Retribution (25 page)

For the next hour she
mingled, and acted the part, hating every second of it. The only
person that made it bearable, was Ryan. He was outstanding as her
mock date. He was sophisticated and charming, and kept very close
to her. She felt protected and safe every time he placed his hand
on her lower back or touched her discreetly on the arm or by a
gentle caress of her hip. It was all the security she needed,
knowing he was there. When asked what he did for a living, he told
people he was in acquisitions. She near choked on a sip of wine. He
lowered his hand and pinched her bottom. She squeaked but covered
it with a brief cough. She shot him a false glare. He was so
daring! No one questioned him and instead asked him about
particular investments. Wow, people were so easily fooled and
itching to spend money.

Yes this was how the
disgustingly rich lived.

Well in their defense, Ryan
gave off the aura of being undeniably accomplished, self-assured
and wealthy, so people took that as him being very successful. To
top it off, he sounded incredibly articulate in the market
performance and was actually able to answer their questions. She
wasn’t sure if his answers held any truth, but he sure as heck
sounded right. No one knew who he really was except her father’s
men. You never know, she might have fallen for that charm too if
she’d met him at a gala like this.

“I’m going to get you
another glass of wine.”

She looked up at Ryan.
“Why?”

“Because you are as stiff
as a board.”

“Is it that noticeable?”
She thought she was doing really well.

“Only to a select few.” He
nodded toward her father who gave her a quick glance. It was quick
but it spoke volumes.

“Oh. I see.”

“White?”

She sighed and nodded. She
didn’t like putting on an act for anyone and now that she knew what
her father was, how many people just like him were at his party?
She was expected to play the shining socialite, but it was hard to
do that when the undercurrent of violence was present. She’d
suffered because of what he was. Her sister was twisted and her
mother was dead.

“I’ll be back.” He turned
and walked toward the bar tended by a man in a white
tuxedo.

Kat watched him closely. He
was incredibly handsome; tall, sexy and confident. The man looked
like a tycoon. His grey eyes were vibrant in that suit and she’d
seen that the women he’d walked by took notice too. It wasn’t just
them. There were six around them at least every five minutes when
she was introducing them to her father’s guests. It didn’t matter
that she was on his arm or the daughter of the host. Ryan was that
irresistible. Even now while getting her a glass of wine he was
approached by a sexy blonde who was obviously flirting with him.
The signs were obvious; the fluttering of lashes, titillating laugh
and twisting a finger in her hair. Then there was the casual brush
of her fingers across the back of his hand that was resting on the
bar. Soon another woman, brunette this time joined the bleached
blond. Katya folded her arms and watched in quiet appreciation as
he smiled, nodded, retrieved her glass of wine, said something and
then turned and walked toward her.

“Another fan?” she asked
accepting the glass of wine.

“She holds no candle to
you,” he answered honestly.

She almost laughed at the
fact he didn’t even ask her who or what she was referring to. Then
her smile faltered. “What exactly is it then?”

“Pardon?”

“I’ve seen women around you
Ryan. I’ve also seen the disappointment on their faces when you
don’t take the cues. I know you see them.”

“Of course I
do.”

“You have a lot of
experience or you wouldn’t be so immune.”

“Are we discussing this
here?”

He looked irritated. She
paused. He was right. She was being ridiculous. She knew she was,
and this conversation should be reserved for the bedroom, but she
felt so insecure at the moment. “It’s just, I have to know.
What
is
it about
me?”

He stepped close, toe to
toe, and stared down at her. His hands rested on her waist.“Kat,
because it’s important to you, and on the risk of being overheard,
I’ll answer. There are plenty things about you that I find utterly
irresistible. Right now, if I could touch you more in public, I
would—heads up. Your father.” He nodded past her.

Augh, such bad
timing
. She took a large gulp of her glass
and turned to face him. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that he
had another bleach blonde on his arm. Tight clothes, exquisite
figure and beautiful. His typical woman. Again though, the woman’s
eyes went to Ryan and she licked her lips as they
approached.

Kat felt bile rise in her
throat as flashes of Porsha’s lifeless corpse resurfaced in her
mind. Hopefully this poor woman wouldn’t have the same fate. She
couldn’t understand her sister’s anger toward her father’s
girlfriends. It wasn’t their fault he was a pig. As twisted as her
sister was, she wouldn’t kill her, even though she had no problem
letting her men torture her. She had it figured out now. Anna was
targeting her father’s weaknesses.

Peter introduced his new
girlfriend to his daughter. “This is Kitty VanDoonen, her father is
a United States senator. Kitty, this is my daughter Kat, and her
escort, Ryan.”

Kitty giggled. “You know,
together we’re Kitty-Kat.”

You have got to be kidding
me
. Her mouth fell open and Ryan pinched
her bum making her snap it shut. She might have even jumped a
little but no one noticed. She managed to paste a fake smile across
her face and bite back a sharp retort. The last time she released
her wrath she couldn’t apologize for it. She vowed not make that
mistake again.

Still, how come her father
always managed to find the most brainless pretty women on the
planet? Again the woman was barely a few years older than her. Why
couldn’t her father do anything normal? “Nice to meet you,” she
said through tight lips.

“Well, everything turned
out just fine, didn’t it Katya?” He spread his free arm out
indicating the party.

“Yes, Eveline is amazing as
usual,” she answered casually trying her best to keep her anger in
check.

“Here hold my glass.” He
turned and handed his drink to his date. “I have to make an
announcement.

To Kat’s surprise he took
her hand and led her toward the temporary stage where the orchestra
was playing and led her up the steps. She cast a wary glance over
her shoulder at Ryan who looked just as confused as she
was.

Peter raised his hand and
stopped the music. One of his men came forward and gave him a
microphone. He tapped it twice before covering it with his hand.
“Stay close Katya. It’s important,” he said to her while smiling at
the crowd.

What on earth was this
about?
Again she pulled a fake smile
across her lips. She had to stay strong and get through the
night.

“Everyone! Can I have your
attention.”

People started to make
their way over to the stage. Katya figured there were almost five
hundred people there by the looks of the crowd from where she
stood. She knew most of them by past events that they’ve had and
those she’d been invited to. She was relieved to see Ryan make his
way to the front of the crowd. Kitty was hanging off his arm and
waved to her when she was noticed. Well, she knew Ryan was just
being a gentleman and keeping her company. It was the gentlemanly
thing to do she supposed.

Once everyone seemed to be
crowded around the small stage Peter started talking. “As most of
you know I’ve been sitting on Miami council for almost five years
now.” There was applause from people in the audience. He lifted his
hand letting them know he had more to say. When the crowd hushed,
he continued. “I’ve decided that is enough for me. I’m not running
for reelection.” This time sounds of disappointment reached his
ears but he grinned. “I’m not done.” Laughter this time. “As most
of you know we’ve had a lot of tragedy in our lives.” He reached
over and put his arm around Kat’s shoulders, who looked completely
lost. “First my wife, then my precious daughter Anna. I want to get
through that and make a new life for us, and help defeat the people
who put drugs on the street.”

Katya stared at him in
shock.

“So, I’ve decided to run
for Governor. So be generous with your check books
tonight.”

Cheers and applause erupted
drowning out Katya’s gasp. Her father turned to her, hugged her and
whispered harshly in her ear. “And you will act accordingly and
keep your mouth shut!” Without another word, he released her and
walked off stage to accept congratulations.

Ryan met her as she
followed suit, and the music started playing again. Her father was
being mobbed by his guests, but he did shoot her a warning look
before they engulfed him. “Did you know about this?” she asked
Ryan.

He shook his head. “I’m
just as surprised.” He would have never thought the man had the
balls to do such a thing. Campaign rivalry brings out all the dirty
secrets. This man had to have had an edge before he went public
with such an announcement.

She lowered her voice so
only he could hear. “He can’t Ryan. He just can’t. So many people
will suffer.”

Ryan nodded. “I won’t let
it get that far.”

“We.
We
won’t let it get that far,” she
corrected.

The corner of his mouth
pulled up. “Brave words. Here I thought you were a spoiled
princess. You keep surprising me.”

She found it in her to
smile. “And I thought you were a real bodyguard.”

He chuckled and took her
hand. “Let’s finish this horrible night by having more to
drink.”

Her eyes widened. “If I
didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to get me drunk to
take advantage of me.”

He leaned down and
whispered in her ear. “I don’t need to get you drunk to do that,
but I’m definitely going to take advantage of you. Now,
shhh.”

She laughed.

After another two hours,
she’d had enough of this crowd and her father being patted on the
back for such a political move. Thankfully Ryan noticed and told
her to go to bed.

“What about my
father?”

“I’ll handle him,” he said
just as the older man made eye contact with him and waved him over.
“Besides, it looks like he wants my attention. He won’t notice that
you’ve gone.”

“Okay.” Ryan left her then.
It seemed so impersonal but she knew he was trying to keep up the
professionalism. She couldn’t really expect that he’d kiss her
goodnight. She sighed and went back into the house and up to her
room. The guests were thinning too. It was quite late and just a
few loyal stragglers were left. Well, more than likely her father’s
dirty business partners. She didn’t want to stick around while they
chummed up to one another. She’d need a shower to get all the
wicked slime off of her.

She turned the corner of
the upstairs hall to go to her room and stopped. Ivan was leaning
against the wall next to her door smoking a cigarette. She narrowed
her eyes and marched forward. “I don’t think my father would like
you smoking in the house.”

“He won’t know.”

She paused and looked at
him. His voice was cool and collected, like he had the authority to
do what he wanted. Usually he was more than friendly to her even
though she despised him. She placed her hand on the doorknob and
Ivan stepped in front of her. His eyes went down her front to her
breasts then back up to her eyes.

“Are you sure you don’t
want to use the other door?” He said with malice in his
tone.

She felt a little afraid of
where this was leading, but covered it with irritation. She tossed
her head. “Of course not. That’s Mr. Casey’s room.”

He shrugged meeting her
eyes. “Well, I assumed since you were sleeping with—“

She slapped him across the
cheek cutting off his words. Surprisingly the cigarette remained
between his lips.
Although it was now bent. In any other situation she might have
found it amusing.

His face twisted as he
became enraged and grabbed her wrist. “If you do that again, I’ll
break your hand!”

“Let me go! You’re hurting
me!” she shouted.

He shoved her against the
wall—hard. She released a painful gasp. He brought his face close
to hers so she could smell his breath. She made a disgusted
sound.

“I know your screwing him.
I’ve seen you together.”

She laughed like he was
being ridiculous.

“Oh? What do you think your
father will do if he finds out? He’ll cut that man up into little
pieces.”

Her eyes met his. He was
guessing. He had to be. With the exception of the party, which was
an act of affection to cover what Ryan really did, they didn’t show
any fondness in public at all. They hardly even looked at one
another. She narrowed her eyes in hatred and decided to call his
bluff. “I don’t Know what you
think
you saw, but you’re dreaming.” Oh, she was
terrified though. What if there was a slip and she couldn’t
remember; a small caress, a look, or a soft spoken word.