“Honestly, I didn’t think so, at least at first. The very first time he met Angelo, they almost got into a brawl. Thinking back on it, I could swear they knew each other before.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Just a feeling I have now looking back.” My heart raced, the moment of ugliness from the past giving me the creepy crawlies. I swallowed hard, remembering details of the horrible two months that I’d been determined to forget.
“Did something happen?” he asked in a quiet manner.
I darted a glance in his direction. “As it turned out, Angelo wasn’t a good man. Controlling, but not in the way you are. Violent. Nasty. I meant nothing to him.”
“Perhaps he was attempting to get close to your brother.”
I nodded, realizing the theory made some sense. “That’s a distinct possibility. Anyway, Angelo is out of my life. How much power does my brother wield?”
Aleksei moved back to the bottle, refreshing his drink. “You honestly have no idea what he’s capable of. Do you?”
“I suppose I suspected he was into various business practices that were… Let’s just say I have a feeling he paid off various men to look the other way. Did I suspect criminal activities? Maybe on some level, but not to the degree that you’ve shown me.”
“Who are we talking about?”
I thought about snippets I’d learned. “Influential corporate moguls like Jeff Gallagher and Marcy Rollins. They are investors in the company, but I do believe he twisted their arms. I had my suspicions that even the chief of police and the mayor were involved somehow.”
The growl slipped past his lips along with a string of curse words. “The mayor. Trent Willowby?”
“Hard to believe. That’s another reason I was at the gala. I was curious what you were doing there. I thought maybe that’s why Peter has hated you all these years.”
“How do you know he’s hated me?”
I laughed again. “My brother isn’t very good at hiding his feelings. When he directed me to kill you, he was nasty, vehement that you should die. He certainly didn’t provide details, but I’d never seen him so angry.” I studied the various emotions crossing Aleksei’s face then the cold look returned, the one I hated the most.
“I need to make a phone call. I will be on the balcony. Do not leave this room,” he directed, almost knocking over his glass in an effort to place it onto the table.
While I couldn’t be certain what had disturbed his level of serenity, my instinct told me it had something to do with the mayor. Whatever power my brother wielded was far more troubling to the Petrov empire than Aleksei wanted to let on.
“I have no reason to leave.”
He hesitated, as if needing to say something else then just shook his head before heading toward the door to the balcony. I moved closer to the window, able to watch him as he yanked out his phone. And I could swear his hands were still shaking.
I walked into the bedroom, marveling at the surroundings. Even the all marble bathroom was almost too elegant, but the gorgeous soaking tub might have to be used. I chastised my thoughts even as I ran my hand over the soft towels. This was already a wonderful trip, but one meant for lovers.
We were…
There were no words to classify or even clarify our arrangement. However, I was beginning to believe that the Petrov family weren’t my brother’s enemies. It truly was the other way around. I moved back into the living room, trying to remember anything about my father. I knew he’d worked long hours. I’d almost always been asleep when he came home. What fleeting memories I did have of him weren’t necessarily all good ones. I remembered his anger, a fury that never seemed to go away.
It suddenly dawned on me that after my parents’ death, almost all their effects had been removed from the house. I had a single locket my mother had given me, but nothing else. I’d been too young to make a fuss over the fact my bother either sold or destroyed everything. When I’d gotten older, I assumed it was because Peter had remained sad, broken up by their deaths.
Certain ugly pieces were starting to fall into place.
My brother hadn’t been saddened at all by their deaths. He’d been happy when they were gone. The realization was sickening, even more so than what had occurred in the last few days. Hate festered deep within for a life stolen.
Three lives, an entire family destroyed.
My brother had told me they died in a car accident, but what if that wasn’t the truth? What if he’d had them killed? The thought was disgusting but something I knew I had to check out. My stomach lurched, nausea turning into bile. I’d been a fool for far too many years. That wasn’t going to last.
When I heard the sound of rapping on the door, I immediately glanced in Aleksei’s direction. His call was as animated as his earlier conversation, certainly not a moment to interrupt him. I checked the peephole before unlocking the door. The volume of packages on a cart by the bellman was yet another surprise.
“A delivery for you, miss.”
I opened the door wider, studying the various labels on the shopping bags as Marco walked in. They were all from high fashion women’s clothiers. A moment of giddiness shifted into my mind, like a schoolgirl given fancy clothes for a party. How ridiculous.
“What are you doing?” Aleksei’s force boomed from behind me.
“A delivery.” I shrank back as he stormed inside. “I made certain before I opened the door.”
He glared at me before yanking out his wallet once again, shoving another hundred dollar bill in the young man’s face.
Marco seemed confused as he attempted to offload the packages, saying nothing as he pocketed the bill and rushed out of the room.
Aleksei slammed the door after him, pacing the floor and running both hands through his hair. When he finally took long strides in my direction, his rage had barely diminished. “Do you understand what could have occurred? Do you realize that you might have been killed?”
“Because I opened the door?”
He huffed, cursing in Russian before glaring at me again. “There are certain people who will stop at nothing to eradicate their enemies. Do you honestly think they can’t infiltrate this hotel?”
“Enemies. Do you really think my own brother is going to try and kill me?”
“I have every reason to suspect that he will.”
I shivered, my own anger brimming the surface. “But I’m his sister, for God’s sake,” I insisted.