Dimitri quirked his brows. “Or what?”
Roger raised his hands and grabbed Dimitri’s jacket. I was worried that Dimitri’s men would rush for Roger. Instead, I was surprised.
Fast, Dimitri slammed Roger’s hands away.
“Ah!” Shocked, Roger stumbled back and gazed at his arms.
Dimitri seized that moment to get him again. He backhanded Roger. It was a hard, unforgiving smash to his face. A crack sounded near his jaw.
Terrified, I held my hands in the air as if that could stop everything.
My guard fell back into the wall and groaned in pain. Over and over, he shook his head and blinked his eyes as if he were trying to regain consciousness.
One of Dimitri’s men leaned his way. “That might be a concussion.”
“I’m. . .o. . .kay.” Roger shook his head fast again and then tried to rise.
“No. No.” Dimitri wagged his finger. “Stay down, Roger. Like you said, this is another day on the job.”
Dimitri’s men pulled out their guns and pointed them at Roger.
Terror seized my heart. I opened my mouth in shock.
Dimitri gestured at them. “Are you getting paid to die today, Roger?”
Poor Roger looked away from me and sat back down on the floor. “I’m sorry, Ms. Walsh.”
Worry filled me. “That’s all right. You did a good job.”
“Roger really did.” Dimitri clapped his hands and nudged the man next to him. “What do you think, Viktor?”
He nodded. “It was definitely a good effort. One man against all of us. He has big balls.”
“And big balls are good to have in this world.” Dimitri walked back to me. Another man came to his side and brushed off his shoulder, straightening the few wrinkles Roger had caused.
The whole time, Dimitri watched me.
When the man finished, Dimitri stepped forward. “Who told you to come here?”
I inched back. “The hotel called the police.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.” He moved forward again. “Ms. Walsh, I like honesty.”
I inched away, stopping at the wall behind me. “Like I said, the hotel called the police.”
“Lies. You have high connections in this city, the sort that have eyes everywhere. Who? Governor? Mayor?”
“No disrespect, Dimitri, but my photographer and I have every right to go into that room and report on what's going on in Paradise City.”
He raised his eyebrows. “What photographer?”
I checked my right. Sampson, the station’s photographer, must have rushed away sometime when Dimitri man-handled my guard.
What the hell? You just ran off?
“Your partner is a smart man, Ms. Walsh. You on the other hand. . .”
His men helped Roger up and escorted him out of the hallway. The rest gave us a wide berth of space.
I decided to move to the right. He blocked my way with his arm and placed his hand on the wall. I tried to move left and he did the same thing. Now he had me cornered against the wall. And it was hard to not notice the heat radiating off of his body.
He watched me. “Do you like the new digital recorder?”
“Yes.” I gazed into his eyes. I shouldn't have. Those icy blue eyes held me in a trance. I hadn’t noticed that in the glow of the nightclub last night. But now I could see it more clearly.
“I’m glad you like it.”
“I would like to use my recorder.”
“You will. It just won’t happen much in Paradise.” He lowered his gaze to my cleavage, not even trying to hide his ogling. “I have a question.”
“Yes?”
“Did I look you in the eye, when we first met?”
“I believe so.”
“Interesting.”
“How does that relate to anything?”
“Did you drive or did your babysitter?”
“My photographer drove.”
“Then, he left you.”
“He could be downstairs.”
Dimitri smirked. “Or he could be rushing home to piss his pants.”
“You’re scary, but I doubt he pissed his pants.”
“I bet he pissed his pants when I stepped out into the hallway. He was terrified of me. As he should be. What I can’t understand, is why you never have the same reaction.”
“Is that what you're into, Mr. Ivanov? Women urinating on themselves?”
The smirk shifted to a devilish grin. “You have a good sense of humor. You're going to keep me entertained for a long time.”
“I would like you to move out of the way.”
“And you’ll get your wish. I will move because I’m taking you home.” He backed up and gave me room.
I remained against the wall. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
The door behind him opened.
Tall and stacked with muscle, Marcelo Romano left the room. I tried to get a quick glance of what was going on inside. I spotted a couple police here and there. But nothing more.
Two more men stepped out with Marcelo. Both were covered in tattoos. All three men glared my way.
Since arriving, I'd been trying to research Marcelo too. Every time I attempted to go into the South, people stared at me as if they knew I was up to no good. I never felt comfortable being down there.