“The only thing I want is to know what’s going on,” I said.
“I’m not keeping anything from you. When I have something to tell, I will. You should trust me more.”
“Why should I?” I demanded. “You don’t trust me, or my father, who’s never done anything against you in his life.”
Now he downed his vodka shot in one quick motion, setting the glass down a little too hard. “People aren’t always what they seem.”
I shook my head, refusing to say a word against Papa. He stared at me for much too long, and the fine hairs on the back of my neck began to stand on end. He knew something. Something I wasn’t going to like.
“Why did you erase the messages from Grigor’s assistant?” he asked, continuing to speak before I could blink, let alone come up with an answer. “Why did you lie about not knowing who Riku Yoshida was before I mentioned his name?”
How could he possibly know those things? It hit me that nothing was impossible for someone like him. In fact, it had probably been easy to retrieve my deleted phone messages. My stomach rolled over, and I clenched my hands into fists, wanting nothing more than to scream at him for invading my privacy. What would something like that matter to him?
The stress, the worry, the pent-up anger at both him and me for continuing to muddle up this rescue operation were alltoo much. The only thing that came out of my mouth was a sob, and before I knew it, I was bent over, completely breaking down in tears that shook my entire body.
The more I tried to stop, the harder I cried. I expected him to walk away and leave me to my misery, or worse, I braced myself for his taunts at my weakness. Instead, I felt strong arms envelop me and lift me off my feet. He carried me to the big leather couch and sat down, cradling me in his lap.
He didn’t say a word as I sobbed into his chest, my cheek soon resting against a damp patch of his shirt. He wordlessly handed me a tissue after I wiped my nose on his tie, and stroked my hair as the storm slowly subsided.
I somehow felt slightly better after letting it all out, but embarrassment quickly had me in its clutches. I was curled up in a ball, his strong arms holding me tight. His shirt was a mess, and I must have been messier, but he only rested his chin on top of my head as I stayed locked in place, too mortified to move.
And not really wanting to. For the first time in too long, I truly felt safe. Shouldn’t have, and it wouldn’t last, but I needed to cling to what I could.
“Tell me what Riku has to do with your father,” he asked quietly, not a hint of accusation in his voice.
Too weakened from crying so long to fight, I pulled away to look at Kon. “I really have no idea. That’s why I was trying to meet him.” For a moment, it looked like he finally believed me, and I turned in his lap. “Please let me do what I came here to do. All I have to do is talk to him, and we might have the answers we need.”
He gave me a rueful smile. “Not happening, too dangerous.” His hands tightened on my arms, and he hurried on before I could argue. “But I will let you help.”
“Thank you,” I breathed, swaying closer to him in relief and gratitude.
His gray eyes darkened, and I swallowed hard, my next question dying in my throat. I’d been shoving it aside every time I thought of it, but it was back now, so close to Kon.On his lap. The kiss.
Like I was reliving it, his mouth was on mine again, firm and soft, but only for a moment. His hands slid up my arms to cup my face as he became more urgent, his tongue swiping the seam of my mouth. My lips parted as my eyes fell shut, letting my sense of touch and taste take over.
His gentle hands on my face moved further into my hair, and I gasped against his mouth as I felt a stiffening bulge beneath me. One little shot of vodka was no excuse for this kiss. He wanted me. That knowledge made me lean closer, pressing my breasts against his chest, gasping again at the sensation of my nipples hardening.
He made a low growl in his throat, kissing me harder as he tugged on my hair. I wasn’t thinking at all, and it was great. I never wanted it to stop.
The second I had that dangerous realization, there was a buzzing and vibrating from his jacket pocket. I wriggled on his lap, shifting to better explore that hard bulge. Konstantin Fokin wanted me.
And he was also getting a phone call. With another growl, he tore away from me. “It’ll be one of my nephews,” he said, pulling it out to check. He swore and stood, placing my feet on the floor and keeping a hand on my arm until he was certain I was steady.
“I have to go,” he told me after speaking a few curt words into the phone. “Wait up for me.”
The command made me shiver, but I blinked back to my senses. “You said I could help. Let me go with you.”
He laughed. “I meant you could help from here.”
He had given me some power with that kiss. A tiny toehold, I wasn’t going to give up. I hurried in front of him and blocked the door, shaking my head.
He could easily pick me up and set me aside, and everything we just shared would be shattered. I just had to pray he wouldn’t do that.
Chapter 19 - Konstantin
Oh, hell.
This was a bad idea that could go wrong in a thousand different ways, so why was Tati currently sitting beside me while my driver raced toward the place my nephew just identified as a new Yakuza stronghold?