Page 20 of Cruel Russian Monster
He released me and walked out like nothing happened.
I exhaled hard.
My back still tingled from where he’d touched me, my nipples tightening in response. I clenched my thighs and forced myself forward, walking faster.
He was the enemy. I would do well to remember that.
Inside the bar, I picked a table against the wall, facing the door. I chose this bar because it was in one of the worst parts of Philly. No one would suspect a Bratva princess to be there.
I dressed in a T-shirt, jeans, and a cap, trying to be as conservative as possible. A few men had eyed me, but none approached. Thank God.
When the waitress came, I asked for water with ice, and she quickly filled my order.
I’d already scanned the place; there was no red cap on site. He wasn’t here yet. He had five more minutes before he was officially late.
His job was simple: get me somewhere safe, hide me. At least until I came up with another plan.
The last thing I needed was for Jaroslav to know I was heading back home to my siblings. The further they stayed from this mess, the better.
The longer I waited, the more my chest tightened. The ice in my glass had melted. I traced the rim with a finger, stomach curling as time dragged on. My thoughts churned.
Maybe he bailed.
Maybe he had a flat tire.
I'd never know, since I had no way to contact him, and he had no way to contact me.
Thirty minutes passed before I finally stood up, hands shaking as I reached for my keys in my purse.
He hadn't shown. And that wasn't a good thing.
The only other reason for him not showing would be…
Oh crap…
Jaroslav probably intercepted him on the way here, and now he was probably on his way.
If he had, the messenger was probably dead. I forced back the bile that threatened to crawl up my throat.
I hustled through the parking lot. The last thing I needed was for Jaroslav to find me here. Hopefully, the guy I hiredhadn’t spilled the beans, and Jaroslav would chalk it up to a gut feeling, not a plan.
Now, though, it meant I had to find a new messenger and a new way to get my message out, one Jaroslav wouldn’t be able to crack.
He was Lev’s underboss for a reason. Sure, he handled interrogations, but he wasn’t just muscle. He was a fucking strategist.
And while that might have been sexy as hell to a Bratva princess like me who loved a man of intellect, right now, it was just downright annoying.
Because now I had the goddamn challenge of outsmarting him…again. That shit was exhausting doing it the first time.
Just before I reached the car, four men stepped out of the shadows, walking toward me slowly.
Instinct kicked in, and I stepped back for every step they took forward. But two of them broke off and circled behind me. I froze, spinning in place, trapped. Stupid little smirks spread across their stupid little faces.
“Well, well, well,” the first man snickered, snatching the hat off my head and tossing it to the ground. He brushed his fingers along my face. “Jaroslav sure knows how to pick them. You're beautiful, baby.”
I slapped his hand away. “Don’t fucking touch me!” My heart thundered in my chest.
“Why not, sweetheart?” the second guy said, grinding his hips in a crude motion. “We just wanna make you feel better than he has this week.”
