Page 57 of Break Me

I laughed. “Until the end. She even enjoyed my rusty piano-playing skills.”

Sasha scoffed. “You played piano for her? Then we can anticipate another Dmitriyev wedding.”

“Not happening.” I continued scanning the parking lot. How the hell had I been found? I hadn’t told anyone where I was going, Dreamscape a thought but not a plan. The realization was unnerving.

“I heard you think the hit was from Viktor Papadakis.”

Nodding, I threw a quick glance toward him. “Undoubtedly. He wasn’t thrilled with the way I handled business with his useless brother Petros.”

“Then I think it might be time to kick up our warning system to them a notch or two.” He had a wry smile on his face. Sasha was the baby of the family, if that’s what you could call a grown man who’d endured his share of tragedies and obstacles in his life. He was a much better person than the rest of us, truly wanting nothing to do with the fact we were Bratva. Maybe that had to do with the fact he was a single father, his wife having died a few years before.

Whatever the case, I was shocked. Pleasantly so.

“I think you’re right and it’s something Mikhail suggested, although I’m pushing up the timing. You up for joining me?”

He chuckled. “I’m up and out in the middle of the night. Why not? It’ll break up the monotony of my life.”

Now I had to laugh. He had all the toys money could buy, but the only thing he enjoyed was spending time with his daughter. “I need to take my date home. After that, we make a run of our own.”

“Did you arrange for assistance with carrying out this proposed moment of retaliation?”

“I did.” The man had a creative way with words. “I’m thinking a warehouse full of goodies and not all of them edible either.” We’d learned a long time ago Papadakis had a very secure stash of cocaine and heroin located in a warehouse outside the city limits that he’d attempted to keep top secret. Heavily guarded, he thought the location to be impenetrable.

He was wrong.

“Just let me know the address. By the way. It’s good to see you on a date. A real date.” He nodded toward the hotel since I’dnever taken a single woman to one of our hotels before. I’d used another hotel on the strip. Maybe being in one of our resorts made the encounter too personal.

“I doubt the lovely captain would call it a date. More like a hostage situation.”

My cousin laughed. “Well, I’m sure you’ll destroy her resistance as you do with everyone else. Since she witnessed the attack, what are you going to tell her about the reason?”

Rubbing my jaw, I kept my eyes on the coroner who was assisting in the facilitation of removing the bodies, heading for the morgue. There were now at least two hundred people crowding the parking lot, dozens with cameras, tourists capturing a story that they’d reminisce over in years to come.

“She didn’t ask. I didn’t mention it.”

“You know having a witness out on the street isn’t in our best interest,” Sasha said. Another surprise.

“You’ve been paying attention to family politics.”

“Really? We were all indoctrinated into the Bratva lifestyle by your father and mine. I choose not to partake in the lifestyle unless necessary. So what? You’ll feel that way once you have a family.”

“Not going to happen.”

“You know what they say. Why don’t you go check on your… date. No matter how formidable she is, the woman must be terrified, shock finally settling in.”

He was right. I’d been standing outside for an hour and a half while I should have been with her. “Good point. It’ll takeme thirty minutes to take her home. Then we’ll meet at the warehouse.”

“Why don’t you plan on an hour. She deserves a little of your time after almost getting killed.” He grinned and backed away, throwing up his hands as if in surrender. I knew otherwise.

But he was right.

I pushed my way through the crowd toward the hotel, avoiding the various reporters. Once inside, I glanced across the now busy lobby, unable to catch sight of her. None of the bars or restaurants were open. Where the hell had she gone?

Heading to the check-in desk, I was immediately greeted with a fearful-looking young girl behind the counter. It wasn’t every day two people died in the parking lot.

“Can I help you, sir?”

“Yes. Did you see a young woman with long, curly dark hair waiting in the lobby?”