Once Upon A Lie 2

Twenty-nine

There was someone in his hotel room. Mal should have been surprised, but he had run into her in Kerch and he somehow knew that he would see her again. "Zoya, did you drink my mini-fridge?"

Zoya, who was sitting on his bed downing a tiny little bottle of vodka, looked up at him. "Forgive me if I'm not in the mood to joke, Oretsev. I have been running from a psycho killer for the past few months."

Mal snorted. "Well, that's what happens when you get into bed with a murderer."

"He hadn't killed anyone at that point," Zoya reminded him.

"Except that he did put his mistress in a coma to protect his scandalous affair from being leaked to the press. Not exactly the kind of man that you want to do business with."

She snorted, and got up off of the bed. "I can handle men like Opjer. I've handled men like that my entire life. But I can't go back home, because if I do, he'll go after everyone I care about. He already took care of...."

Zoya couldn't even bring herself to say his name. She sighed. "I never should have found Nik, and I never should have went to him for money. But I knew if I went home, my father would cause problems."

Mal rolled his eyes. "Well, that's what happens when you fucking lie your ass of, Nazyalensky. What is it about Morozova that makes girls lose their minds? From what I can tell, he's a dick."

She rolled her eyes. "Because you're such a Prince, Oretsev? With your fighting and you're whole, being poor thing?"

Mal stepped forward. "You know, I could call Magnus Opjer right now and tell him where exactly the girl is that screwed everything up for him."

Zoya walked forward to where Mal stood, closing the space between them. "Yeah, but you wouldn't."

His heated gaze roamed her face. Zoya was tired, and ached from running. She had seen Fedyor Kaminsky following her around more than once. There was a good chance he could burst into Mal's hotel room at any moment. "What makes you so sure?"

It had been so long since she had been with someone. She had fooled around with Nikolai before he died, but that had been a complete disaster. Her begging him for money. Him telling her to fuck off. And then a heated, almost something on the last possession he had, his yacht that he'd bought when he was sixteen with his mom's money.

Then...

"Because, you want to believe that you're a fucking good guy," Zoya said, "that's why you're so obsessed with Alina Starkov. Because everyone thinks she's so innocent. But I know you, Oretsev. There's a reason why you fight and its because you hate the fucking world as much as I do. You're angry at everything, and that's why you enjoy beating rich guys to a pulp every week. But you want to think that you're doing it for some just reason. The truth is, you just like being a dick. Just as much as Morozova. Tell me I'm wrong."

"I have a girlfriend," Mal said.

Zoya laughed. "Oh, the one you made up for Genya to tell Alina about at her baby shower?"

Mal sighed. "How did you---"

"Because, I'm not stupid, Oretsev," Zoya said, "everyone knows that you are completely in love with Alina Starkov. You're just too much of a damn Saint to do anything about it. You know, I want to go back to Os Alta, but I don't want to go without protection. Maybe you and me could help each other out."

"What are you talking about?" Mal said.

"You want Alina. I want Aleks."

"They're married. She's pregnant," Mal said, "I give up."

Zoya rolled her eyes. "Then you are pathetic. You know people get married and divorced all of the time. Alina's young. So's Aleksander. Do you know how many marriages they could have in their lifetime? I think you'd make a nice second husband for her, Mal. Someone a little bit more stable. Much less drama. And you could be the good guy and adopt her kid. Be the dad that you never had growing up. Or just....keep on traveling around, lost and alone, while that prick Morozova gets exactly what he wants. Again."

Mal glared at her. "You're the fucking devil."

"Maybe so. But what do you say, hot stuff?" She pressed her chest up against his. She could feel Mal's cock pressed against her center, hard for her. "Oh. Is someone happy to see me?"

"Shut the fuck up," he snarled, and before she knew what had happened, he was kissing her, heatedly.

Zoya pulled back for a moment, and grinned at him. "Damn, Oretsev. If I knew you could kiss like that, maybe this would have happened sooner."

He glared at her. "You really think that you can help make Alina be with me?"

She nodded. "Just do exactly what I say and we'll both get exactly what we want."