Cruel Paradise (Oryolov Bratva Book 1)

I’m jolted awake by a pinch on the arm. I jerk up and spot Kirill at my bedside. Emma is draped over me, so I have to move slowly and carefully to untangle myself from her and the sheets before I can get out.

Kirill backs off to the doorway while I pull my boxers on. I check to see that Emma is still sleeping and then I follow him into the living room.

“What are you doing here?” I growl.

“Sorry. I tried calling, but you didn’t pick up.”

“Did you find Sergey?”

“Man’s still missing. But the security team did find something else that I think you’ll want to know about.”

Kirill’s lips are pursed together. He’s also cracking his knuckles a lot, which is a sure sign that he’s got bad news for me.

“What is it?”

He clears his throat and gestures towards the thin brown envelope sitting on the dining table. “I’m sorry, man.”

Those are ominous words. I rip off the top half of the envelope and pull the contents out. It’s a sheath of photographs. The first one is a blurry picture of Remmy Jefferson leaning against a very familiar-looking wall. Just beyond is a woman with her hair pulled up in a bun. The picture quality is low but I recognize Emma immediately.

I glance up at Kirill. “What the fuck is this?”

“It looks like Remmy visited Emma last night.”

Last night? Is that why she was so frazzled? She was borderline hysterical. Goddammit, why the fuck hadn’t I just slowed down for two seconds and let her say what she’d called me to say?

Oh, right—five dead bodies.

I move onto the next photograph. It’s more of the same. Remmy standing in Emma’s apartment, the two obviously engaged in a conversation. Of course, there’s no way to know the nature of the conversation. But the fact that it took place in her apartment is troubling.

When I look up again, Kirill is staring back at me with wary eyes. “I hate to say it, brother… but I think she might’ve conned you.”

I shake my head. Even in the face of photographic evidence, I’m willing to give Emma the benefit of the doubt. Pictures can be doctored. And even if they haven’t been, there has to be another explanation.

“She wouldn’t do that.”

“Look at those pictures, bro.”

“I’m fucking looking, bro,” I snarl. “And I don’t fucking believe them. I trust her; she wouldn’t—”

“That’s not all.”

I feel like I’m turning to stone. “Go on.”

He cracks his knuckles again. His tendons must be shredded to nothing at this point. “Our contact in the newsroom gave me a call this morning. He wanted to give us a heads-up. They’re getting ready to run a story about you soon. He preempted the conversation by saying there was nothing he could do to stop it.”

Just like that, my heart drops. “What story?”

Kirill shuffles from one foot to the other. “A story that involves a sex contract between you and your assistant.”

Breathe.

Fucking breathe.

One.

Two.

Three…

“FUCK!”

Kirill takes a step back. “I know this is a lot but we’re gonna have to get in damage control mode real fast. It’s bad enough we have the botched Venera launch to deal with. But a sex scandal on top of that…”

I barely hear him. How have things gone from absolutely perfect to absolute shit in a matter of seconds? How is it possible that she was able to fool me so completely?

Months. I’ve devoted months of my life to this woman. I made her a part of my life. I immersed myself in hers.

I fucking trusted her.

The proof is in the fact that she’s here at all—in my place of solitude. The place I come to when I want to get away from everything. The place I swore no woman would ever see the inside of.

“How do you want me to handle this?” Kirill asks.

“First, I have to handle it.”

I snatch up the pictures and storm into the bedroom. The moment I walk in, I realize what a huge mistake I’ve made. Her scent is everywhere—honey and citrus and sweetness and lies. Now, every time I walk into this room, I’ll imagine her sprawled across my bed, one slim, bare thigh peeking out from beneath the covers.

No.

Slowly but surely, I have to start expelling every trace of her from my world.

And it starts right fucking now.

She’s stirring when I approach. “Ruslan…?” she mumbles sleepily.

“Get up.”

Her eyes dart open and the sleep drains from her face the moment she looks at me. “Ruslan, w-what’s wrong?” Her eyelashes flutter and her cheeks flush. “Is this about last night?”

“Apparently, last night was the least of my problems.” I fling the pictures at her. She flinches back and the photographs scatter, fluttering around her like flakes of ash at the end of the world.

“What…?”

She picks up one of the photographs. Her eyes go wide and she pales. “Ruslan—let me explain—”

As it turns out, that’s all the explanation I need. “Get your clothes on and get the fuck out of my apartment.”

She stares at me as though she’s having a hard time recognizing me. Well, that makes two of us. “R-Ruslan…” Her voice is barely above a whisper and still, it claws at me.

I turn from her. “You’ve got two fucking minutes or I’ll throw you into that elevator ass naked.”

She scrambles off the bed. I can’t even bear to look at her. I hear a hint of a sob from behind me but I clench my jaw and dig my heels in. I was a fool to let her in so deep. I was a fool to trust her at all. I knew it was a mistake but I let myself be convinced. And for what? A sweet smile and easy pussy?

“Ruslan, please. I told you I wanted to speak to you last night—”

I whip around. “So you could come clean about your dirty deal with Remmy Jefferson?” he growls. “It’s too fucking late to make amends now, Emma.”

She’s breathing fast. “You don’t even know—”

“All I need to know is that you betrayed me. I don’t care about the reasons.”

“I—

“KIRILL!” I roar.

She recoils back, hurt blanketing her face. “You’re not even gonna hear my side?”

“You were the only one who was supposed to know about that contract!” I roar. “If you didn’t fucking talk, how the fuck did Remmy Jefferson get his hands on it?”

The redness on her cheeks has spread to her chest. “I was a fool—”

“Not the word I’d use.” I turn my back on Emma when Kirill appears at the door. “Make sure this woman is wiped from my life. Make sure her desk at Bane Corp. is cleared, make sure our contract is severed, make sure I never have to see her again after this moment.”

“Ruslan, please. You need to listen to—”

I whirl on her. “I’m done listening. And I’m done with you. Our agreement is officially at an end, Ms. Carson.” She flinches when I backslide into her surname. “Your services will no longer be required.”

I’m almost at the door when she grabs my arm. “I just need two minutes! Please!”

I twist out of her grasp and shove her against the wall. She stumbles backward, a strangled scream escaping her lips. I step forward and tighten my hand around her throat.

“You know exactly who I am now,” I snarl at her. “What you should also know is that I’m a pahkan first and a CEO second. If you cross me again, I will destroy you. Do you understand?”

I put just a little bit of pressure on her throat. Not enough to hurt her but plenty to scare her. Her eyes go wide and I get what I’m after.

Fear.

“I asked you a question, Ms. Carson. Do. You. Understand?”

She nods slowly.

“Good.” I release her and sweep out of the room. “Kirill… get rid of her.”

I hear her sobs even as the elevator doors slide shut. I try to block out the sound but even after the doors spew me out onto the ground floor, I can still hear her. I can still feel her. Even now, after everything I just discovered, she’s everywhere.

On my tongue.

Under my skin.

In my fucking soul.