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“Damn. It tastes good too,” Mak garbled around a mouthful of meaty mollusks.

He wasn’t lying. They practically melted in your mouth. I couldn’t enjoy them, though, not with the obscene sounds Pru made as she savored each and every bite. Hoping no one noticed, I shifted casually, trying to relieve the ache in my balls.

“Are you okay?”

Mak snorted. Kas choked on the food in his mouth. The only one who didn’t react to Pru’s question was Dimi, but only because he was too busy drooling over Daria to pay attention. She hadn’t been shy with her appreciation of the appetizer either. My friend was going to have his hands full if he decided to pull the trigger.

“I’m good, baby.” I leaned close, kissing her temple. “Just a cramp.”

If Lennon Michelson hadn’t earned the head chef position with her perfectly executed seafood dish, the next two courses would’ve guaranteed it. Our dinner consisted of pan-seared lamb medallions with eggplant tapenade and a creamy mint-yogurt sauce, and for dessert, a simple mango mousse. Her talent had been wasted cooking meals for a rehab facility.

Conversation was light throughout the meal, mostly Pru and Daria talking about everything and nothing at all. The two of them went back and forth as if they were the only ones in the room. Eventually, we reached the bottom of our second bottle of wine. The servers began clearing the remaining dishes, while Lennon walked the six of us to the front entrance.

I turned, holding out my hand to her. “The job is yours. Will you finally accept?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Pru cheered from her wheelchair. “Girls night Friday to celebrate.”

“Great idea. I could use a drink or ten,” Daria said the last part under her breath. The idea that her ex was still bothering her wasn’t sitting right with me. I needed to call Alexsei or talk to Dimi, maybe both. She was Pru’s little sister which meant she was important to me. Nothing could happen to her or my girl would have my ass in a sling.

“I’ll reserve the VIP section at Shade,” I offered.

Shade was a club downtown, owned and operated by King Holdings––an investment corporation started by myself and my brothers ten years ago. The same name was listed on the purchase agreement for the resort and casino, two Michelin star restaurants, and a smaller hotel downtown. All of our businesses, including the ones that continued to operate in the gray, remained under the watchful eye of other Bratva families, just waiting for an opportunity to move in for the kill. Still, they’d be safe.

“What’s Shade?” Daria asked her sister.

“The most popular club in the city. Trust me, you’ll love it.”

I couldn’t shake the feeling those words would come back to haunt her…

…Or me.

Chapter 8

Beautiful Torture

Prudence

The saying “go big or go home” didn’t apply to Zakhar Vlaschenko. He was more of a “go big or go bigger” kinda guy. When he casually mentioned the upgrade to his home gym in the basement, I figured he meant adding a few pieces of equipment. When he wheeled me into the elevator and the doors opened on the bottom floor, I literally gasped. I didn’t expect to find that his version of an upgrade meant he could’ve easily charged a monthly membership fee. The place was ridiculous. My man didn’t do anything on a small scale.

My man. It sounded weird calling him that, even in my head, but boyfriend was too high schooler-ish.

Then I was thrown for another loop.

“The gang’s all back together.”

Stepping out into the center of the massive space with a shit-eating grin on his face was Anthony, my therapist from the hospital. He didn’t bother with long pants this time. His prosthetic was proudly displayed underneath a pair of black basketball shorts. And, of course, with Anthony came my old nurse, Kayla, since they were engaged to be married. She gave me a lopsided smile and a wave from a bench against the far wall.

“What the hell? How are you here?”

“Well, there are these things called airplanes––”

“You know what I mean, smartass,” I cut him off.

Zak’s hands came to rest on my shoulders. “He’s your private therapist for the next six weeks.”

I tilted my head back to look at him. “Why would you do this?”