Page 54

“I need water,” I mutter.

“I got it,” Ivan says, quickly leaving the room to fetch a glass.

Aleksei stays behind. “Rest today,” he says. “You can question her tomorrow.”

He’s right. But that doesn’t make it any easier. She nearly killed me, and I’m already dying to see her again.

“We found nothing on her phone,” Noah says as he trails behind me down the basement stairs, his disapproving frown drilling into my back.

I ignore it. I didn’t expect answers to be sitting on her phone anyway.

“But if you give me and the guys a few more days with her, I’m certain we can get her to break.”

I cut him a look, and he goes quiet, though the disapproval doesn’t shift an inch. He didn’t want me coming down here, but I don’t give a fuck. I waited all night to see her again. I’m ready to handle this on my own. I need to handle it on my own.

Still, my heart races the closer I get to her cell.

I shove it down. It only has meaning if I let it. And yet, my steps falter when I finally see her.

Grace.

She looks up from her cot, weak and half-dazed, but the expression that crosses her face when she recognizes me—shit, I wasn’t prepared for this.

Her eyes light up, the hazel swirling golden as they lock onto mine. She pushes to her feet too quickly, and I don’t miss the wince that follows or the slight limp as she makes her way toward me. Fading bruises mark her face, faint fingerprints stain her arms, and pale-purple bands circle her wrists where the restraints must have dug in.

“You’re alive,” she breathes, coming to a stop on the other side of the steel door, her fingers curling around the bars. “I knew you had to be… well, because I’m still alive.”

Then she smiles, and fuck, it hits like a fist straight through the sternum, squeezing tight. The room tilts, and I grab the bars to steady myself—right above her hands.

“Are you okay?” Her soft fingers slide over mine, and the jolt that shoots through me is bittersweet. After all that’s happened, how the hell am I still so attracted to her? Fuck, I must have a thing for toxic relationships. Literally.

I tug my hand free and glance at Noah, who’s watching the exchange with a hawk’s eye. I turn away from him, step to the door panel, and type in the code. The lock disengages, and I pull the door open, taking Grace by the arm, ignoring her sharp inhale.

I ignore everything—my own reaction to touching her, my pounding heart, Noah’s slow head shake—and lead her down the corridor and up the basement stairs. She follows meekly, knowing better than to utter a word of protest.

I take her up to the second floor and into one of the guest bedrooms. Her room. In the hallway outside, a group of my men loiter awkwardly, as if they aren’t sure what to do.

I turn to face them, a sudden fury possessing every inch of me. I’m filled with rage at the idea that some of them must have left these bruises on her, made her limp with every step, tied her up and tortured her.

“How dare you touch what’s mine,” I roar, ready to kill them all.

They take a collective step back. All except Noah, who’s watching me with an expression so blank it’s its own form of commentary.

“What’s yours?” The question comes from Grace. The men are momentarily forgotten as I turn back to her. Her steel stare meets mine head-on, so different from the relief that was there earlier. “You’re not referring to me, are you?”

For a moment, I just stare back, letting her burn under the fire in my eyes. Then I tell her the absolute, unfiltered truth.

“There is no one else.”

Her eyes widen with shock as I close the distance between us. “You’re mine now, Grace Turner. My world. My toy. My plaything. Nobody sees you. Nobody talks to you. Nobody knows you without my permission.” I steer her toward the bed, not stopping until the backs of her knees hit the bed frame and she drops onto it, bouncing slightly.

“Your existence is on a need-to-know basis. And if anyone so much as acknowledges yours, I’ll end theirs. Understand?”

She blinks up at me, but I don’t wait for her response.

You’re mine till I drain you of all the information I need.

Biting down on my lip, I let a vicious sneer twist my face. Then I turn away and walk out, locking the door behind me.