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“My name is James Monroe,” he answered simply. “And who are you?” He raised his brow, and I was left with the distinct impression that he was making the mistake of underestimating me despite what he’d just seen. Maybe he thought he could handle me. He was going to find out he was wrong. I lifted my chin a bit haughtily. He’d figure that out soon enough.
The confident rumble of his voice told me I should know him, but I wasn’t from this country. I squared my shoulders, staring back at him as boldly as I dared.
“You can call me Kasia,” I answered. I did not give him my last name. Back home, the name Poplawski inspired fear. I wasn’t sure if it would be known here, but I didn’t want this man to make that connection.
I didn’t want him to know I was a discarded mafia princess with nowhere to go and no one to turn to.
Some stones were better left unturned.
“Kasia,” he purred, as if he was testing my name on his tongue. My core tightened reflexively at the sound of it. A part of me wanted to hear it again, but I wasn’t about to tell him that. Honestly, I didn’t even want to admit that to myself.
He stared at me for a long moment before he started to help the rest of the girls to their feet. I didn’t dare move yet. I didn’t think this man would hurt me, at least that was my gut feeling so far, but I couldn’t be certain. Back in Poland, I’d learned not to trust anyone. I’d seen what appeared to be the kindest looking elderly man cross the street with his wife to the local market. He’d reached in his pocket. I’d assumed he was going to pull out a pocket watch or something, but then there was a gun in his hand. I watched him shoot the shop owner in cold blood and then just carry on about his day as though things were fine.
Behind him, several men in relatively nice suits walked through the door.
James reached into his pocket and flipped open a knife. He sawed through the rope on each girl as he moved around the circle. A few he just untied because it took less time. The men who had entered along with him started doing the same.
“See to it that they get out of here safely. Get them clothes and rooms at the Waldorf. One for each of them and tell them to bill it to my account. I want them taken care of as though they were me,” James said, instructing the men. They didn’t answer him, but it was clear they answered to him. Immediately, they shuffled the girls out. There were enough of them to carry the girls who didn’t have any shoes. The rest were directed out without complaint. When one of them moved in my direction, James held up his hand.
“Not that one. I’ll see to her myself,” he dictated, and the man nodded quickly, immediately turning away.
“I can take care of myself,” I snarled. He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if I was challenging him in some way.
“You’re not going to, though, Kasia. You’re going to come with me. You killed a Bratva soldier and that puts you in an infinitely perilous position.”
“They’re not going to find out,” I retorted.
“They probably already know,” he answered.
I furrowed my brow, confused as he pointed to a dim corner. Dark and unassuming, I hadn’t really paid attention to it before. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned on his flashlight function, lighting up the room far more than the streetlamp could.
“They will know because they were watching,” he said.
There was a black camera hidden there that I hadn’t seen.
“I’ll go somewhere they won’t find me,” I argued.
“I know you just met me, Kasia, but I need you to trust me. I’m not going to hurt you. I have zero intention of selling you the way these men wanted to. You’ll be safest with me,” he assured me.
I wanted to believe him, but I just couldn’t bring myself to. Wanting to buy myself a little bit of time, I licked my lips and assessed him to the best of my ability. He radiated power, but right now it was subdued, like he was either trying to draw me in or what he was saying was actually true. I couldn’t be sure which was right.
All my life, I’d had to fend for myself. My mother was a fighter and she’d taught me to be one. She knew the world we lived in and the skills that she had taught me had come in handy time and time again. From a young age, I’d learned to use my small form to my advantage. I’d taken down men twice my size. I’d had to kill several times before, all because of who my father was. Enemy families had either tried to kill us or to kidnap us for ransom, and the two of us had fought our way out every time.
I would do the same thing again. It didn’t matter that his eyes were kind. I didn’t need him. I could take care of myself, but I would wait until the right moment to make a break for it. He’d let his guard down eventually.
“Alright,” I murmured. The other men and the rest of the women had gone, leaving just James and me. I turned my head, listening for any sign of them, but I heard nothing. He thought he could handle me all on his own.
He’d find out his mistake soon enough.
Wanting to stall a bit longer, I walked over to Yuri’s body. I’d seen him slip a clip of money into his pocket. I patted him down, finding both his wallet and another flask of vodka. With a quick sleight of hand, I hid the money beneath my clothes and made it seem like I was just interested in the flask. It was made of silver with some metal engraving decorating the exterior.
“That mean something to you?” he asked.
“It was my father’s,” I lied, using the first thing that popped into my head. He didn’t press any further and I didn’t offer anything else.
He held out his hand and I walked toward him. I didn’t take it, instead choosing to walk past him. Gently, he wrapped his hand around my upper arm, taking control of me—possibly just to spite me or possibly to show me that he could easily overpower a lone girl.
We walked out of the room together. Since it was after dark, it was hard to make out much of the warehouse. I could see enough to tell that we were walking down a long hallway to a flight of metal stairs that I vaguely remember walking up a few nights ago. We traversed the stairs slowly together. We made it to the landing, and I was able to get a glimpse of what was down below.
