Maverik’s jaw twitched. “Katya-”
“No!” I snapped at him. “You don’t get to say anything else. I’ve dealt with your bullshit enough for one night. I’m going back to bed, and if you try something like this again, you had better be prepared to get stabbed in the balls.”
I got to my feet, brushed off my pajamas, and then marched off without another word. Neither of the demon boys followed me, and I wasn’t sure what I would do if they did. I was still furious, but also relieved that it was only them that had kidnapped me. They were harmless compared to the men in the Bratva.
Yet, I couldn’t shake the looks on their faces when they realized I was hurt. What was with these guys? Every time I thought I had them figured out, something unexpected challenged my view.
I ran up the stairs to get back to my room. The air was chilly, and my simple cami and boy shorts left too much skin exposed to be comfortable. I grimaced when I realized my feet were filthy, and I had a smear of mud on my ass. I needed a quick shower before I could get back in my comfy bed. Even though I didn’t think the boys would try anything else tonight, I still locked my door – not that I thought that would keep them out. I would to talk to Mr. Ferguson about getting a padlock or something for my door. I yawned as I turned the shower on to its hottest setting – all of that was going to have to wait for tomorrow.
Chapter 13
Maverik
I lounged back on the hotel sofa and closed my eyes. Unfortunately, it was the little ballerina that haunted my thoughts. At first glance, Katya was beautiful in the way that dainty figurines were. She was graceful and poised, but she looked easily breakable. And with her honey-colored hair and those big blue eyes, she reminded me too much of the painful past.
However, my first impression was completely, utterly wrong. Katya might look delicate, but she had a titanium core and her delicate features were covered in an unbreakable resin. She was also unlike any other girl I’d ever known, and I had to throw away all of my initial comparisons. She didn’t use her feminine wiles to get whatever she wanted – she seemed almost oblivious to how attractive she was. Most importantly of all – she wasn’t my sister. Katya was completely her own person, and I couldn’t see her any other way.
The other night, King and I had followed Nina down to the theater room, expecting to overhear her plotting something with Katya. I hadn’t been able to hold back when I saw Nina strike her daughter. Katya had a shocked and vulnerable look on her face when she gently touched the red handprint on her cheek, as if in disbelief that her mother had hit her. Then a flash of anger in her eyes when she decided she wanted to strike back.
Katya had further proved she was a fighter when King and I tried – and failed – to intimidate her with our kidnapping attempt. I thought fear would be enough to loosen her tongue and confess the truth to us. I planned to coerce her into switching sides and use her to take her mother down, but Katya surprised me when she furiously threatened to stab King and me in the balls. I almost wanted to see her try.
It was entirely possible that Nina had contrived the entire situation in the theater room to set us up - with Katya’s assistance. Nina wanted to paint King and me as irresponsible and unpredictable teenagers who would do anything to sabotage our father’s love life out of jealousy. My father was absolutely brilliant when it came to business, but he was too easily swayed by emotion when it came to those he loved. Adding Katya into the mix had only brought up more of the painful past and reminded him of what we all lost. All it would take to get King and I sent off would be some tearful pleas from the two women determined to ruin my father. Nina had found his weak spot, and she was determined to exploit it.
It was all adding up to be the perfect setup. Nina and the ballerina would slide into our lives, and they wouldn’t care what they destroyed to get their billion-dollar payout. I would never trust a snake like Nina anywhere near my dad’s legacy.
I needed more information to take down Nina, and New York was the only place I’d find it. Nina crafted her web of lies the moment she walked away from her family as a teenager, so to get past all of that, I’d have to dig deep. Nina had the advantage right now, but I would find the information I needed to banish her from our lives forever.
Kingston and I had taken one of Dad’s private jets back to New York and were now enjoying the hospitality of the Four Seasons. We were about to put some pressure on what I hoped was a weak link in the Kotova family - Katya’s boyfriend.
“You sure this is just business?” King smirked at me. “And not you trying to intimidate the competition?”
“Fuck off,” I said with a scowl.
Kingston laughed. “Chill, bro. He’s obviously not much of a boyfriend if he’s willing to sell her out like this.”
“King, you need to-”
“I know,” he interrupted. “The pretty ballerina is a threat that will end the entire world as we know it, and you’re not attracted to her in the slightest. Even though you dropped Peyton like last week’s garbage after Katya moved in here.”
“I don’t know where you come up with this
