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His eyes smear up and down my body. I fight back another shiver.
“I’m not yours to train.”
“Oh, really?” he snorts. “Who do you belong to, then? Ivan?”
Yes.The word echoes through my hollow chest so loudly I’m sure Mikhail can hear it.
“I don’t belong to anyone.”
“You don’t belong to Ivan, that’s for sure,” he snarks. “If you did, he’d be here now to save you, wouldn’t he? But no—just like always, you were difficult. You pushed back against his control and you and I both know that Ivan has no interest in someone he can’t control. He doesn’t want a wild horse; he wants a docile little show pony.”
I blink back the tears suddenly collecting in my eyes. “That’s not true.”
“But it is.” He kneels down again, his face twisted into a horrifying mask of faux sympathy. “Ivan announced to the entire underworld that he wanted a simple business arrangement for a marriage. He wanted a woman who knew how to follow orders and wouldn’t get in his way. He wants a woman likeFrancia.”
Jealousy flares in me. “Fuck you!” I strain forward, rubbing my already-raw wrists against my bindings. “You don’t know Ivan. Not the real him. You don’t know anything about us.”
Mikhail barks out a laugh. “‘Us.’Fucking delusional. Ivan doesn’t love you. He never loved you. The bastard isn’t capable of it.”
“And you are?”
He considers the question for a moment. “No, probably not. But I hold tightly to what is mine. Whereas Ivan is already moving on. Why should he care about you when there is another woman willing to fill your position?”
I want to ignore him. Ishouldignore him. Mikhail is trying to get a rise out of me. He’s trying to break me down.
But I think back to all those times where the truth hit me—when I was forced to realize that there are so many other women better suited to Ivan and what he wants. Francia, as crazy as she may be, is one of those women. She doesn’t want love; she wants power. Ivan can give her that and more.
Mikhail stands up and pulls out his phone. “No word from Francia yet. Maybe she’s busy securing the deal.” He winks at me suggestively and my stomach bottoms out.
The thought of anyone touching Ivan is too much to think about.
He wouldn’t do that to me, I think.He’s going to save me. He’ll come for me.
I repeat the words to myself again and again, clinging to the warmth of the thought even as a chill I can’t fight seeps into my bones.
2
IVAN
“You want me to marry you; otherwise, you’ll kill Cora.” It’s not really a question, just a repetition of the absolutely batshit nonsense spewing out of Francia’s mouth.
The truly crazy part is that Francia doesn’t look nearly as deranged as I know she is. The bitch is watching me with an easy smile like she just asked how I take my coffee.
“I’m glad we’re on the same page. I hate repeating myself.” She looks down at her watch. “You have five minutes to decide.”
I can’t decide something like that in five minutes. I’m going to need five years just to wrap my head around the clusterfuck of this situation.
Up until a few hours ago, I had never bothered to think much about Francia. She was Cora’s friend. Someone I needed to protect to fulfill my deal with Cora. To make Cora happy. I never paid her any mind.
That was my first mistake.
While she cowered in the shadows, unnoticed and unwatched, Francia was busy betrayingeveryone. She lied and deceived us all and now, Cora is in danger.
My fault, my fault, my fault.
Guilt thrums through me. I can’t believe I doubted Cora. In the midst of it all, I thought maybe she was behind this. Maybe she was a spy who had betrayed me. I didn’t let myself think thatIwas the one who had failedher.
Now, her life is in the balance—and it all hinges on what I decide in the next five minutes.
