Page 48 of Dangerous Promises

Inside the house there's no damage. Luckily for the Rushkoffs it looks like none of Chet's men made it in here and the fighting was confined to the outside lawns. Alexei doesn't look back at me as we walk, knowing that I will expectantly follow.

As we pass the living room I get the courage to speak. "So why me?"

I only know he's heard me from the slight tilt of his head. "The guy won't talk for me."

"You think he'll talk for me?" I ask, almost wanting to laugh.

"You're a shock," Alexei says. "The last person anyone expects to walk into that room is you."

He leads me downstairs and we enter the basement where I was once held captive with Anton, but this time there's someone else. Chet's second in charge is tied to a chair, looking very worse for wear.

My head swims with reminders of before. From when I was trapped here with Anton, no idea of what I was about to lose. I think of that day. If I really let my emotions win, I could break down right here and now. If I really let myself think about it I could hyperventilate, scream and cry out loud. But I don't. I have to focus on what's in front of me and not on what my mind wants to lose me in.

"Get away from me you Rushkoff scum, I will not tell you anything!" The man's rage is solely focused on Alexei as he launches a giant wad of spit his way.

It lands with a thud and Alexei turns a disappointed stare onto the spot where it settles. The man is red-faced and frenzied,readying to shout more vitriol but when he sees me his face goes a pale shade of white.

"You," he says, looking between me and Alexei. "Both of you."

"Problem?" Alexei asks, looking like he's ready to drag me closer and throw me under the bus if it gets him to his end goal.

The man chokes, coughing up more spit to launch our way. Alexei narrowly avoids it again, but he grits his teeth, flicks his knife and grabs the guy's hand.

"I suggest you speak, if you don't want to lose a finger," Alexei says. The man's eyes go wide and he holds his lips shut, violently shaking his head. But I know too well that fear is exactly what we want. Alexei smiles. His teeth are rabid as he points the knife and cuts the man's finger off in a single sweeping movement.

An insane look of pleasure crosses his face when he addresses the man again. "Nothing?" Alexei laughs. "Because I can keep cutting. You have nine more fingers."

The guy shakes his head again, but his jaw tenses, waiting to lose another digit as Alexei motions to cut off another finger. I want something this time though. I don't want to be a bystander and sit on the sidelines while life is lived around me. I want to be a part of it.

"Wait!" I say, surprised to find myself spoken. Their eyes turn to me. Both the man's grimaced face and Alexei's dark expression as he hovers with the knife. Both expectant as they wait to see what I have interrupted them for. My words come slowly. "I want to try."

Silence.

I pause and bite my lip, fiddling with my hands and feeling shy as I wait for Alexei to respond.

"Try what?" Alexei clarifies.

"Chop- I mean- cut his finger," I say.

Alexei frowns for only a moment. It takes no time at all for a deranged smile to appear on his face as he holds his hand out to me. I take both the literal and metaphorical leap, putting my hand in his and letting him tug me closer. Alexei's fingers brush against mine, his hand traveling up my arm and to my shoulder as he moves behind me for support.

"Just chop, princess," he whispers, his lips against my ear and his tattooed hands gripping my arms. "No need to make it fast. Take your time."

Alexei's hands rub strokes up and down my arms as I allow the weight of the knife to settle in my hand. My eyes close on a shudder as Alexei's calloused finger brushes against my throat when he sweeps my hair behind my back.

"Don't think," he says, his voice a presence on the wind.

With him pressed up against me from behind, it feels like both of us are doing it as I lean forward and press the blade against the man's ring finger. The first slice of the blade does nothing but make a minor cut.

"Beautiful," Alexei says, acting like the devil on my shoulder. Despite the settings, the blood leaking out onto the floor, my heart rate triples and settles low in my belly. The muffled screams of my victim are nothing but background noise when Alexei's lips are against my ear, telling me how beautiful I cut.

I rock the blade back and forth, making a messy maniacal cut.

"That's it," Alexei says. "Keep going."

I saw until the finger finally falls off and the man is screaming at full force. Blood spurts everywhere but all I can focus on is the way Alexei holds me. I turn my head up to look at him and he is locked onto me as well.

"Perfect," he says, his finger stroking over my cheek as his eyes bore into mine with something feral that takes my breath away.