“I see you’ve not acquired a sense of style since we last met,” said Katiya.
“And I see you’re still short on personality. So who’s the unlucky victim? Some poor trust fund kid you’ve got those red claws of yours into? Hedge fund manager?”
“My father’s a billionaire, Billi.”
“Yeah, but you’re greedy, Katiya,” said Billi. “You don’t just want to win, you want everyone else to lose.”
She laughed that diamond laugh of hers. Dazzling, but cold and hard. “You know me too well. But let’s keep that between us girls, shall we?”
It didn’t matter how she was packaged, there was a bitterness in Katiya. A spitefulness that, despite all the beauty, was actually off-putting. She needed constant validation from others, and so remained deeply unhappy, and empty. She’d been brought up to believe beauty was the only thing that mattered, but was intelligent enough to know it was a lie. But it was a lie everyone around her believed in, and she was lonely, forever searching for something she didn’t understand.
Katiya looked over Billi’s shoulder and waved at another group. “I’d love to stay and catch up, but there’s another party I just have to get to and I’m already three hours late.”
Good riddance. Katiya was someone she really didn’t want to deal with tonight. She watched her go, then ventured deeper into the labyrinth of private rooms.
Ivan wasn’t hard to find. Royalty exerted a gravitational pull. People wanted to be near them. He was holding court in an art installation. The walls, floor and ceiling were made up of dozens of screens, fed by the cameras throughout the club. The crowd at the doors, the heaving mass on the dance floor, and the discreet liaisons in the corners and alcoves. Ivan sat upon a plush, high-backed armchair surrounded by his men. He must have gone home to change, the suit was black silk and emphasised the stark paleness of his skin. Then he saw Billi and his grey eyes shone. He smiled and came straight over. “You came?”
“It looks like I’m interrupting, I can wait, Ivan.”
He shook his head dismissively. “You should have told me you were coming.”
Those men, though dressed to the nines, could not hide their sinister nature. Billi knew bad guys when she saw them. It wasn’t just the tattoos that exposed affiliations to various Moscow gangs, but their aura of violence. These were men who obeyed only their own laws. What was Ivan doing amongst them? These were his Bogatyrs?
“I didn’t know Katiya was in town,” said Billi.
“Poor Katiya. She’s been dropped by her modelling agency.” Ivan shrugged, but he looked genuinely sad. “East European ice princesses are out, it’s all Korean nowadays.”
“She’s only twenty, Ivan. Fashions will change back.”
“Yes, in a few years time and then what’s the point? There’ll be new girls. There always are. Katiya needs something new to distract her.”
The Devil will find work for idle hands... “She’s found one. You.”
God, how could she have been so blind?
Ivan laughed. “Ah. I did wonder why she was so keen for me to fly back on her father’s plane. Spend some time catching up, as she put it. Strange since I’d not heard from her for two years.”
“And now she’s back, claws out.”
“I’m not interested in her, Billi. She’s old news.” Then he looked at her and there was mischief in his grey eyes. “Of course it would be easier if you came back to Moscow with me. Keep an eye on me and make sure I stay out of trouble.”
“Those guys you’ve got look like more trouble than I could ever handle. They are bad, bad people, Ivan. And you know it.”
“They’re all I’ve got, Billi. And this is only the beginning. I’m rebuilding the Bogatyrs. We’ll keep Russia safe, believe me. But I’ve got to go back and I want you to come with me.”
She wasn’t surprised. It had been leading up to this for months, but they’d both tried their hardest to stay off the topic.
“What would I do in Moscow?” she asked.
“Whatever you want! Let me look after you, Billi. Keep you safe. Your father means well but look at you. Look at that eye. How many new scars have you got since we’ve been together? You really want to carry on doing what you’re doing? Your luck will run out, sooner or later.”
“Dad gives me responsibility, Ivan. I’m part of something important. You want me to do what, spend my days shopping? Waitfor you to come home?”
“I don’t mean it like that, but I don’t want you risking your life every night. Can’t you see I care about you? If you just do as I say then everything would be perfect.”
“Do as I say?” Billi repeated.
Ivan’s eyes hardened to flint. “I’m only doing what’s best for you. Can’t you see that?”
“No, actually I can’t. What about us sharing? Or should I come on bended knee, tsarevich?”
That hurt him. She didn’t mean to, but then wasn’t it the truth? She had to warn him about what he was becoming. But Ivan was too proud to back down. “You’re just a silly little girl. Here I am offering you everything.”
“What you’re offering is a golden cage, Ivan. You want me safe, and pointless.”
“Millions of girls dream of finding a prince.”
Coming here had been a mistake and if she stayed any longer one of them might say something they couldn’t take back. Billi shook her head as she turned away. “Only in fairy-tales.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Bloody Ivan!
He was right about one thing, she needed to get away to think things through. Just a few days to look at what she wanted, and what Ivan wanted. They’d been through too much for this to get in the way. He was a Romanov. He could never leave Russia, it was in his DNA. What about her? Could she start over again in Moscow?
If she could be a Templar, then why not a Bogatyr? The job description was exactly the
