“Take your hands off her,” I say to Nikolai, letting the possession I feel enter every syllable.
Nikolai turns to me, his eyes narrowed. “What is the meaning of this?” He lifts his chin toward a poster on the wall and a quick glance tells me he knows exactly who Emma is.
Fuck. Think, Nathan. Improvise, adapt, overcome.
Save Emma.
Save yourself.
Save the deal.
In that order. That I think of her first doesn’t escape my notice.
“It is a poster of Kitty’s play. Your hand is still on her,” I growl. I move forward, taking Emma’s other arm and pulling her to my side forcefully.
“Explain,” he orders.
I calmly glance around. “Perhaps we should go somewhere private to discuss business.”
He nods. “Da. Let us find a room to talk.” He says ‘talk’ like he means ‘kill’. But he walks away, giving me his back and trusting that I’ll follow. As soon as we approach the door, one of his men approaches. “Follow us.”
The guard takes the rear, and our walk into the lobby seems much more like a perp walk now. We march down a hallway, finding an empty conference room.
Nikolai stops and addresses Maritziana. “Take one of the other guards and go home to the hotel.”
She nods and walks out, though I catch her giving Emma a sly look of sadness.
Once we are slightly private, Nikolai turns to me, his eyes flaring. “Now, explain.”
I look over to the door, where the guard is standing. “Respectfully, if I’m going to air my dirty laundry, please instruct your guard to wait outside. I am no danger to you. And Kitty certainly isn’t.”
That’s not exactly true, and I will fight my way out here, even kill, if necessary. But there’s no need for it to come to that. Not yet.
“Go,” he tells the guard.
Only after the door closes do I proceed. I’ve had a moment to think as we walked to the room, analyze approaches and possible outcomes, and choose the course of action that will meet mission objectives.
Save Emma, save myself, save the deal.
I let all semblance of friendliness fall off my face, hardening my jaw and letting my body swell, imposing and threatening as I lean toward Nikolai. My teeth clenched, I carefully enunciate.
“Let me be clear, Nikolai. You are never to touch her. It is a disrespect to me, to her, to our potential business alignments. You will apologize for the rudeness.”
It’s a big gamble, but Nikolai is a man who respects boldness and strength. He purses his lips and then lifts his brow. “I am sorry.”
The words sound foreign on his tongue, not because of his accent but because I’d wager he’s never actually said them before.
“And to her.”
“She is not who she says she is,” he argues, his eyes darting to Emma for a moment before returning to me. “She lies!”
“I know exactly who she is. Apologize to her, and I will explain. Perhaps then we can continue on as the businessmen we are.” I’m doubling down and hoping for a jackpot.
“Sorry,” he spits out at Emma, not meaning it a bit, then to me, “now, your explanation.”
He plops into a chair, leaning back comfortably as if he’s not contemplating killing us both where we stand, but I know better and that thought is first and foremost in his mind.
I nod but glance at Emma. It’s the first time I’ve dared to look at her with all this going on. She is stunning in a grey dress that hugs her breasts and floats down her body.
But her eyes are wild and fearful, her face pale with bright spots of color on her cheeks. I lay a soft kiss to her forehead and then lift her chin with a light touch.
“I apologize as well. I shouldn’t have left you alone so long. I wouldn’t have allowed your skin to be sullied by another.”
I’m giving a performance of my own, laying it on thick, but I need her to understand my play here. That we are returning to our original story with Nikolai full-force, perhaps even more so, because he would expect me to have even better control over her now.
Her lashes flutter as she blinks slowly and nods her acceptance. I only hope Nikolai is as easy. “Kitty, kneel.”
She’s in character, having caught on, thank God, so she gracefully drops to her knees before arranging her skirt around her. Once I’m satisfied with her pose, I sit as well and look to Nikolai.