Page 27 of Flames

“He does not,” a sly voice slithers from the dark shadows across the room.

I jump in my seat, my knee hitting the wooden surface of the desk with a bang. Pain radiates through the bend of my leg and I hiss in annoyance.

“The fuck?” I grit out as I rub my throbbing knee.

“Naughty little birdie,” the voice sing-songs from the darkness. I squint my eyes but I can’t see past the shadows.

“Who’s there?” I ask as fear begins to wrap around me. If it’s The Pakhan, I’ll surely be killed… maybe worse.

A man slinks out from the darkness, his slender form almost serpentine in his movements. He is tall with pale blond hair, tanned skin, a hooked nose, and the worst goatee I’ve ever seen.

“You follow me, Falcon?” I ask, not even attempting any type of lie.

“It was obvious Mikhael was up to something,” Aleksander Kaschei says with a shrug, but the way his icy blue eyes hone in on me tells a different story. “I wanted to know what it was.”

“He knows you’ve been peddling more than weapons,” I tell him. It’s bold to show my cards but like a cornered animal, I’d rather fight my way out than roll over to his horrible little man. “He intends to tell the Pakhan that you’ve dipped into the skin trade.”

Icy anger flares in the Falcon’s eyes as he slowly moves closer and closer. The hairs on my arms stand up in fear. I slowly slide the middle drawer of the desk open, trying not to alert him to my movement. If I can get the letter opener, at least I’ll have a weapon—a shitty weapon, but a weapon all the same.

“The Pakhan is a fool,” Aleksander seethes. “A true leader does not pass up opportunities when they present themselves. He is unfit to lead the Organizatsiya anymore. His reign is coming to an end.”

The way he looks at me makes acid rise in my esophagus. Like, I know they’re all bad guys here, but Aleksander seems truly evil, like some wicked trickster from an old-school fairytale. But with a spray tan.

“You think you should be in charge?” I balk. “A rapist and pedophile who takes from women and children for his own gain? You’re not even worthy of the air you breathe.”

His blue eyes narrow and his nostrils flare in fury. “Do you know who you’re speaking to, you insolent—” He storms across the room, straight for me. My body recoils and my fingers wrap around the handle of the dagger letter opener. “Fucking whore.”

When he’s right across the desk from me, his hand slides behind his back. In one smooth movement, he pulls his pistol from behind his back and points it straight at me. I stare down the barrel of his gun and hold my head high.

“I promised myself that I’d never let another man take my voice, my power from me. Not ever again,” I tell him, praying my voice doesn’t crack and betray the fear that’s wracking through me. “You can threaten me all you want. I will not bend and I will not falter.”

Aleksander scoffs at me, his thin little lip curling up into a sneer. “Only a fool does not fear power.”

“No, Falcon,” a deep voice calls from the doorway.

I hadn’t even heard the door swing open, but standing there, leaning casually against the black frame, is the man I never imagined I’d see here.

“A true fool is blinded by power,” Phoenix says casually as he flicks his characteristic matchstick between his teeth.

Clad in an all black suit with a black shirt and matching dress shoes, Phoenix looks like sin incarnate. My core clenches as I drink him in. This fucking man.

“Phoenix?” I finally ask as I find my voice.

“Hello, moya pŭtěnĭcĭ,” Phoenix says, a slow smirk spreading across his face as he looks at me. “I see you found your way to my office.”

SIXTEEN

PHOENIX

Iguess I owe Baba Yaga a favor. The old witch was right—she told me that my mate would find her way to my office, and here she is. Her scent in my space is driving me to near insanity. I want to fuck her on every single available surface until the entire room reeks of her sweet spun sugar smell. I imagine her creaming all over my desk, streaking the brown surface with her delicious release. The thought makes my mouth water and my cock to twitch in my pants.

I could do without the gun pointed at her, however.

“Put the gun down and step away from my mate, Sokol,” I warn him.

“Pakhan,” Aleksander starts to plead, but he doesn’t lower his weapon. “She is a thief. I caught her searching through your desk. I believe she’s working with—”

“She is my mate, my fate. What is mine is hers. If she would like to search through my desk, she is more than welcome to,” I say as I push off the door jam and spit my matchstick on the floor.