Chapter Thirteen
Of all the many talents Amy had, she certainly knew how to throw a party. Dylan swigged his whiskey and tried to enjoy himself. And actually, it was quite hard to resist the feeling of merry-making, because the house was abuzz with London friends and clients. The conversation, music, and cheery vibes bounced off the walls, creating an upbeat atmosphere that was impossible not to get sucked into. Adam and Amy had moved all the furniture out of this first floor reception room, leaving nothing but varnished floorboards, a table full of liquor, and a crowd of a hundred well-dressed partygoers.
Dylan was standing with a group of brandy-swilling clients, who he usually enjoyed chatting with, but his heart wasn’t in it this evening. He glanced over to where Sarah was mingling with Amy, Adam, and Joseph, and he yearned to be over there, sharing whatever joke Adam was currently entertaining them with. Sarah’s beautiful face lit up as Adam revealed the punchline and Amy playfully hit him on the shoulder. Adam winked at his fiancée and pulled her close, inciting a desire in Dylan to do the same to Sarah.
Sarah looked stunning, of course. Her short sparkly dress showed off her glorious legs, curves, and cleavage, and Dylan couldn’t wait to slowly strip her out of it later and fuck her hard all night long. He politely excused himself from the clients and stepped over to join his family. After today’s events, he was finding it hard to concentrate on business – or on anything that required too much ‘acting’. With his family, he could just be himself. When he was with them, it was like chilling in his comfy clothes at the end of a long working day. Sometimes it felt as if they were the only people on the planet who understood him. And Sarah was included in that. She’d always ‘gotten’ him, and they’d had some intense conversations back in college. In many ways she’d helped to shape the decisions he’d made back then, which still influenced some of his actions even now. She always knew what to say.
He slipped into the little huddle beside Sarah, standing closer than he would’ve done had it been anyone else.
Adam raised his voice against the background chatter. “Hey, Dylan. Everything okay?”
“Oh yeah… fine, you know.”
Amy shot him a kind smile. “None of us knows what to make of this terrible situation. Poor Natalia – she seemed so sweet. I’m sure there’s more going on than just a jealous husband. It all seems so barbaric.”
Sarah sipped her wine. “I can’t fathom out why Orlov hasn’t been arrested? I mean, he must be prime suspect number one.”
“I guess they didn’t find anything on him,” Dylan said. “I know from experience he doesn’t exactly do his own dirty work.”
Adam fell serious. “You’ll pull out of the sponsorship deal, right? We don’t want anything to do with him or his soccer club. Not after this.”
“Definitely,” Dylan said. “I’ll contact his legal team tomorrow and tell them we’ve changed our minds. Nothi
ng’s been signed yet, so no problem.”
“We can still make a big profit on Grafton Techs,” Amy said, wistfully. “We’ll just need to find another way to gain some publicity.”
Dylan nodded at his future sister-in-law. Not only did she have a good head for business, but she was a lovely woman – perfect for Adam. They shared a smile. Amy started talking about a business idea she’d had, but Dylan’s attention was suddenly grasped by a movement by the door. His gaze darted over and he realised there was a familiar face staring at him from the other side of the room.
Mikhail! The guy who’d been brandishing a knife at his throat last night.
Dylan made eye contact with him and they stared at each other for a few uncomfortable seconds. His heart pounded hard and he realised he was in danger – as were his family and everyone else in here. He braced himself for Mikhail to rush at him – to attack Adam or Amy who had their backs to him. But actually, Mikhail sprang to life and ran out of the room. Without thinking, Dylan propelled himself through the crowd and ran after the assassin – there was no way anyone else was getting harmed today. He skidded around the corner into the hallway and saw that the front door was wide open, so he dashed outside and caught up with Mikhail in the driveway where he grabbed him and pinned him up against the side of the house. It was dimly-lit and humid out here tonight, and Mikhail’s brow was sweating with nerves as Dylan held him tight against the bricks. They both gasped for breath as the adrenaline pumped through them, but Dylan refused to be beaten. He pushed himself against Mikhail’s body, not giving him an inch to move or breathe.
Mikhail struggled. “Let me go!”
“Why are you here? Come back to kill me, huh?”
“I want to help.”
“Bullshit. It was you who killed Natalia – admit it.”
“No, no, I didn’t.”
“But you know who did.”
“No. I was her bodyguard. I was trying to protect her.”
Dylan loosened his grip. Mikhail stopped struggling. “You were Natalia’s bodyguard?”
“Yes.”
“So why were you threatening me with a knife last night?”
“We planned it together.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “We are members of an anti-government rebellion group. She was screwing you for information, but when we realised you were thinking to fund Orlov’s soccer team, we wanted to scare you to stop the deal. He must not get his hands on Grafton Techs. So I hinted to Orlov that you and Natalia might be having an affair and he sent me to find out. It was all part of our plan. Unfortunately your wife hit me over the head. I don’t know why Natalia screamed like that – probably she wanted to seem authentic.” His body sagged with sadness. “But after that I never saw her again. Poor Natalia…”
Dylan stared into his eyes. So Natalia was a spy… it did explain a few things. But Mikhail was young – probably no older than Joseph. What the hell was he doing messing around with Russian rebels? “What’s your involvement in all this?”
“I am involved because it is wrong what Orlov is doing. I joined the cause back in Russia.”