His gaze settled on her, steady, unflinching.
“You are my temporary prisoner.”The words were delivered with the same calm precision as everything else he said.There was no hesitation or apology.
Lena stared at him.
“Until when?”she asked, her voice rising despite herself.
“I decide when,” he said, tone cold and final.
Did he think she was just going to accept that answer?Something inside her snapped.She moved before she could think.
Lena swung her legs off the bed and lunged toward the door, adrenaline burning through the lingering haze in her body.
Freedom was just a few steps away, but Lena didn’t make it.Maksim caught her easily, and she’d forgotten the sheer strength of him.
He closed one hand around her arm, the other bracing her before she could slam into the wall.The movement was swift, controlled, practiced.
“Let me go!”she gasped, struggling against him.
“It’s no use,” he said quietly.
She fought anyway.Kicking, twisting, pulling against his grip with everything she had.He didn’t tighten his hold or hurt her.
Maksim simply held her, like he was an immovable and unyielding brick wall, one Lena realized she couldn’t break through.
Her strength burned out quickly, panic eating through her energy faster than she could sustain it.Her breaths came in ragged bursts, her body trembling with the effort.
Slowly, inevitably, the fight drained out of her.Maksim didn’t release her immediately.He waited until she sagged slightly in his hold, and her resistance turned into something softer.Defeat.
Only then did he let go.Lena stumbled back a step, her chest heaving.She glared at him, anger flickering weakly beneath the fear.
He watched her like she was something puzzling.Prey, perhaps, or a variable that he didn’t account for.Lena swallowed hard.Fine.If she couldn’t overpower him, she would outlast him.
Lena was a survivor.She survived her dad’s death, even though it devastated her, and she plowed through a shitty job, but it paid the bills.She straightened slightly, forcing her breathing to slow.
“Fine,” she said, the word tasting bitter.“I understand.”
His eyes narrowed just slightly, like he didn’t believe her.Good, because she didn’t want him to.She just needed him to underestimate her.
“I’ll show you around,” he said after a moment.
There wasn’t much to show.The apartment was small, cramped, and carried the same worn-down atmosphere as the bedroom.
A narrow hallway led to a tiny kitchen, a bathroom with flickering light, and the front door was reinforced, she noticed immediately.Maksim gestured toward it.
“I control the lock,” he said.
She frowned.He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small device.With a subtle press, there was a quiet mechanical click from the door.
“Magnetic system,” he added.“You cannot open it without this.”
Her stomach dropped.Dang it.Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy.Why did she think it would be?
Then right on cue, her stomach let out a low, traitorous growl.
Lena froze, completely mortified.Maksim flicked his gaze to her midsection, then back to her face.
“I’ll make something,” he said.
