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“You’d never get close to him.”

He chuckles. “Perhaps not. But maybe something bad happens to his daughter and her new husband? They’re on vacation, I hear.”

“You wouldn’t dare…”

“So much can happen on vacation, no?”

A cold fear sweeps through me. “Or I tell Micheal, and he kills you before you have a chance to hurt…”

“Or maybe I already have men watching them both,” he sneers. “Perhaps there’s a gun aimed at Bellamy’s head at this very moment. If you speak, you will kill her, Katrina.”

I want to throw up. I don’t even know if what he’s saying is true. But he’s right. I do know what Pavel is capable of: horrible, awful things. The glowing feeling from last night fades. Micheal’s heat leaves my skin.

“If you tell Micheal about any of this conversation, I will pull that trigger, Katrina. You know I will.”

“Please leave me alone,” I whisper.

“We will never leave you alone,devochka,” Pavel laughs deeply. “You are family!”

I shiver at the thought. “No, I’m not. Not anymore.”

Pavel sighs. “Do you think we gave you to Micheal Genovese?” He laughs cruelly. “No, little tease. We planted you with him. And do not forget,” he growls. “Remember what happened to his first wife,devochka. He killed her. Don’t forget that. Now, do as I say, Katrina. Then you go play with your new toy.” He snickers. “And if he has not figured out to how to please you yet, you come find me, dah?”

I stare numbly at the wall. I tremble.

“Do as I say,devochka,” Pavel growls. “If you don’t, it won’t be you I hurt. I’ll hurt him. I’ll hurt him badly, and I’ll have you watch.”

13

Katrina

I’ve always beengood at keeping secrets. For years, living with my uncle, I’ve kept a lot of myself to myself. I’ve had to. It’s been necessary to hang on to who I am and not get sucked into my uncle’s toxic world of abuse and threats.

But this time, it’s different. This time, I feel awful keeping this inside. I know why that is, too. I don’t know when you’re supposed to say it or feel it. I’m not even sure how you’re supposed to know it. But I know what I feel for Micheal. I know this started as an arrangement. But he’s been in my head and my heart for years.

I’ve been in love with him for years.

That’s why it’s different. I’m not keeping something from my cruel uncle. I’m keeping something from the man I love. I have no idea how to tell him that I do, but I know what I feel. I know it without question.

But I can’t tell him about any of it. I have no intentions at all of doing what Pavel is asking me to do. But I can’t mention it to Micheal. I can’t warn him. Pavel was right… Idoknow what he’s capable of.

My uncle is a bully and an asshole. Pavel is a psychopath. He genuinely seems to enjoy hurting people. So when he threatened to hurt Micheal, or his daughter Bellamy or her husband, I don’t take it lightly.

I know I can’t run from the threat. But I refuse to give in to it either.

It’sdark when I wake. I glance at the clock and realize I’ve only been out for maybe half an hour. I grin to myself. The man has a way of making me come so hard that I can’t help but need a nap to recharge my batteries afterwards.

I’m in Micheal’s bedroom. I’ve actually barely left it since the other morning. But I like that. I like being holed up here with him. I can hear the shower running in the bathroom. Naked, I slide from the bed to join him. I walk across the room, but I stop at the fireplace across the bed.

On the mantel, he’s got an array of photos. Some are of him and other men in suits. But most are he and his daughter, Bellamy. She and I didn’t get a chance to speak at the brief wedding. But she seemed nice. She seemed kind.

I smile and look at the snapshots of their life together—single father and daughter. It looks like a happy childhood. My eyes move from one picture to the next. Until suddenly they stop on one. In this one, there’s a woman with the two of them. She’s got long dark hair, just like Bellamy. But she’s not smiling. In fact, she looks gaunt and haggard. Maybe a little vacant.

I peer closer. The voice behind me almost makes me scream.

“Her name was Maryanne,” Micheal growls.

I turn to look at him. He’s wet from the shower, a towel around his waist.

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