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Ivan laughs uncomfortably, with his lower back against the edge of my desk. I’m slow to release him as adrenaline courses through me. “He didn’t tell me you liked to fight back.”
“He?” My jaw ticks, irritation and a lack of patience getting the better of me.
“The one who sent me.”
“Who sent you?” I barely get out the words, my throat is so fucking tight.
“Someone you pissed off,” Ivan says. With a twist of his hips, he reverses me, grabbing me by the throat. “You’re going to lose the auction tomorrow, asshole. He doesn’t care if he has to take it to a hundred million dollars. He’ll pay it. And if you even try to pull the same shit you did with the first auction... someone with less kindness than I have to offer will pay you a visit.”
Heat dances along my skin, every possibility racing in the back of my mind, too quick to process.
“There’s not going to be another auction for my Kiersten,” I say, eerily calmly.
Ivan’s shoulders tense, and his gaze holds a darkness I’ve not yet seen from him. “That would be a fucking mistake on your part.”
“Fuck you,” I growl, shoving Ivan toward the door. “She’smine.”
“Not after this next auction, she won’t be,” Ivan says as if it’s a statement, but we both know she doesn’t have to do a damn thing. As he strides to the door, he adds a comment under his breath. “And then she’ll be taught how toproperlyobey.”
Rage tears through me. How fucking dare he?
Launching myself from the desk, I tackle Ivan to the floor of my office. My teeth clench as my fist slams into his shoulder, trying to pound the man into the floor. The next punch snaps his head back, landing right on his fucking jaw.
That’s goingto leave more than a little bruise for this prick. Gripping his lapels, I pull him in close enough to fucking hear what I have to say. “No one is going to lay a hand on her.”
When he smiles back, a fear like I’ve never felt chills me to the bone. Blood fills between his lower teeth. “He doesn’t care if you’re dead,” Ivan says, gripping my hands and pushing me away. “And if she doesn’t go to auction... he knows her address.”
It’s then that the door creeps open, slowly, cautiously, and completely at odds with the shriek that fills the room immediately after.
“Gabriel!”
There’s an attempt to reply to her. But Ivan’s hands around my fucking throat cut it off.
Just as I’m moving to shove him away, to get him the fuck out of here, a loudclunkcatches me off guard. Suddenly, the pressure on my neck’s gone. Ivan sags, rolling off me with a thud on the floor. I slowly rise to see Kiersten standing there with my desk lamp in her hands. It’s an older lamp, with a solid brass neck and a weighted base... and she just clocked Ivan in the head with it.
My heart slows, everything slows as the reality of what just happens dawns on the two of us. She stares down at him, her eyes widening and her breathing turning heavier and heavier.
“Kiersten?” I murmur gently to get her attention. Her arms shake, and she doesn’t look up. She can’t turn away. Already, a pool of blood is forming underneath his head on my office carpet. Slowly standing up, I cautiously approach her. Shock and horror are clearly written on her face.
“I . . . I was scared,” she whispers, her eyes still locked on the unmoving Ivan. “I . . . I came back to get my phone and . . . and . . .”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I assure her. “Give me the lamp.”
She hands me the lamp, and I can see the dent on the metal base. Kiersten, though, is still looking at Ivan. “Is he...?”
“Don’t touch him,” I order her as she starts to kneel to check on him. “Kiersten, don’t.”
“But he could be—”
“I know. You need to get out of here,” I tell her, and this time it’s a command. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my keys and hand them to her. “Take my car. Go to 66 Perry Street. It’s near the corner of 4th and Perry in the West Village. Apartment 12C.”
“Gabe?” her voice cracks as tears shine in her eyes.
“Stay there until I come for you,” I tell her. “I’m going to fix this.”
“Gabriel.” My name trembles on her lips.
“It’s alright, I’m going to fix this,” I assure her, but her eyes reach mine, filled with remorse and regret. “Go,” I command her. “Now.”
