“Don’t do anything stupid, my beautiful Vivian. I would hate to find a need to punish you.”
His voice was low, as sultry as before but with a hint of danger should I disobey him.
“Don’t worry. I’m not stupid,” I hissed, jerking away. When I went inside the room, I took a deep breath, struggling to calm my nerves. What in the hell had I gotten myself in the middle of? Whatever it was, this wasn’t my lucky day.
I moved to my locker, taking a quick glance over my shoulder. I had one chance to try to escape. I yanked my phone from mypurse, moving to the other side where he couldn’t see me if he opened the door.
I dialed the number, hoping Emily would pick up. “Come on. Come on…” Hearing a slight sound, a lump formed in my throat, fear leaving a trail of icy tingles clawing at my skin. I peeked around the corner of the group of metal lockers, clearly able to see the door. There was no one inside the room.
Although I prayed like hell someone would walk in. The morning shift should be coming through the doors at any moment. Somehow, my captor seemed to know that instinctively. He’d studied his TAG Heuer military-style watch at least ten times while I’d tended to his wound. He was organized, highly skilled, and dangerous.
And eighty percent of my thoughts revolved around the passion we’d shared instead of the danger I was in.
“You’ve reached Emily Reynolds, please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
The single long beep was jarring, pulling me from the crazy thoughts. “Emily, I need?—”
A large hand was placed over mine on the phone, another over my mouth. With a nuzzle against my neck and a swath of hot air sliding across my skin, I was thrown into a surreal bubble.
“I’m certain you want Emily to live so you’re going to tell her something that won’t raise any red flags. If you don’t, I’ll need to follow through with my promise.” There was no malice to his threat, no anger at finding me betraying the limited promise I’d made. Just a sultry tone that fashioned filthy, highly inappropriate images. “Nod if you understand.”
I did with a single jerk of my head. I was finally at the point of surrendering to fear. When he slowly removed his hand, I took a deep breath, doing what I could to control my nerves. “I’m sorry, Em. I was distracted. I wanted to ask if you’d look in on Mr. Jacobs for me as I was doing earlier. Just in case. And call me if there is any issue. He is supposed to be discharged later today and I’ll be back before that.”
The only thing I could do was toss a couple of hints in hopes that Emily would realize I sounded nuts and called the police. From there, I had no idea how anyone would discover who was behind what had occurred.
If my instincts were correct about Kirill and he was working with a crime syndicate, the cleanup he’d requested would include dealing with the police. Which meant the police in their entirety were likely owned by the criminals. Typical; New York was dealing with three or four major syndicates.
And so many people believed the era of the mafia owning a piece of everything in town was over. Bullshit. They had their hands in almost everything, more legitimate than not. They’d learned from Fortune 100 companies how to manage their wealth.
The only difference was crime syndicates handled their enemies with violence instead of buyouts and forced mergers.
“That’s a good girl,” he breathed while taking the phone from my hand. “Now, as you might imagine, I’m not pleased with your behavior. Sadly, it means I can’t trust you and that pains me. I’ll also need to punish you for defying me, but that will need to come later. Grab your things. Now. One last promise, and I truly hate to do this, Vivian, because the time we spent together has been so meaningful, but if you try anything while we’re walkingout, I will hunt those you care about and punish them for your misbehavior. Are we clear?”
“We’re clear that you’re a monster.”
His laugh in my ear was soft.
Inviting.
Evoking one too many random yet sinful thoughts that had no place in the moment.
There was no room to argue with him any longer. I didn’t doubt what he’d do to prove a point or to make me pay for my sins. As we walked down the corridor, the closer we came to the emergency center, the more activity there was.
A doctor waved and I waved back, trying to plaster on a smile. Kirill’s grip on my arm was tight, but as soon as there were more people, he switched his hand to placing it against the small of my back.
Which kept me quivering in his still powerful hold.
As we rounded a corner, a couple of nurses ran by at full speed. There was instant chaos and catching sight of two police officers, it didn’t take me long to realize a violent if not deadly crime had been committed, police waiting for the outcome of emergency care.
Shouts overruled normal conversation, more people flooding the area.
He managed to steer us away from the melee and toward the sliding doors. I could barely breathe, my entire body aching from heavy tension. I searched the crowd for anyone who would makeeye contact. In a city like New York, not doing so had become an art.
Even inside a hospital.
“Come on,” he said, his voice ringing in my ears.
A single tear formed in my eyes out of frustration. Anger flowed but mostly at myself for not being able to see the man for what he was. Just like my uncle.
