Page 29

I drew in a deep inhale, lowering the cigar as I briefly exhaled the cloud of smoke.

My shoulders naturally relaxed down, leaning back against the leather seat of the moving car.

The afternoon sun was barely able to make it through the thick grey clouds, making it colder than it already was.

Especially with the harsh wind and light flurries.

Today I settled on my furriest black coat—wearing a matching long-sleeve body suit that zipped up in the middle, exposing my cleavage.

I wore light baggy jeans and high-heeled boots to match, keeping today's look purely casual.

Mostly because I only planned to shop and possibly run into Sevan—who I knew would make her usual appearance.

But I've decided to keep her far from my mind today after what she pulled yesterday.

She had the nerve to drop me off back at my compound without touching an inch of my body.

Or letting me touch an inch of hers.

Which had to be the most irritating experience.

For once, I'm not interested in playing her games.

But if I let her know that then she wins, and my ego would never forgive me.

Much less sleep at night.

So I've decided to carry on as usual and keep this weird nice act up.

It seemed to be the only thing that truly got to her.

Which annoyingly meant I couldn't act out and fuck someone else or send her any form of explicit videos.

I needed to pretend as if this all didn't bother me.

A deep sigh fell from my lips, immediately leaning over to put out my cigar as soon as I noticed the building we stopped in front of.

At least shopping will provide me some kind of sanity.

I suddenly glanced over when my driver opened the backdoor, causing me to immediately slide out of the backseat of the car.

The cold air greeted me immediately along with my right-hand men, Nikolai and Ivan.

"Updates," I reminded them as we began walking toward the entrance of the store, "Who crossed into my territory," I said, knowing the news I received only thirty minutes ago left my nerves beyond fucking tense.

I kill whoever decided they can sell their product in my territory and get away with it.

"Da, we confirmed it was the czarina," Nikolai said as Ivan opened one of the double doors for me.

I clenched my jaw at the mention of Nerissa, "I'm not surprised," I mumbled as I walked into the warm store where three staff associates already waited for me, "Kill her closest right hand for the emotional damages I endured," I determined, eyeing the bright store.

"Emotional damages?"

I suddenly glanced over at her familiar voice alone, immediately laying eyes on her sharp face.

She stood off to the side of the store associates who waited to lead me over to my private dressing room.

Her dark hair was slicked back and out of her bare face, wearing her usual leather jacket and button-down shirt with black baggy jeans.

"Being irritated is emotionally tasking," I said, remaining nothing but unfazed by her presence, especially in front of so many eyes, "I take second Xanax because of her disrespect."

Sevan raised a brow at me, not bothering to glance away from my light eyes despite the numerous people around us, "Let's talk in private," she said, motioning her head over to the empty dressing room with the double doors wide open.

I narrowed my eyes at her, not bothering to form a response.

Or take one step forward.

Sevan tilted her head at my actions, openly analyzing my face, "Zinovia," she said, sighing almost tightly as she briefly glanced past me to the men behind me, "Let's talk in private?" she murmured, her voice lowered and her tone reluctant as her eyes met mine again.

I raised a brow at the statement she had formed into a question, unconsciously nodding once before I could think it through.

Sevan nodded in response, motioning her head over to the nearby dressing room.

I took the first step, walking towards the room with Sevan following behind me as her dark eyes nearly burned into my back.

But I ignored her lingering stare, walking past the threshold of the large room with racks of clothing already waiting to be tried on.

And as I immediately approached the clothes to analyze, Sevan closed the double doors and locked them shut.

"You are clingy, Sevan," I said as I ran my fingers across the different fabrics of clothes.

Sevan hummed in response, "Tell me to leave then," she said, walking closer to me.

"Leave," I didn't hesitate to say, feeling her presence stop directly behind me.

Before her hands found the small dips of my waist, "Now say it like you mean it," Sevan murmured, leaning into the crook of my neck.

I clenched my jaw as soon as the softness of her lips ran across the skin of my neck.

I leaned away against my own internal desires—only to be jerked back by my neck that she wrapped her hand around from behind.

"I'm waiting, Zinovia," Sevan reminded me, firmly squeezing my waist when I arched away from her.

I let out a long sigh.

One of the longest fucking sighs of my life actually.

Because I couldn't form a single word with Sevan's lips back on my neck, kissing and nipping at my skin.

If anything, my body unconsciously relaxed back into hers—leaving her previous demands unfulfilled.

"You remember the last time we were in a dressing room together?" Sevan whispered so softly into my ear that she nipped at so fucking perfectly.

Blyat.

She's doing this on purpose.

"Sevan," I breathed out, jerking against her.

She only held me firmer in place.

"Tell me what happened last time," Sevan said, subtly trailing her hand lower from my waist.

Which naturally made me arch even deeper, sighing almost unbearably.

I fucking hate her.

"You almost fucked me," I said, deciding to skip over the small details of our last dressing room encounter.

Mostly for the sake of my fucking sanity.

"How baby?" Sevan murmured, pressing a soft kiss to my neck.

But instead of pulling away slightly, she sucked down instead—applying the perfect amount of pressure.

"Sevan," I practically gritted out, roughly grabbing her wandering hand that settled at my lower stomach, "You aren't fucking me."

I felt her lips immediately twitch up against my skin, "I think we both know that," Sevan said, practically fueling my frustration, "Now tell me how."

I felt my jaw naturally tighten, especially when her hand suddenly trailed up from my lower stomach—hinting at what we both knew happened last time.

"You took my bra off first," I said, my voice tightened yet so breathless at the same time.

Sevan hummed in approval as she trailed her hand up higher past my stomach, "Keep going," she said, cupping one of my breasts so firmly.

Which naturally made my jaw grow tighter, refusing to let a whimper escape my lips.

"Your mouth," I forced out, reaching behind me for the waistband of her jeans that I naturally tugged at, "It was all over my chest," I whispered.

"And then what baby?" Sevan asked me, kneading my breast with one of her hands as she traced her lips against my neck.

I felt my jaw grow tighter, "And then I made you kiss me," I gritted, firmly pushing myself away from her.

Which allowed me to stumble a few steps away from her.

Until she roughly tugged me right back by my hair, earning a grunt from me.

"You did make me kiss you," Sevan said, firmly holding me in place by hair in a ponytail that she was currently ruining, "But only because it was too fucking much for you."

I clenched my jaw, meeting her dark eyes when she tugged my head back further, "Leave," I said, my voice firm and my stare never wavering away from hers.

Sevan smirked, almost psychotically, in response, "There you go baby," she murmured, openly eyeing my face, "Now you really mean it."

I narrowed my eyes at her, "Leave, Sevan," I said, jerking against her grip that never once loosened.

If anything she held me tighter in place, never once glancing away from my eyes.

It felt like minutes had passed by us, staring at each other with nothing but challenge.

Until Sevan briefly glanced down to my lips—and made everything inside of me burn to nothing but needy ashes.

At least until she finally let go of me, causing me to stumble slightly as she backed away from me entirely.

"Enjoy your shopping baby," Sevan said, adjusting her jeans that I had previously been tugging at, "Everything's on my tab."

I narrowed my eyes at her, "Nyet," I said, hating the idea of her having that fucking power.

But Sevan didn't seem to care about my opinion, much less acknowledge it.

She only silently walked to the door.

So I grabbed the nearest thing, which happened to be a gold Valentino heel—immediately throwing the pointy shoe at her.

But she only ducked to the side, unsurprisingly fucking so.

"I said nyet, Sevan," I said, raising my voice as she opened the doors without bothering to give me a response.

Which naturally furthered my irritation, especially when she had the nerve to gently close the doors behind her without a response.

I swear my jaw tightened so fucking much I considered if it would break.

And before I knew it, I was tugging at the button of my jeans—unbuttoning and unzipping them to tug them down my legs.

I didn't even bother to lock the fucking door, almost hoping someone would walk in on me so Sevan could somehow hear about it and lose her fucking mind.

I focused on undressing instead, trying on the different outfits picked out for me.

But Sevan still found a way to weigh down my fucking head, especially every time I stripped from the outfits I tried on.

I could only try on three before I tapped out of my own fucking thoughts and decided to leave.

Empty handed too.

There were a few pieces I liked, but I knew the employees were under orders already to charge Sevan's card.

And I refused to let that happen.

"We have very good news, Via," Nikolai said as we exited the store with my men following behind me.

I hummed, not bothering to say anything.

Mostly because my irritation was brimming past full at this point.

"We had Nerissa's right hand killed—they bring his head back to us," Nikolai said, which immediately soothed some of my shot nerves.

I nodded once, "Good," I said as Ivan immediately opened my door before my driver could, "You handle business, I leave alone," I specified, knowing I wanted to head over to a specific café to clear my fucking head.

Nikolai and Ivan nodded in response, immediately agreeing to my terms.

"We see you this evening," Nikolai said before Ivan closed the car door, leaving me in the silent backseat of the car that slowly rolled forward moments after I specified where I wanted to go.

And for once, I didn't light a cigar or prepare a glass of vodka with a Xanax.

I sat in silence instead, staring out of the tinted windows at the busy city that whipped past.

It was a silence filled with nothing for once—no thoughts of her or even usual business matters that needed to be handled.

I sat with nothing on my mind, even as I walked into the sparsely filled cafe, taking my spot in the furthest booth after ordering a black coffee.

Hours easily passed by me, the sun quickly setting beyond the horizon and illuminating the dim cafe that I sat in.

It had grown empty of customers, only a bored barista who stood at the front.

Until she eventually trailed off to the back where I assumed she took an unauthorized break.

But I could care less about what she decided to do—if anything I preferred being entirely isolated.

It was weirdly calming to be sitting in the empty café free of any noises or distractions.

At least until the barista suddenly emerged from the back, immediately wandering back over to the expensive stainless steel coffee machine.

Which made too much noise for my liking as she made god knows what drink.

I only focused on calmly staring forward with my empty mug on the table in front of me.

Until the barista suddenly approached my table.

And offered me a mug of black coffee?

"I notice you are low," she said, flashing me a polite smile as she set the filled mug down and grabbed my empty one.

I narrowed my eyes at her for a moment—before glancing down to the mug filled with the familiar dark liquid.

I reached for the mug, not bothering to spare any words to the barista who walked back behind the counter toward the sink.

And as she cleaned out my mug in the sink, I began sipping on my second cup of black coffee—already feeling fucking wired on caffeine.

But it weirdly made me feel calm.

Especially this second mug.

But after a few sips, I quickly realized this was a different calm.

It was one that was forced upon me, already feeling the heaviness of my limbs.

It spread through me like a creeping chill, my limbs turning sluggish and unresponsive.

My fingers twitched, struggling against the unfamiliar weight pulling them down as a sharp pang of alarm cut through my thoughts.

I immediately reached into my coat pocket with the strength I had left, grabbing the cold handle of the knife as my heavy eyes darted around the empty café.

But there was no one.

Not even the barista was to be found.

I furrowed my brows as I pushed the half-empty mug away, the porcelain scraping across the wooden table with a sharp screech as I forced myself to stand.

But my legs quickly betrayed me, feeling unbearably tingly—almost as if they had fallen asleep.

I stumbled against my own will, the knife slipping from my grasp and clattering against the tile floor.

The world harshly tilted, and suddenly, I was on the ground with dirty cold tiles pressing into my cheek.

I attempted to push myself up, but my arms felt like dead weight and fucking useless against the heaviness pinning me down.

I can't fucking move.

Why can't I fucking move?

I blinked almost rapidly, hoping to fight off whatever the fuck was in my system.

And once I did, I would be slicing that barista's fucking neck open and watching the life drain from her eyes.

But the darkness swallowed that thought too.

My vision slowly tunneled, my tongue thick and useless behind my teeth—unable to curse or shout or even scream at anyone nearby.

Which was no one.

It was almost disturbingly eery how I slowly lost consciousness in the empty café, wondering what would await me when my eyes would open next.

But I did know one thing.

The person responsible will be skinned alive, inch by inch, and drenched in rubbing alcohol.

Then I will kill them.