will.”

“I’d rather my daughter be drunk and happy, Nico, than drunk and sad.”

I think about asking Viktor if he truly cares about Anya, knows about her secret side. She wants true love, but she’s too calculating to believe she can have it.

“I meant what I said,” I tell him bluntly.

“Some party,” Viktor snaps. “Our deal was that you would make my Anya happy this evening. You’ve failed.”

He walks away. I close my eyes for a brief moment, fury flashing across my vision. Opening my eyes, I look toward the corner where Mother and Sienna were, but they’re no longer there.

Taking out my cell, I call Mother. “Where are you?”

“Sienna wasn’t feeling well. She wanted to go home and get some sleep.”

“I’ll come by soon,” I reply. “In fact, I think I may stay at your place this evening.”

“That’s a good idea, dear. Sienna seems very shaken up. I can’t help but wonder if it had something to do with seeing you and Anya together.”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. If I saw her with another man, I’d be pissed too. I don’t care if it’s only been a little while.”

“Love doesn’t work on a timeline, dear,” Mom says.

“Love,” I repeat. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“Perhaps you’re living in denial.”

After ending the call, I see Viktor, Anya, and most of the Russians heading for the exit. Tonight, has been a colossal failure.

ChapterTwenty-Two

Sienna

In the bedroom – notmybedroom,thebedroom – I read the report several more times. With each rereading, my heart feels like it’s breaking. Dramatic? Sure, alert the press, I won’t deny it.

Seeing Nico’s name in the context of my mom’s death is like a punch to the gut. Even worse, I still can’t accept it. It’s right there in black and white, but it’s still difficult to accept. I can’t match the person in the report with the man I’ve kissed, made love to, and obsessed over.

The knock at the door makes me flinch.

“Sienna?”

It’s Nico. I stuff the report into the bedside drawer with the recording device.

“Yeah?”

“May I come in?”

“I just want to get some sleep.”

“I’m coming in.”

“Why even ask if you’re going to barge in anyway?”

He opens the door and walks across the room, standing over the bed. I wish he didn’t look so dashing in his tux. He sits on the bed and tries to touch my hand. I snatch it out of the way.

“I’m sorry you had to see me with another woman. For what it’s worth, Anya dropped a bombshell this evening. She hasn’t been interested in me for years. She’s just playing the role she stupidly thought I wanted from her. The ditzy Bratva princess. She doesn’t want me; she wants the alliance, just like her father.”

I almost scream at him that I don’t care. But it’s convenient if he thinks my mood has been about that instead of my world shattering into a million pieces.