12. Alexander

“I’m coming along,” my brother announces a couple of hours before the masquerade party.

My hands which had been previously chopping some onions, fall to a stop as I look up at him. I still can’t believe he’s still hanging around. But unfortunately, one week later and he hasn’t gone back to D.C. He looks completely at home in sweats and a tank top, siting on one of the elevated stools in front of the countertop as he watches me. I’d been doing well these past few days, ignoring him and his presence.

After a couple of seconds, I resume my chopping, sure he can’t be talking about what I think he is.

“Yo, Xan,” he says, waving a hand in the air in front of me. “Did you not hear me?”

I grit my teeth as my gaze meets his.

“Where do you think I’m going, Graham?”

“The Colton’s are having a masquerade gala later today. I saw your personal shopper bring in a mask yesterday. One plus one, equals two.” he informs me.

“I’m so proud you’re capable of basic math,” I quip. “How hard was it for you to figure that one out?”

He glares at me. “Don’t be an asshole, Xander. I’m trying to help out.”

“You’ve never helped anyone in your life without standing to benefit from it,” I point out.

“True,” he agrees. “But if whatever your plan is somehow successful, then I’d like to bask a little in that glory. Come on, there’s no way in hell you don’t need help.”

I move away from the countertop, turning my back on him as I begin to check through some drawers. I’m looking for a whisk, while also thinking over his suggestion. When I return, he’s staring at me expectantly.

“There won’t be anyone home to watch Nate.”

He shakes his head. “I already called the nanny. And I got my mask delivered earlier.”

I peer at him. “Why do I have a feeling you’ll go there anyway, regardless of what answer I give?”

That makes him smile.

“You know for someone who doesn’t like me much, you sure do know me well,” he drawls.

“Whatever. We leave at 8pm.”

He nods and I start reworking the details of my plan. Despite how much he pisses me off, Graham actually can be useful. Especially in delicate situations like this.

The time comes to leave and we’re heading out of the house and into my range rover parked in the garage. When Graham tries to get in front, I shake my head.

“Get in the back. We’re picking her up,” I state.

His eyebrows climb. “I really don’t appreciate being relegated to the back like a petulant child, big bro. Especially not for a woman that abandoned her son.”

I roll my eyes, before climbing in. “Get in the back,” I repeat. “And don’t say shit like that tonight. I mean it, Graham.”

It’s the last thing we need considering what we’re about to do. I expect him to argue some more but surprisingly he obediently goes to the back. We drive for only a couple of minutes before we arrive at the designated meeting point. A conspicuous hotel. Once I’m parked, I send her a text telling her to come outside.

It only takes about two minutes for her to appear. Once she does, every muscle in my body tenses. My heart stutters to a stop as she walks towards the car. In the back, Graham lets out a whistle.

“Damn, Xan. Say what you will about your baby mama, but that woman is seriously beautiful.”

I don’t even turn to glare at him for what he called her. I’m too busy staring. She’s in a long, flowing dress made with shimmering blue fabric and adorned with delicate lace and sparkling sequins. There’s a long slit on the side of the dress, reaching up to her mid-thigh. The dress is also sleeveless showing a large expanse of beautiful golden skin and as she gets even closer, my eyes linger on her cleavage before going back up to her lightly made up face.

When she arrives beside the car, her gaze goes to Graham first. She turns to me, eyebrows raised, brown eyes flaring. I’m a little tongue tied so Graham speaks up.

“Hey, Katerina. How have you been?”

She stares at him through narrowed eyes before looking back at me. With her fierce gaze on me, I clear my throat, finally finding my words.

“There’s a slight change in plans,” I inform her. “Graham’s coming along with us.”

She look unamused. “You can’t just change the plan like that without informing me.”

“There wasn’t any time to do that. He won’t cause any trouble, I promise. He’s going to help.”

Or at least I hope he is. Graham could very well be working his own agenda this evening but I don’t have the time to think about that. Katerina sighs.

“Not like I can do anything about that now,” she says, opening the door.

“Please, dial down the enthusiasm,” Graham says sarcastically. “But you look gorgeous, Katerina. Five years and you haven’t changed a bit.”

My eyebrows nearly hit my hairline with that statement. I whirl around to face my brother.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

The last time he saw her should have been about ten years ago when we broke up. Graham smiles, but he doesn’t reply. When I look at Katerina, her hand is on her head as she stares straight forward.

“Can we just go? Now’s not the time to talk about this,” she mutters.

I look at the both of them again, feeling my jaw clenched. Still I start the car, driving us in the direction of the gala. We go over the plan one more time on the way. Just before we arrive, I look at Katerina once more.

“You look beautiful,” I manage to say. “But did you forget we’re supposed to be blending in?”

We agreed we couldn’t afford to draw any attention to ourselves. It’s why Graham and I are in simple black suits. Plus, we also have roles to play.

Her gaze meets mine, “This is me blending in. It would look weird if I wasn’t in an ostentatious outfit.”

She has a point. Anyone that knows her know she likes dressing up. It’s one weird thing about her. You’d think a girl in her world, wouldn’t care too much about stuff like that. But Katerina’s always loved fashion. When we dated, I can’t count the number of runway shows she dragged me to. I met her sister at one of those.

“Fine. We’re one minute away. Masks on,” I tell both of them.

My mask is lying on the console beside me. I grab it one handed before fitting it onto my face. It’s a simple mask, black and gold with sharp angles, only covering my eyes and nose. I manage to tie it at the back. When I look back at my companions, they’ve worn their masks as well.

Grahams’ mask is longer, covering most of his face with feathers and vibrant colors. I roll my eyes at the sight. Of course he picked something like that. I swear neither of them understands the term blending in. Katerina’s mask is blue to match her dress with an elegant filigree design and intricate tiny crystals adorning it.

We are definitely drawing attention as soon as we walk through the doors of that party. We all step out after parking with Graham immediately going to Katerina’s side. He offers her his arm and after a moment’s hesitation, she loops her hand through it. My jaw grinds at the sight. I follow them both as we head to the entrance.

We’re stopped for identification. Katerina pulls out a gold emblazoned enveloped with the words VIP written at the top. The guard’s eyes flick from her to Graham and I.

“They’re my bodyguards,” she informs them, her tone ringing with authority.

That seems to be enough for them because they step back allowing us to walk in. I roll my eyes as soon as we’re out of sight.

“They need to hire a better security company,” I mutter, because a part of me was sure as hell they’d at least require us to remove our masks before entry.

“I’m a Mincetti,” Katerina says, replying to my statement. “They were never going to question me for too long.”

Graham speaks up then, “Remember when your last name used to be Petrov? Fun times,” he grins.

I fight the urge to face palm and also hit the back of his head. Katerina stiffens momentarily but recovers briefly.

“I definitely didn’t miss you, Graham,” she tells him.

“Careful, you might actually hurt my feelings.”

I decide to cut in then, stepping forward. “You’re meant to scope out the perimeter, Graham. I’ll walk in with her.”

He shoots me an annoying smirk before letting go of Katerina and walking on ahead, entering the party before us. I look down at the woman beside me.

“Are you going to tell me what he meant by seeing you five years ago?” I ask curiously, unable to get that out of my mind.

She shakes your head. “Ask your brother.”

I notice a tremble in her hand and although I can’t see her face, I realize she’s more on edge than usual.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” she asks, absolutely lying.

“Katerina...” I start.

“Let’s just get tonight over with, Xander. Please?”

And then she’s looping her hand through mine like it’s the most natural thing in the world. I feel her touch, searing even through the material of my clothes. When her breath hitches softly, I know she felt it too.

I pull at the bowtie at my neck, wondering at my maddening attraction to her. Even now, despite everything.

“Ready?” I ask her.

She blows out a soft breath. “Let’s do this.”

We walk into the large hall and the party that’s already underway. An orchestra plays soft music unobtrusively in the background in a corner of the hall. There’s a small clear area, evidently the dance floor. People mill about with champagne glasses and appetizers held on silver plates. At the end of the hall, there’s a long table, adorned with several different kinds of dishes and server. A buffet.

As expected, we draw a few stares as soon as we walk in. Ethan Colton stands near the entrance door, sipping what looks like scotch from a glass tumbler. He’s not wearing a mask. As soon as his eyes land on us, they gleam with recognition. He approaches us almost immediately. Which was expected, considering Katerina’s mask barely covers her face.

He’s around the same age as my father, although a short, stout man with balding brown hair.

“Miss Mincetti,” he says respectfully, holding her hand and lifting it to his lips to place a light kiss on the back of her palm. “I’m honored that you accepted my invitation.”

“I was in desperate need of a night out and thought this was the perfect event,” Katerina says warmly.

“Well then I hope you enjoy yourself,” he says, eyes going down to the slit in her dress.

He spends a second too long staring, making me grit my teeth. He’s old enough to be her father.

Look away, asshole.

Katerina’s completely calm and unruffled beside me. I’m about to say something when Colton’s eyes meet mine.

“And who is this?” he questions.

“My bodyguard,” she replies simply.

He doesn’t question her, simply nodding. “I’ll leave you to it then. Enjoy the party, Katerina. Perhaps you’ll save me a dance.”

My vision turns a little red at that. Katerina must sense the shift because her hand tightens around my arm.

“No, thank you, Mr. Colton. I’m not a big dancer.”

He simply offers her a smile I think he means to be charming before walking away to entertain his other guests.

“He’s still as slimy as I remember,” I mutter, pulling an earpiece out of my jacket pocket. “Why the hell did you let him do that?”

She looks at me calmly. “I’m not going to make a scene in the middle of a party. Mr. Colton will understand his place soon enough.”

Hearing her say that causes chills to run through me. Sometimes I genuinely forget how dangerous she is. The earpiece connects so I can speak to Graham.

“What’s up?” I ask him, still staring at Katerina.

“Colton has two guards following him and watching his every move. I’m not sure any of us can get close enough to get access to his phone,” my brother informs me,

Frustration fills me at that. I relay what he said to Katerina and she frowns.

“Maybe I will have to take him up on his offer of a dance,” she says thoughtfully.

“No,” I snap. “We’ll think of something else.”

Our plan is pretty fucking simple. Get a hold of Colton’s phone so I can attach a device that immediately transmits all the information on it to my system, while also giving me access to Colton industries mainframe. It’s a product that’s still in development. It has a couple kinks that we still need to work out. Like the fact that it tends to completely fry the phone it’s used on a couple hours after use.

Not my problem though.

“I could cause a distraction,” my brother says. “You just have to get close enough. His phone is in his right jacket pocket.”

“Okay. When?” I ask.

“In about thirty minutes. At the rate he’s drinking that scotch, he’ll be tipsy in no time. Why don’t you and Katerina try to relax and have fun for a little bit?” he suggests.

“Fine. Thirty minutes,” I remind him before switching up the earpiece.

When I look back at Katerina, her eyes are roaming the party, taking it all in.

She notices me staring and says, “I hate parties.”

“I know, princess. Too many people, right?” She nods in agreement

She’s always been uncomfortable around loud crowds. Which is how I know she did have some feelings for me back then, because she let me drag her to way too many parties.

A waiter passes and I grab two glasses of champagne off his tray, handing one over to her. She accepts it gratefully and I’m hoping she’ll relax as she starts to drink. I notice several eyes on her, probably people who know who she is but they don’t approach. I think they’re scared, maybe not of her, but her family name. It’s fascinating.

“How is it that you’re uncomfortable around so many people, but you also manage to lead a mafia organization?” I ask curiously.

She blinks up at me, probably wondering why I’m suddenly bringing it up. Or maybe she’s surprised I can say it so easily. I’m not delusional, I know who she is.

“Leading isn’t that hard in my line of work. I spend more time around blood and guns than I do people,” she says, eyes fixed on me.

I can tell she said it to make me uncomfortable, but I am unfazed.

“Ah, that makes sense.”

“Although the job’s not as fun as I thought it would be,” she continues saying. “It’s a lot of paperwork when I’m not taking care of unsavory matters. I’m constantly behind a desk.”

“People in position usually are. I thought it’s what you wanted,” I say softly.

“I do, but…” she trails off unable to finish her sentence.

“Do you want to dance?” I question.

She raises an eyebrow at the sudden change in conversation.

“You hate dancing,” she says.

I’m a little surprised she remembers that.

“True, but I think we’re drawing even more attention standing in place. If we’re not going to mingle, we might as well just dance,” I say sensibly.

“Fine. But if you step on my toes, I’ll stab you.”

That makes me chuckle. I lead her towards the dancefloor. There are a few couples already there. We take our place at the edge. I suddenly feel hot all over, as one of my hands snake around her back while the other holds on to her hand.

The tips of my fingers, skate across her back, right above her ass. Sparks shoot across my skin at the contact. Katerina becomes very still.

“Can you not touch me like that?” she asks.

“Touch you like what princess?” I smirk.

She doesn’t reply as I pull her closer, leaving only an inch of space between us. Her eyes widen.

“Xander. This is not how a bodyguard would dance with me,” she points out.

“Sshh. Don’t think about it,” I say, enjoying the feel of her body in mine too much to care about all that right now.

My face nuzzles the top of her head as we begin to drift across the dancefloor, our steps completely in tune. The song playing is slow, the melody entrancing as I hold her to me and everything falls away.

I find myself wishing the world would fall to a stop then. Or maybe I could go back to a past when I didn’t hate her.

My feelings are so conflicting. There’s no denying my attraction to her. I loved her once before. But she also betrayed me and hurt me more than anyone else did. And yet right now, I’d give anything for us to be okay. For none of it to matter.

Katerina places her head on my chest as we sway to the music. She’s completely relaxed so I’ll take that as a win. But I also can’t help but wonder why she was so tense in the first place. Something must have happened before she joined us.

The thirty minutes Graham gave us are almost up but I continue holding her to me, unwilling to let go. Unwilling to stop. My heart is racing and a part of me is terrified she can hear. When the song finally ends, she takes one step away, her eyes on me.

She opens her mouth and I’m not sure what I was expecting. But the words she speaks are definitely not that.

“I killed someone today.”