“Oh, Robyn. You have no clue what I want.”
“You want a nice, obedient wife for your stupid rich boy games. I’m here to say it’s not happening.”
I stalked forward. She moved away, stumbled on her dress, nearly fell. I caught her, steadied her. I held her there and wanted to keep going, to push her against the wall, to rip her clothes away and revel in her body. I’d feast on her skin, lick and suck her nipples, make her scream as I fucked her.
But I stopped myself. It wasn’t the time. Not yet.
“Understand something. This isn’t a game. My life is on the line. I need you, Robyn, and you will give me what I want, sooner or later. Make it easy on everyone and give in now.” I grinned, moved in, and kissed her neck. “Or make it hard. That might be more fun.”
She shoved me away, wrenched herself free, and ran.
I watched her go. She slammed her door and disappeared.
I smiled, then looked back at the guards.
“Clean this shit up or get someone to do it.” I pointed at their scarred leader. “You stay outside of her room. Make sure she doesn’t do something stupid.”
The guy saluted awkwardly and walked down the hall. He took up his post, back straight.
I poured myself a drink, sat down, and kicked my feet up.
The Latvian government was going to make this deal as difficult as possible.
But Robyn was going to make this weekend so sweet, I didn’t think it mattered.
5
Robyn
I spent an anxious few hours in my room. I went through the suitcases again but found nothing less revealing than what I had on already. It was like he’d packed for a porno shoot and not for a weekend abroad.
The bastard. He’d done it on purpose.
I’d hoped trashing the room would piss him off or at least knock him off balance. Instead, he’d seemed delighted.
In fact, he’d seemed to love it when I was angry.
I had to get it together. He wasn’t going to back down, not with me raging at him all the time.
I needed to be calm and collected.
When he knocked on my door later that afternoon, I sat up straight and told him to come in. He stepped inside, eyes blazing. “We have a meeting.”
“We do?” I kept my face as neutral as I could.
“I need you to come since I clearly can’t trust you to behave here.” He frowned at me, slightly confused. I hadn’t risen to the bait like he wanted. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.” I stood and gestured. “Shall we?”
He frowned as I walked past him. Matthias stood near the doorway, glowering. He was a couple of years younger but clearly knew Calvin very well. I followed them into the hall and into the cars waiting outside.
Calvin didn’t speak as we headed to our destination. I kept a serene smile on my face and tried to pretend like I was on a sightseeing tour. I stared out the window at the foreign buildings, at the shops and the restaurants, at the people milling about. I could almost pretend like I was back home, despite the strange language everywhere. The driver took us to a crowded section of the city in a downtown area surrounded by big buildings interspersed with crumbling old bars and nightclubs. The driver parked, and Calvin got out, surrounded by his men.
“This way,” Matthias said, glaring all around. We made our way through the crowds, past drunk young people laughing and chatting. It was all noise, the language blurring together into nothing more than sound. I could imagine how these people felt—the joy of going out and drinking too much, of laughing and dancing and having fun with your friends—and I envied them. I felt like I’d grown ten years in the span of a day.
Matthias entered a seedy bar with Calvin on his heels. The door was wooden with blue paint peeling in thick flakes. The windows were barred and covered in newspaper clippings. The sign out front was worn almost to nothing, and it said something I could never hope to pronounce or understand.
I went inside, followed by Calvin’s men.
The interior was dim and smoky. It smelled like beer and puke. Calvin glared all around before heading toward a back door. He was ushered inside by a smiling man with bad teeth. In the back, several men sat around a table, smoking cigarettes and drinking small glasses of clear alcohol. They wore suits, slim and dark, and smiled big as Calvin approached with Matthias. I lingered near the door with the bad-teeth man, and he leered at me. I crossed my arms over my chest and took a step away.
Calvin’s men spread out and looked uncomfortable.
“Mr. Solar, so happy you come,” the leader of the group said, spreading out his arms, then putting out a hand.