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I should learn to keep my mouth shut. Ivan knows too much about me already. I don't need to hand him more ammo.
"Unlike whoever you ran from before, I have the power to drag you back," he says after a long, strained silence. "I'll do it as many times as it takes."
"But why do you even—"
"This isn't forever, Cora. It's for now. Until we catch whoever is after you."
I huff out a breath. "But why do you even care who is after me? Who am I to you?"
He raises his hand and grazes a calloused finger across my cheek. "No one. You’re an empty vessel I can use as I please. As bait. As a wife. That’s what makes you perfect for this, Cora.”
His words shouldn’t hurt. I don’t know him. I don’t want to know him.
“I’m not going to be your bait.”
“Then you and your friends will die.”
He says it so bluntly that it steals my breath away. Like any good predator, Ivan notices the weakness and moves in for the kill.
“You told everyone at that party your name was Francia. Whoever is after you might not know any better. They could go after the real Francia, too.”
I chew on my lower lip. “So her apartment…”
“Compromised,” he says. “You both need protection. Unlike our deal last night, my services now come with a price. Cooperate with me and I’ll make sure your friends stay alive.”
I’ve heard a million different versions of this compromise before. I’ve seen them play out.
My mother crying in her walk-in closet, surrounded by a designer wardrobe she wore with pasted-on smiles.
Girls I grew up with making “good matches” with men who sent them on tropical resort vacations so they could fuck another woman in their bed.
Marriage in Ivan’s world is an exchange, a sacrifice. Life isn’t a fairytale. Every good thing comes at a price.
The question is whether I’m willing to pay it.
“So if I pretend to marry you, you’ll protect Francia and Jorden?” I ask.
“You’re going topretendto marry me either way,” Ivan clarifies. “But if you cooperate and make it easier for me, then yes, I’ll help your friends.”
It’s almost as if I don’t have a choice at all. So I might as well make the best of it.
“As soon as I know my friends are safe, I’m gone.”
He nods in agreement. “If your friends are safe, that means the threat is dead and I have no further need for you.”
Slowly, I extend my hand.
Ivan’s envelops mine. Warmth and too many memories flood through me. Memories of his hot breath on my neck. His fingers exploring other parts of my body. As soon as we shake, I jerk my hand back.
He watches me wipe my palm on my pants and smirks. “This should be fun.”
18
IVAN
The drive from the restaurant to my house takes over an hour. I stay quiet because I said all I needed to say in the alley behind the restaurant. Cora has to come with me either way, but I’d rather her come willingly. Which she did…though “happily” is apparently not on the table.
She spends the first chunk of the time in a broody silence, her hands folded tightly in her lap. But as the drive drags on and the engine lulls us into a sense of calm, she eventually leans her head against the window and lets out a weary sigh.
