The Russian Billionaire: A Romantic Suspense Novel

now wasting my time.”
“Damn you, Konstantin. I give you everything. Everything,” she cries dramatically.
“Whatever. Enjoy the party.” He takes my hand in his, but as we start to walk away, a shrill female voice from the edges of the party screams, “Konstantin.”
Both Konstantin and I turn towards the voice. To my shock, I see a young woman in a long white dress has climbed onto the wall at the edge of the rooftop, and is standing very still on it. The night sky is full of stars and she cuts a dramatic figure. The wind blows her flaming red hair across her face. When she lifts her hand to sweep it away from her eyes, her body sways dangerously. A collective gasp of shock rises from the crowd around us. Konstantin’s grip around my arm tightens and I feel his whole body tensing next to me.
“Konstantin,” she calls again, looking directly at him. Her face is very white and there is a strange, deadened quality to her voice. As if she is high on drugs or something. I’ve seen video montages of people on fentanyl who seem oblivious to danger or pain.
“For fuck’s sake,” I hear Konstantin mutter under his breath. “Wait here,” he says to me.
I stand rooted to the spot as he starts to walk towards the woman. The crowd parts to let him through. As he gets a few feet away from her, she calmly lifts her hand in a halting gesture. “Don’t come any closer,” she warns in that dead voice. Then she reveals her other hand. There is a small knife in it.
Konstantin immediately stops and asks, “What are you doing, Alicia?”
“Why did you leave me?” she asks.
“Come down and we can talk about it,” he suggests gently.
“No. Once I come down you’ll just walk away. Just like you always do.”
“No, I won’t. We’ll talk. I promise.”
She shakes her head, making her red hair tumble around her shoulders. “No,” she sobs pitifully. “I don’t want to talk. I want you to want me again. Like how it was at the beginning. You said I’m beautiful. Am I not beautiful anymore?”
“Of course, you’re beautiful.”
“You’re lying,” she mewls.
“I’m not lying. You are beautiful, very beautiful.” His voice rings out with sincerity.
Tears begin to pour down her face. “Then why don’t you want me anymore, Konstantin?”
“Come down and we’ll talk. We can go and get a drink together and talk.”
“Can we go back to your place?”
“Sure.”
She starts shaking her head. “You’re lying. I can see you’re lying. You came in with a woman. You’re going back with her, aren’t you? She’s getting the Princess treatment tonight, isn’t she?”
“Get off that ledge, Alicia. I’m not worth taking your life for. You’re young and beautiful. You have your whole life in front of you.”
“No,” she screams suddenly, and slashes her forearm with the knife, the metal is like a hot knife through butter, her flesh rips open and blood squirts out of her arm like a fountain. Some of the women in the crowd scream at the gory sight. I stare in shock at what happens next.

Raine
Quick as a flash, in the chaos that ensues, Konstantin lunges forward, grabs Alicia’s hand and pulls her off the ledge. She wraps her arms tightly around him and begins to emit a strange high-pitched wail. Quickly, he unwraps her arms from around him and lays her limp body on the ground. He pulls his necktie from around his neck and ties it securely around the gaping wound.
“I love you, Konstantin,” she mumbles, but it is clear that the shock and the loss of blood are starting to have an effect on her. She looks pale and lost. Konstantin turns and looks as if he is looking for someone in the crowd. When he locates the person or persons he nods.
Two men rush towards him.
“Take her to the hospital,” he says.
The woman is so slight one of the men scoops her into his arms and carries her away.
Suddenly, the music starts up again, and a woman makes an announcement hoping the girl would be fine and urging everyone to continue partying. Konstantin walks up to me. He is covered in blood.
“Excuse me, while I go wash my hands,” he says, with a frown.
“Of course, I’ll wait here for you.”
“Stupid bitch,” Chloe says spitefully from behind me.
I turn slowly towards her.
Her eyes glitter with malice. “What?” she challenges. “You trying to take the moral high ground with me. You think you know him. You think you’ve got him. Ha, ha, let me tell you, that’s what they all think at the beginning. Here’s a piece of free advice for you, he will chew you up and discard you like a piece of gum so don’t let him chew too long, or you’ll become tasteless for all other men.”
Then she turns around and flounces away.
I stare at the stars in the sky. All around me the party-goers are talking about what has just happened. I hear snippets.
“Did you know her?”
“Some model.”
“Silly girl.”
“Well, Konstantin Tsarnov is sex on a stick, after all.”
I turn to look at the woman who makes the comment. It is impossible to tell her age. She is a walking advertisement for her plastic surgeon. She meets my eyes, hers are filled with wry amusement, and I turn away quickly. Even though the night air is balmy, a shiver runs through me.
Don’t get involved. You have only one goal and that is to switch the painting and save Madison. Nothing else is more important.
“Raine,” Konstantin calls.
I turn.
He has washed the blood off his hands and taken off his soiled jacket. There is a wet patch on his shirt. Otherwise you could never tell that moments ago he was covered in blood.
“Are you ready to go?”
I nod, and we walk towards the escalator. Neither of us speaks. Not even while we zoom downwards. I feel as if there is a stone in my throat. I steal a glance at him and find