Page 46 of Love to Defy You
Her face falls, but I pay her no mind. I head straight for the exit, pulling my phone out on the way.
ME
Meet me upstairs in five minutes.
I follow the path back toward the dining room, but instead of heading inside, I take a left and follow the corridor to the end. A glass door overlooks a wide balcony, and stone steps lead down to a wide, grassy field. Golden light illuminates the balcony, and I can make out a dark line of trees surrounding the estate.
With a glance over my shoulder, I make sure no one is in sight before slipping outside. I make a beeline for the steps and head down until the soft grass brushes against the bottom of my shoe.
I put a safe distance between me and the manor before coming to a stop, and I scan the empty field once more before pulling out my phone. If anyone comes within earshot, I’ll see them coming.
I pull up the contact for the hacker DarkSide and give him a call. He helped me in the past with a number of malfeasant requests, including the dismantling of the porn website where Willow’s gang bang video was posted without her consent.
I clench my hand into a fist and crack my knuckles.
After two rings, a voice using modulation software answers the phone. “Good evening, Aleksandr.”
“I have a job for you.” I skip the pleasantries. “Get me any information you can find on a guy named Enzo Messina. His mother, Amalia, is known as the Sicilian Whore, and she’s currently the mistress of the Prince of Liechtenstein. That’s all I know. And I need the info as soon as possible. It’s urgent.”
Keyboard buttons click in the background as he types. “I understand. Is that the only thing you need?”
“Actually, I have one more person I’d like you to look into.” I clench my jaw.
After a long pause, the deep voice on the other end speaks. “Who?”
I blow out a breath. “His name is Mikhail Aslanov. His father runs a cell of the Russian Bratva. I’d like to know more about their business dealings.”
Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer, as they say, but which one is Mikhail? I’ve always considered him my closest and most loyal friend, but my trust in him is fraying at the seams.
“Okay. Once you transfer the cryptocurrency, I will begin my research.”
“Thanks.” I end the call and slide the phone into my pocket.
I return to the manor and slip inside as quietly as I left. After ascending the staircase to the second floor, I nudge open the first door I find just enough to see inside. The lights are off, and the room is empty.
It’s a spacious bedroom with high ceilings and decorated with French antique furniture, including a four-poster bed in the center with white linen curtains pulled back around it. The fireplace is cold and scrubbed clean, so I imagine this is a guest bedroom that doesn’t get used often.
It’s ideal for privacy.
Moments later, heels click on the wooden floor in the hallway outside the room. I smirk. She’s right on time.
I turn around and find Willow in the doorway looking like a delectable treat. Despite the double homicide that Enzo practically confessed to tonight, I wasn’t unaffected by the hedonism in the billiard room. But there’s only one person I want to satisfy the growing hardness in my pants, and I have to adjust myself to ease the ache.
Until Mikhail is ready to leave, I may as well pass the time the way I want.
Willow closes the door behind her and glances at my groin. “So, what did you guys do after dinner?”
I take a step toward her. “We went to a room full of booze and Russian whores.”
She stops in her tracks and bristles.
I prowl closer, closing the distance between us. “But there’s only one whore I want.”
As I crowd her space, she steps back until her back hits the wall. “Whores are paid,” she says in a breathless voice.
With a smirk, I reach into my pocket and pull out my wallet, where a few crisp one-hundred-euro notes are folded inside. “How much for a lap dance?”
“Depends.” Her eyes flick down to the wallet. “Is it just a lap dance?”
