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I swallow hard beneath his grip.
“Do not open your mouth again,moy malen’kiy voin. You are not allowed to speak. Not one word or sound until I say otherwise.” He lowers his chin, bringing his angry gaze level with mine. “You’re in a lot of trouble. Don’t make it even worse for yourself.”
This man can kill me with one squeeze of his hand. A quick flick of his wrist and he can break my neck.
I’ve had time, since Arman had me brought to his office after disarming me so pathetically easily, to let my actions sink in. I was a fool. Instead of taking time to think about the information Jack gave me, I reacted purely from emotion. I know better.
“We’re going to leave now, go down to my car, and I’m going to take you home. You won’t speak, you won’t question, you won’t so much as sigh heavily. Blink if you understand me.” His fingertips tighten, leaving plenty of room for me to breathe while still sending the message. Now is the wrong time to disobey him.
With the weight of my stupidity pulling my eyelids, I blink.
He inhales slowly, deeply. “Good girl.” His voice is raw now, like I’ve done something that pleases him. One by one, he peels his fingers off my throat and takes a large step back. The warmth of his fingers are left behind on my throat and when he looks at me with more approving eyes, that warmth spreads further down.
“Purse?” he asks.
Silently, I pick it up from the chair I’d been sitting in before he came in and sling it around my shoulder. It’s empty now that they’ve taken away the airsoft gun. I’d kept it in my nightstand for years now, hoping if we ever had an intruder, they’d be too spooked by it to realize it was just a toy.
I’m expecting a perp walk through the condo, but thankfully, there’s no one around. Maxim walks behind me, but I can feel him. His eyes are hot against my skin. Just him being there, each step falling right after mine, makes my spine tingle.
The air in the elevator chokes me as we glide down to the main level. When I try to step away from him, to put space between our bodies so I can breathe easier, he snatches my hand and pulls me right back to his side. I don’t think I’m going to be set free anytime soon.
Once we’re in the car, he fires up the engine and pulls away. I sink back against the leather seat, waiting for his lecture to start.
Nothing happens.
When he heads south instead of north on Madison Avenue, I look at him. We’re not headed to my apartment. He said he was taking me home.
“Not a word.” He makes another turn, then another, continuing southbound. I clench my teeth, forcing myself not to make whatever’s going to happen when we get there worse.
It’s only a few minutes later when he pulls into an underground garage and parks near the elevator. He cuts the engine and climbs out, without a sound. A moment later my door opens, and his hand is there, waiting for me.
I don’t want to go. I want to go home, climb under my bed, and pretend none of this happened.
If I go… it’s only been a few short hours since the last time hepunishedme. That word. I hate it, but it makes all parts of me react incorrectly.
Maxim squats in front of me; his entire build squishes down until he’s eye level with me. His left eyebrow arches as he searches my face. I wish he were ugly. If I could look at him without being so damn drawn to him, it might be easier to handle these moments when he gets so close to me.
“You brought a gun to Arman Romanov’s home. You pulled it out of your purse and threatened him with it.” His voice is tight, like it’s taking all of his energy to keep himself from grabbing me and shaking me. “If you thought that act would go without consequences, you were very, very wrong,moy malen’kiy voin.”
I’m not sure if I’m allowed to speak yet, so I don’t.
“Come with me on your own. Or don’t. But if you don’t, I’ll throw you over my shoulder and bring you inside anyway.” There’s more to it, I think. If he has to force me inside, worse will happen than what took place this morning. I’m quickly learning, every action has a consequence. Inaction, in this case, will have the same.
He moves back to his full height, and I climb out of the car, his hand on my elbow as he shuts the door behind me. The finality of the sound echoes throughout the garage. He laces our fingers together and leads me to the set of elevators. A car pulls into the garage, taking a spot a few spaces down from Maxim’s car. My stomach unclenches slightly. If there’s someone else in the elevator with us, I’ll at least have a small buffer between Maxim and myself.
My hope is dashed when I notice Maxim pull a keycard from his wallet and slide it into the elevator on the left. The doors open instantly. There’s only one button on the panel. It’s a private elevator. There won’t be any safety net for me.
We’re whisked up to the nineteenth floor. The entire time, he holds my hand. As the lights tick off the floors as we pass them, my heart beats harder and harder.
“You’re doing very good,moy malen’kiy voin.” He squeezes my hand then leads me off the elevator and down a short hall to a door. There is only one other door; it’s on the other end of the short hallway. I’m tugged into his apartment.
Once inside, he kicks the door shut and hits buttons on a keypad beside it.
Immediately, I glance around, looking for another door, some way to get out of this place. Even a Romanov stronghold would have to follow New York’s building codes, right? There has to be a second exit somewhere.
“The only other exit is around the back. You have to go through the dining room, through the kitchen, down the back hall with the other bedrooms, and there it will be,” he tells me as he drops my hand. “There’s another keypad on the door, so it won’t open until you put in the right code.”
I spin on my heel, glaring at him. If he’s trying to scare me, he’s too late. I’ve been frightened since I saw him in Arman’s office.
