Page 3 of Bound By Sin
She opens the clutch, pulls out a slim card, and presses it into my palm. Her hand lingers against mine for a beat as she says, "Goodnight, Kazimir."
She turns and walks toward her brother, limping with one shoe missing, and I watch her go—the line of her back, the sway of her dark hair against her shoulders—until she rounds the corner and she's gone.
I look down at the card, run my thumb across the raised letters. Then I slide it into my breast pock before I pick up the shoe and turn down the hall.
Stepan's staring at me with a giddy smirk on his face, arms crossed. I'm never going to hear the end of this.
"Don't," I say.
"I didn't say a thing."
"You're about to," I grumble as I toss the broken shoe into the trash bin.
He faces the doors again, but the grin stays put and he can't help himself. "A woman's gonna make you soft, Kaz. I'm calling it now."
"Get back to work," I grumble, watching taillights zip past the glass doors that open to the parking lot. Zora… What a nice name.
My earpiece clicks and I realize Timur has probably been listening to everything. "Did Stepan say something about a woman?" he asks before chuckling, but I've already had enough.
I reach up and turn the comms off.
These jokers get on my last nerve, but tonight wasn't a total waste. I got a girl's number and I intend to use it.
2
ZORA
The car door isn't even closed before Makar starts in on me, and I have to hide the annoyed expression that wants to creep onto my face. He thinks he's God or something, like our father's absence means he gets to take over the family business or something.
"Took you long enough."
I pull the door shut and the driver pulls away from the curb. The hospital shrinks in the rearview mirror as we merge into traffic. The wine stain on my dress has gone cold against my skin, dried to a tacky film on my ribs. I lean into the seat and try to ignore his huffing and the attitude with which he speaks to me. I did my best. It's not my fault the plan failed. I didn't think it would work, anyway.
"The hook's not set," I tell him plainly, bracing for his anger. It's like all my brothers see me as is some female body to dangle in front of men. It's a total waste of my talents and knowledge, but proving myself in this business is less about what I can handlelogistically and more how they can use me. I hate it. Women deserve far more respect than we're given.
Makar turns over his shoulder to look back at me in the back seat. He thinks sitting up front with the driver is a better way to intimidate me, but I think it makes him look weak. Having a driver is supposed to be classy, not a power move on his part. His hand taps the center console as he scowls.
"What do you mean, it's not set?"
"I mean Roman wasn't available. He had his eyes on a different woman all night. I couldn't get near him without it looking forced, and forced doesn't work—you told me that yourself." Besides the fact that I heard he was announcing his marriage to one of the women in attendance, though I'm not sure how much of that was true.
He exhales through his nose in a long, loud stream of air as his jaw tightens. "So, what did you do for the last hour?"
"Look, I can't target Roman, alright?" I feel frustrated by how they can't just do this themselves. If the fight club is such a threat and crushing them while they try to rebuild is my brothers' priority, they should just find another way. Prostituting myself to be the inside man on this job isn't worth losing my dignity. As it was, I had to douse myself in wine just to get out of that place and it was humiliating, especially when that handsome man wanted to flirt. I felt like an idiot.
Makar glares back at me, and it looks painful, like he'll get a kink in his neck. "So, what’d you do, then?"
I scowl at him before replying, just to show him I'm not intimidated. "I spilled my drink and got up and left. The guy in the hallway was helping me. He said his name was Kazimir.Don’t worry, I gave him Mom’s maiden name like you told me to do for Roman." The only name I knew going into this was the name Roman Kuzin, leader of the Kuzin empire and the fight club we hope to take down. We've been up against them for years, but with Papa away getting treatment for cancer in Europe, my brothers have decided it's a good time to push for more.
"Kazimir Kuzin?" he says. "Roman's nephew?"
"How should I know? You guys tell me nothing. I was supposed to flirt with someone who's not interested at all." I scowl at him and pluck the dress away from my skin, feeling it drying in place on my ribs.
"Yeah… this could work…" His voice goes wistful, like he's daydreaming of victory again, while I let my head fall back against the headrest and close my eyes.
So Kazimir is a Kuzin, which sucks because it means I can't date him after all. Here I thought he was sweet and charming, and hell, was he good looking too. But dating the enemy would never fly. I'm trying to prove my worth to my older brothers so they'll let me lead my own fight team, or maybe even expand to my own fight club someday. If I accept that dinner invite, I'd be signing away any future I ever hoped for.
"What?" I mumble, only half paying attention to him.
