Chapter Twelve
After finishing changing out of her costume, Irina stared into the dressing room mirror and tried not to hyperventilate. As much as she tried to focus on her dancing, she couldn’t help but notice Malcolm sitting in the crowd during her performance. She’d hoped that her yelling at him would have sent him away, let alone the threats from Yuri, but he seemed undeterred.
She had to do something quickly. Yuri obviously knew what Malcolm looked like, and he was close. Her ex-lover would soon tear the man apart if she couldn’t convince him to give up on her.
“I’ll lie to him,” she whispered to herself. “Make him truly believe that what we’ve been sharing means nothing. Then he’ll give up. He has to.”
Irina took a deep breath and nodded to herself. It was a good plan. It’d work.
She stood and grabbed her coat. Maybe she’d been a fool to think she could ever escape Yuri, but at least she’d make sure an innocent man wouldn’t die in a feeble attempt to protect her from an inhuman monster.
Alison caught up with her in the hallway. “You going to blow us off again to go out with your mystery hunk?”
Irina blinked at her. Her breath caught, and it took a few seconds before she realized the other dancer was talking about Malcolm and not Yuri.
She brushed a few loose blonde strands out of her eyes. “I wonder if I maybe have been going out with him too much.”
“Really? I noticed he was here for the performance.” Alison winked. “And I doubt he loves The Nutcracker that much.” She gave a little wave and started down the hallway. “You have fun, and make sure you do everything I wouldn’t do.”
Irina watched her friend disappear around the corner and sighed.
Life had been simple once. She only had to concentrate on dance, but now a dark shadow hung over her. Even if she could save Malcolm, that didn’t mean Yuri would leave. If he’d come all the way to America for her, she doubted he’d return to their homeland empty-handed. The only thing more frightening than the man in his beast form was the size of his ego.
She made her way toward the front of the theater deep in thought. Yuri feared very little, but even he had mentioned that he had to be careful to not earn the wrath of monsters more powerful than him, dragons he called them. Perhaps Irina could somehow seek the attention of local dragons, if there were such a thing.
The only problem was that she had no idea how she’d go about doing that. It wasn’t as if she could just go find a local webpage for the hidden rulers of the shadow world.
As the ballerina approached the front doors to the theater, she pushed the thought out of her mind. She knew so little about Yuri’s world other than what he had told her. If she made a nuisance of herself, seeking the dragons that could keep even Yuri in check, the end would probably be her death at their hands and not freedom.
Irina stepped outside. She scanned the people lingering and departing for Malcolm. She would worry about figuring out how to escape in the future.
For tonight she only needed to ensure Malcolm wasn’t killed. Her search didn’t take long, as the man stood directly in front of the exit door, back several yards, the streams of people flowing around him. He wore a smile on his face and kept his hands in the pockets of his suit jacket.
Irina sighed and shook her head. It’d be far easier if he could have accepted her anger and left. She had to make him understand.
Malcolm offered her a smile. “Hey, Irina. Nice performance.”
She grabbed his arm and dragged him off around the corner into an alleyway. Malcolm didn’t offer any resistance. It wasn’t like she could have moved him otherwise.
No thugs awaited them this time in the alley. Irina wasn’t sure if that was a relief or not. Any excuse to get away from him might have helped.
After a quick check around for Yuri, the ballerina frowned at Malcolm. “Why are you here? I thought I made my feelings clear last time.”
Malcolm snorted. “You’re a beautiful dancer, Irina, but you’re terrible damned liar. You think I didn’t see through that crap?”
Irina frowned. “I meant what I said.”
“Besides, what kind of man would I be if I left a woman to be terrorized by an asshole just because of a threat? I know you want to save me, but I don’t need you to save me. I can handle myself.”
Irina forced an angry grin on her face, an expression she’d seem from Emma many times. “You don’t even know the truth, do you?”
Malcolm shrugged. “What’s the truth?”
“You think this is some sort of relationship because we’ve gone out? Because we slept together?” Irina snorted and jerked her head to the side, the blonde tresses bouncing. “You were just… a diversion, something that kept me from being bored, and now I’ve become bored.”
Malcolm crossed his arms. “Just a way to scratch an itch? Is that it?” He shrugged. “So what? It’s not like I expected you to fall in love with me in a week or whatever. And, come on, that’s still pretty weak lying. You become bored with me the minute your psycho ex shows up? I might not be that fancy or educated, but I’m not an idiot.”
Irina sighed. If anything, she was making things worse, but she had to push him away before it was too late.
“Don’t you understand, Malcolm? I don’t even like you. I find you tedious.” Irina tried to keep the smug expression on her face and her voice even, but the cracks in both weren’t subtle.
She might not have fallen in love with him, but she did like him and wanted to spend more time with him. Malcolm was the perfect confirmation of gentle and strong that she’d always wanted from a man, and it tore at her to push him away. He represented a hope for a future free from Yuri, and now she was having to give that up.
Malcolm’s concerned hazel eyes almost undid her right then and there.
He smirked. “Tedious? I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but no one’s ever called me tedious. I kind of like it. Tedious Malcolm. Maybe that can be my new nickname. Caleb will love it.” He chuckled.
His confidence endeared him to her at the same time it terrified her. For all she knew, Yuri was watching them at that very moment. She needed to do better at forcing Malcolm away.
Irina flicked her wrist. “You Americans are all the same. You’re so arrogant. You think every woman will fall at your feet. I’m Russian. We’re not so easily seduced.”
Malcolm backed her against a brick wall and placed an arm on both sides of her head. “I don’t think that, but I know you like me, and I like you, so I can’t just walk away. Not only that, I refuse to walk away when you’re in danger.”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand. You only think you do.”
He crushed his mouth to hers. Her eyes widened in surprise. She tensed for a second, then relaxed, her shoulders sagging as she opened her mouth to the kiss.
Their tongues swirled and warred, and she relaxed even further, the surprise excitement of the kiss pushing out any other concerns. She deepened the kiss and closed her eyes.
Her body hummed with desire, eager to repeat the performance from the other night. Whatever else she might think about Malcolm, he’d satisfied her in a way the selfish Yuri had never been able to in Russia.
Her eyes snapped opened. The selfish Yuri, indeed.
Irina stepped away from Malcolm, ending the kiss. Tears streamed down her cheeks. A burning attraction and compatible personalities weren’t enough, not in the dangerous world she inhabited, not with the monster coming for her.
Malcom didn’t understand. Yuri was a man who could become a beast. No normal man could stand up to such a creature.
“Please,” she whispered. “I don’t want to see you hurt. He’s in town. He must be. I know from the way he’s talking, and he’ll kill you without hesitation. He’s dangerous and smart. He won’t do it in public, because he fears… others, but you won’t survive. You must forget about me if you want to live.”
Malcolm pulled Irina against him and stroked her hair. “I’m pretty dangerous myself. The only difference between Yuri and me is that I don’t screw with people who don’t have it coming.” He licked his lips, a faint discomfort on his face. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t hurt people to protect the people I care about.”
“No, it goes beyond that. He’s far more dangerous than you could ever imagine. You think because you’ve battled bikers that you are dangerous, but Yuri is beyond such petty men.”
Malcolm nodded. “Russian Mafia?”
Irina sighed. “Yes. He’s a ruthless killer. He’s killed so many men. No remorse. No worry. It’s like scratching an itch to him. He fears only monsters more terrible than him, but normal people are nothing to him but tools or obstacles to be removed.”
Malcolm released the woman and stepped away, looking down at her with a confused expression. “How did you even end up with a guy like that?”
“I didn’t know what he was initially. When he first approached me, I was just flattered that he’d taken an interest in me, and he had such a detailed knowledge of ballet and the company, I was impressed. I suppose I was foolish and easily swayed by the gifts and attention. He has an aura of power, too.” Heat warmed her cheeks. “Perhaps I was swayed by that. He was never sweet like you. I think he thought his money would make up for it.”
“But something changed.”
Irina sighed and nodded. “Yes. The knowledgeable and powerful gentleman disappeared, and he became more possessive, angrier. I’ve seen him hurt people in front of me. Badly. Seen him hurt a man for merely smiling at me. I realized the only chance I would ever have of escaping him was to leave Russia, so I did. I thought that would be enough.”
Malcolm frowned. “But you found out that rich assholes have a long reach.”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand. He’s…” She sighed. “I thought if he were away from his place of power, especially his forest dacha, he’d be weaker. I was free, I thought. I’d not heard from him for some time, but then he called me recently.” She wiped some fresh tears from her cheeks. “And now he’s coming back to claim what is his, and I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried running so far, but yet he’s still come for me.”
“If running didn’t work, then do the opposite. Stand up to the asshole. I’m sure in Russia, he owns the police, but this isn’t Russia.”
Irina shook her head. “No, I don’t want to get the police involved. My parents are still at risk. One of the few reasons he’s not gone after them is that I’ve not tried to get any authorities involved.”
Malcolm shook his head. “You still don’t have to do it alone. You have me. I’ll protect you. I don’t care if Yuri’s the toughest mafia asshole to ever live in Russia, he can’t scare me off, and he can’t kill me so easily.” He shrugged. “I don’t mind getting a little rough and not calling the cops.”
Irina locked eyes with him. She stroked his cheek. “That is noble, but you simply don’t understand. I…wish I could tell you the truth to make you understand. The only thing I can tell you is that if you face Yuri, you will die. There’s no question.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because she knows what I’m capable of,” called out a deep accented voice from behind them.
Irina jerked away from Malcolm and turned her head. Yuri stood in the front of the alleyway, a smirk on his face.