Page 107 of Dark Desires

When Alexei walks in, I almost choke on my drink. He’s alive alright, looking as maddeningly confident as ever in a sharp black suit that hugs his frame just right. His blue eyes pierce through me.

He leans against the wall near the door. God, I want to punch him and kiss him all at the same time.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here.”

Alexei chuckles, like this is all some joke. “It’s good to see you too, Isabella.”

“I thought you were rotting in a cell,” I say. “Or dead, or… God, I don’t know. And now you waltz in here like nothing happened?”

I stand up and start making my way around the table.

“It’s not so serious,” he says. “Patterson wanted to put the screws to me. After the incident at the villa, I went to New York for a bit, kept a low profile. I think the lady agent had been hoping I’d celebrate too hard or something and give her a good reason to pick me up, too.”

“I see.”

He nods. “I hear she did the same to you. On the day of your father’s funeral, no less. Don’t worry—she’s all bluster right now. And with De la Rosa gone, she’s going to have a hard time making a case to the Feds back in DC that she should continue to pursue us. They’re smart enough not to upset the status quo.”

I run my hand through my hair. I should be paying attention, but I can’t help but notice how damnsurrealit is that he’s back.

“I thought you might be dead.”

He smiles. “Not a chance. Listen,Devotchka… I didn’t want to have to leave like that, especially with what happened with your father.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But I couldn’t be here, couldn’t even come to the funeral. You would’ve had Patterson and her agents swarming around while you were trying to put your father to rest.”

I want to be mad at him, but he’s making sense. No telling what she would’ve done if Alexei had been there.

“And Omar? What happened to him?”

“Gone. Poof.” He smirks. “But don’t worry, he’s safe. Your cousin helped with that.”

I blink. “Stephania?”

“Yeah. The lovebirds worked with me on this. It was all part of the plan.”

“Plan?” My voice rises. “You mean the plan you conveniently forgot to mention tome?”

Alexei steps closer, that damn smirk still on his face. “You were safer not knowing.”

“Safer?” I jab a finger at his chest. “You left me here to pick up the pieces, Alexei! My father’s dead, my cousin vanished, and I’m supposed to just take your word for it?”

He laughs softly, his hand catching mine. “You’re beautiful when you’re angry, you know that?”

I pull away, glaring at him. “Don’t you dare?—”

But before I can finish, his lips crash against mine, silencing me with a kiss so intense it leaves me breathless. I hate how much I melt into it, hate how much I want him.

When he finally pulls back, his eyes soften. “There’s a message for you. It’s online, and I have the address.”

I’m still in a daze. Did he really just kiss me like that out of nowhere, and then change the subject? It’s pure Alexei.

I blink, confused. “What?”

“She wanted you to know the truth. Let’s go check.”

My head is spinning, and for once, I have no snappy comeback. I just stare at him, searching his face for answers, even as I know I’ll find them in that message.