The Prelude by Kasonndra Leigh Read Free Book Online

about it all day yesterday.” Then again, maybe she’s not rescuing anything. I’ll remember to strangle my sister later on.
    “ Yes, Erin has outdone herself on Black Butterfly’s new line,” Rafe says, beaming. “But then, I always knew someone with such talents was destined for great things. She was an absolute delight to have in my class. All the other students looked to her for guidance. It’s like she was born with the eye for design.”
    The older Martuccio brother has a  thing for Erin, and it’s pretty bad. His lines sound even more desperate than the lend-an-ear statement Nikolai used on my sister a while ago. Competition—I never dodged it in the past. I sure as hell don’t intend to do so now.
    “ Okay, everybody, please. You’ve all made your point now,” Erin says, her cheeks are filled with blush again. With her exotic dark looks, the color in her face gives her a raw, but innocent kind of appeal. I can barely take my eyes off of her. I don’t even want to. “Luca also had a part in the designs. They aren’t just mine.”
    Luca shrugs and makes a whirling movement with his hand. “Very little. I only attached lace to the bodice. The design belongs completely to our rising star. I don’t know why she’s acting this way. It’s about time you got noticed, Erin.”
    Time to rein the Martuccio brothers back under my control. I am the one who commissioned them to create designs for my show. I turn to Erin and say, “I expect you to have found a name for my new proposed line soon. And then we can discuss it over a proper dinner together.” She opens her mouth, but Rafe speaks for her.
    “ Of course Erin will have a name for her line. She’s also available to discuss your design needs anytime you wish, Mr. Dostov,” Rafe says, almost choking on the last few words. It hurts him to move over and share this spotlight with me. But I’m Alek Dostov, the world renowned maestro who has made a name for himself by the age of twenty-three. That’s some pretty big shit and I know it. The Martuccio’s need my name attached to one of their lines to survive in this sea of fashion sharks.
    “ I look forward to it,” I say to Erin and then return to my seat, dragging my sister along with me. When the Black Butterfly design team finishes dinner, Erin walks out behind them without even a glance in my direction. I notice because I couldn’t look away.
     
    * * *
     
    I ease the Aston Martin to a stop behind her taxi. The car that has followed hers ever since she left the restaurant passes by the driveway leading up to what I assume is her apartment building. I wanted to see what the mystery driver was up to which is how I ended up sitting here outside my newly hired designer’s house.
    Shortly after Erin ’s group left, Mother backed down. The alcohol had done a number on her, and she started mumbling something about my father being in China. I won’t lie. I was relieved. Adriana and Nikolai agreed to ride with Mother while my attention was ripped toward an argument going on between two men standing just outside the doorway, Rafe and his brother Luca.
    They say Russians have the stealth in war , the ability to separate our minds from all things emotional. But Italians have the tempers of the gods. And these two were going to it so shamelessly; they didn’t even see Erin and Carla walk toward their separate cars. That was when I noticed the one parked behind Erin’s taxi.
    As soon as hers pulled off , the black sedan moved away from the curb. Call it instinct, or maybe it’s just that I spent enough time learning how a gang targets someone. Either way, the warning going off in my head wasn’t going to leave me alone until I pacified the cause of it. And right then, something was pounding inside me, telling me that Erin was in danger.
    After briefly saying goodnight to my family , I rushed toward my car and headed in the direction I saw the sedan last move toward. Swallowing hard, I exhaled when