Page 19 of Keeping My Enemies Closer: Pt. 1

“I fear that I am to blame,” I told him, and that’s when he turned to face me, finally getting a good look at who she’d been sitting with.“I’m just sort of used to getting my way, you see.”

“Oh...uhm, Mr.Korolev-”

I put my hand up to stop his apologies and/or excuses.“I trust that Zoya will not suffer any repercussions for my insistence.”

“Of course...no, she...she won’t,” he quickly replied.“I...Zoya’s one of our best servers.”Then looking between me and Zoya, he added, “I’ll...I’ll give you two a few more minutes.”

Before I could say anything to that, he was scurrying away, probably praying that I wasn’t waiting for him in the parking lot after his shift tonight, which wasn’t out of the question right now.I was all about making statements when it came to my last name, and having a little chat with that asshole after work would definitely send a message.

However, before I could give it a lot of thought, Zoya was back in my face, and though extremely ill-advised, it was hard not to give her credit for having enough guts to stand up to me.Especially, when you considered how many grown men pissed their pants at the sight of my face.

“I need to get back to work,” she hissed up at me.“And if I’m lucky, I won’t have a final check waiting for me when I get back from my days off.”

Zoya turned to walk away from me, and it took everything in me not to grab her by her arm, then drag her out of the diner in front of everyone.However, even I wasn’t so brazen enough to commit kidnapping in front of a bunch of people who might not be aware of what happened in the streets of St.Moran at night.Like most cities, we had a wealthy side, and those people lived in ignorant bliss most of the time.Their money shielded them from what really made this city turn, and they liked it that way.

At any rate, though my different-colored eyes usually announced who I was, if you weren’t aware of all the criminal activity in St.Moran, then a person might feel compelled to call the police if they saw me dragging a woman out of a diner, and most definitely against her will.

“You will still have a job,lepestok,”I assured her.“I guarantee it.”

That’d been the wrong thing to say.

“I don’t want any favors from you,” she snapped.“I’d rather sleep on the sidewalk and beg for food than owe you anything.”

“Careful what you wish for, baby,” I warned.“That’s just how you might find yourself if you keep testing me.”

Angry tears immediately hit her eyes, but instead of guilting me with them, she turned from me, then headed towards the back of the diner to collect herself, I imagined.She still had the rest of her shift to get through, and she couldn’t manage if she didn’t get her anger under control.

I dropped another hundred-dollar bill on top of the menu before leaving the diner, and while it all seemed casual enough, I felt anything but.Zoya Kuzmin was getting under my skin, and I had no idea how to get her out, or if I even wanted to.In fact, I almost felt sorry for the girl if I couldn’t.

No woman should want to be the object of my affections.

At least, no woman in her right mind.

Chapter 10

Zoya~