Page 34 of Tarnished Tyrant (Zhukova Bratva 1)

Immediately, I’m on fire. The thought alone is enough to send even a strong woman into cardiac arrest. I’m sure I’m beet red, but I do my best to play it off.

“Don’t toy with me.”

“Of course not,” he says. “Not here. I’ll save that for the sex dungeon.”

“Nikolai,” I groan, “we made a deal.”

The doors start to close and his hand flashes out, pushing them back. “And I’m upholding it,” he says.

I frown. “My sister ishere?”

He looks at me like I’m stupid. “Where did you think she was? Maybe in my—”

“Do not say ‘sex dungeon’ again. Now or ever.” I storm into the elevator and plaster myself against the furthest wall from him.

“I was going to say ‘torture chamber’ that time.” He slides a key into a small door on the control panel and unlocks a separate button labeled “Penthouse Suite.”

I shake my head. “Don’t say stuff like that. People might not know you’re joking.”

Suddenly, I feel his body close to mine, his lips brushing across the shell of my ear. “Maybe I’m not.”

I suppress a shiver, swallow my response, and stare straight ahead.Don’t give him the satisfaction of your fear.

He steps back and regards me coolly. The elevator doors open thirty seconds later to a room very similar to the lobby. The hardwood floors are a warm, rich brown and a wall of unbroken window looks out over the Hudson.

It’s such a breathtaking view that I almost miss the lump of teenager sprawled out on the chaise lounge.

“Hey,” Elise drawls, raising her hand in a lazy wave.

I blink away from the view and stare at my sister. For the first time in my life, I’m having an out-of-body experience. My expectations and reality are so far removed from each other that for a few seconds, I can’t reconcile them.

Then…

“Hey?”I screech, my eyebrows raised so high I’m sure they’ll pop right off my face. “That’s what you have to say to me? After disappearing and scaring me to death, you say, ‘Hey’?!”

“Was I supposed to go with ‘Hello’?” Elise frowns. “Jeez, relax. What is your deal?”

I stomp across the room and kick her legs off the chaise lounge.

"Hey!” she cries out.

“Stop saying that,” I hiss. “What the hell, Elise? This is a little further than the bodega on the corner, don’t you think?”

She’s frowning now, glaring at me like I’m the bad guy. “You’re the one who sent that random guy to the motel to tell me we were getting an upgrade. Ever heard of a phone call? I thought I might be getting kidnapped or something.”

I hear Nikolai chuckle behind me, and I realize suddenly how misplaced all of my anger is. I spin around to face him. “What did you tell her?”

“Nothing.” He leans around me and greets Elise with a head nod. “We’ve never met. I’m Nikolai Zhukova.”

“Oh, the asshole owner?” Elise asks at once.

“My reputation precedes me,” he chuckles. He glances over at me. If he was a normal person, I'd say he almost looks offended. “You must be the sister.”

“That’s me. My name is—”

“Enough.” I slash my arm through the air. “Don’t tell him anything. We’re leaving.”

“What? Why?”

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