Page 12 of Prince of Control
Benjamin Baranov is not a nice guy.
He’s the devil.
Chapter Three
Baron
I head downstairs to find everyone waiting for me.
Right. In another quick revision of plans, I decide to bring them all in on this with me.
If I’m keeping a secret from my bride, I’d rather not also keep it from my team. My best friends. I need their support.
“Meeting in half an hour in the dungeon,” I say. The dungeon is soundproof and operates with fingerprint locks. People in the rest of the house–mainly, my reluctant bride–can’t hear anything we do or say down there. “Are Alex and Feliks back from practice?”
Leo checks the camera monitors on his phone. “They’re walking up right now.”
“Good. Tell them about the meeting. Oh–also–Melinda Tracy is banned from Baranov House this year. Make sure everyone knows.”
Anders’ head snaps over at the mention of one of our frequent dungeon visitors. She’s a Type A personality who uses pain to relax. I think Anders has a thing for her, but since she usually comes to me to inflict pain, she hasn’t noticed yet. “Because of her dad?”
I nod. Her dad was just announced as the running candidate for Vice President. If he wins, Melinda will bring the Secret Service crawling all over campus, and I can’t have them anywhere near our business.
I pull my phone out to text Lili, my sister, to join us. She’ll need to know, too.
I didn’t want Lili to know about or see the dungeon. When I thought she was going to move in here with us, I was going to close it down. If it were up to me, she’d be here in Baranov House where I could protect her, but she somehow talked our parents into her freedom.
I fucking hate it, but I had Leo put a tracking strip in her dorm keycard and her phone and install extra security cameras around her dorm room, so we can make sure she’s safe.
Since I didn’t shut down the dungeon, her finding out about it was probably inevitable. She’d hear about it around campus eventually and would pester me or the twins–whom she’s close to–until we let her in on it, anyway.
I head to the kitchen to eat a quick meal. After we streamlined and broadened our revenue-generating ventures at Baranov House, I hired a cook in addition to the cleaning crew. Emma, a young single mom from Whisper, comes in five days a week to buy groceries and make dinners. She likes the job because she can bring her three-year-old daughter, May, with her.
I like the reminder that everything lying around this house has to appear benign enough to be seen by outsiders, including a three-year-old.
Thirty minutes later, we assemble in the lounge area of the dungeon, where plush leather sofas, love seats, and captain’s chairs can be angled to either watch the action or for conversation around some low tables.
Right now, they’re grouped for conversation.
“You guys are absolute perverts.” Lili walks down the stairs with Zoe, eyes wide.
I wince. She didn’t need to know this about me. “You can’t tell anyone what you’re seeing here tonight,” I warn after giving her a quick hug.
“Please,” she scoffs. “The Gulag is literally all anyone in the freshman dorm talks about, especially when they hear my last name. Everyone wants to know what’s downstairs and why I’m not living here. There’s already a rumor that there’s some super drama between us, and we hate each other.”
I flick my brows. I built the intrigue of The Gulag around campus gossip, so I don’t mind it. “Don’t disabuse them of any stories. The wild rumors are what bring people through the door.”
Lili shakes her head as she looks at me. “You’re just like Dad.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. I know you’re still in orientation, but this week, I need to see you in our gym for self-defense training,” I say.
She looks at me blankly, and I realize she doesn’t know about the rigorous training I require the house members to maintain. Everyone here has had extensive Krav Maga training, and we spar weekly in the house gym.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ll send you the schedule,” Leo says. “You can spar with me.”
Lili looks annoyed with me. She thought she’d have more freedom at college than I’m going to give her.
