Tags:
Suspense,
Romance,
Literature & Fiction,
Thrillers,
Crime,
Contemporary Romance,
Mystery; Thriller & Suspense,
new adult,
romantic suspense,
Teen & Young Adult,
Thrillers & Suspense,
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organized crime,
KaSonndra Leigh
hard and force my gaze away from Gash and Gemma. “Do not think for one moment that you will ever get the pleasure of seeing me restrained in such a way,” I state in a monotone voice, making sure to emphasize each syllable, my nostrils flaring as my mouth goes dry. Each slap against Gemma’s skin resonates through me. I could end this right here, could snap each one of these men’s’ necks with one well-timed blow to their Adam’s apples. Yet, I wait. Losing my temper isn’t an option.
“Of course not. The boss wouldn’t think of me doing such a thing to his favorite ... assassin.” He gives me one of his big grins.
“And exactly what boss would we be talking about?” I ask, knowing very well he’s talking about Vladimir.
“Don’t worry yourself with boring facts, Nikolas. Let us instead discuss the dancers I’ve found for you,” he responds, placing an arm across my shoulders, diverting his attention to matters of business and pleasure as though the pain and suffering of others doesn’t faze him at all. We turn and head toward the doorway, moving on as though Gemma’s cries are nothing more than a Tchaikovsky song playing inside of an elevator.
Chapter 5
~ Nikolai ~
Two weeks later, I return to Milan in the middle of a rainstorm. Rudolph has instructed me to keep adequate distance between myself and my friends. Alek and Erin are touring Italy without me; Katerina keeps herself busy with her business and satisfying the insatiable needs of her young lovers. Adriana, the woman who still manages to grasp my heart tightly inside of my chest, avoids me altogether. For the first time in many years, I feel alone.
I walk into the three-story building I’ve purchased with his money, funds collected from the blood of a thousand victims, images of the men and women I witnessed being held inside of his laboratory lingering in the air. However, no king or queen of infamy ever won a throne by shrinking at the sight of blood. And I, the man who’ll rule the world, intends to do the same.
Today’s auditions will bring in a new group of dancers and performers, men and women chosen from some of the greatest dance companies in the world, all of them vying for a spot in my new company I’ve chosen to name Inamorata. I should feel elated, yet I cannot stop thinking of where the money came from, the hand of a tyrant who gets off on abusing and torturing his people. Nevertheless, I have a job to do. For the moment, my vengeance will have to wait.
Both male and female ballerinas from all over the world arrive for auditions the next day. I’ve chosen my assistants—Paolo, an Italian dancer and top choreographer, and Jefferson, an American who just completed his MBA and is known for his keen sense of International business—carefully, and have turned down about three offers from a few of the dancers in Katerina’s troupe, including her young lover, Mikhail. I will not do a thing to sabotage her company, Diabolique, and that includes stealing members of my former dance troupe.
And then there’s the sleeping beauty I have spent the last month of my life watching over, my contract as Rudolph chooses to call her. Now that I’m back in Milan and moving forward with my plans, I find myself wondering when or if I will ever see her again, which are thoughts I should erase from my mind at once.
Yet still, I want to know , Will I ever get the chance to gaze into those eyes?
“I think they like you, signore,” Paolo says, nodding his head toward two dancers standing near steps leading up to the stage and glancing my way, bringing my mind back to the auditorium. The taller one of the two women has flaming red hair, strands reminding me of fire. “Ah, but I see the interest is mutual.” Paolo grins, the sweet scent of his cologne overpowering my nostrils and reminding me of a time when another man, someone I struggle to erase from mind every day, had hovered over me as he bent me to his will.
“ Such beauty,