Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 76572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
I hiss out a breath. “Well, shit. I guess I’ve got something to look forward to.”
She doesn’t laugh. Or smile. Or cry. Her shimmering eyes track from my face down my body to my feet and back again. “I hope you survive. It’s my fault you’re here, and since it didn’t work anyway, I regret you’re suffering for it.”
I grin, trying to keep the rage at bay. The striking, coiling, angry thing inside me wants to snap out and hurt her. “Was that an apology, Malyshka? You could say you’re sorry with your mouth on my dick, and maybe I’d be more inclined to believe it.”
Her shoulders settle back, and she cuts me one last glare and grabs the tray. It’s on the tip of my tongue to call her back. The anger rises in me with every step she takes toward the door.
I won’t beg, though. I don’t beg. And she’s definitely not the one who can make me do it.
The lights go out, and the darkness settles around me once more. A fitting atmosphere for the anger tinting my vision red. The second I’m out of my bonds, they’ll all be dead.
9
CILLA
There are so many places in the house I can hide. My room is the first place anyone would look for me, but I don’t feel remotely safe anywhere else. There’s not much space, my mattress, closet, and a tiny bathroom, so I stay huddled on my bed with the blanket pulled over my face. It won’t be long until my father sends one of his men to come and grab me. Put me to work. I know exactly what he has planned for Ivan, and I don’t want to be a part of it anymore.
The guilt that he is locked up down there, and I’m here, relatively safe in my bed, is eating me alive. I did that to him. Not alone, sure, but I doubt it would have happened without my help.
I try not to think about what they are doing to him down there. My father is probably in his lab, deep in mad scientist mode concocting the worst drug combo imaginable to target Ivan’s physiology specifically. Designer drugs at their most evil. He does that often. Comes up with the perfect poison for whatever job is needed. Not just for lust or ecstasy but for assassinations and murders too. He’s created drugs that mimic the drugs the target is already taking, so it looks like a self-inflicted overdose. So I can’t even imagine what he wants with Ivan.
There’s only so long I can stay bunkered down in my room. Eventually, they will make me talk to him. Talk to him, seduce him, drug him, whatever is needed to get the information my father wants. For now, though, maybe there is some way I can help him. At least until the next part comes. He’ll be stronger for it, more able to resist.
I shove off the covers and sit with my knees up, waiting. The guards should be changing soon, and it will be my best chance to sneak into the room with him. The camera doesn’t stay on the entire time, and even if the guards leave it on, no one ever watches it unless my father is conducting an experiment in the cell.
I watch the clock on my phone move slowly. Ten minutes feels like ten hours before I wobble to my feet and exit into the hall. With the guard change, the halls are empty. They usually meet in the garage to do a pass-down briefing, so I have a few minutes until anyone spots me.
My hands are shaking as I quietly unlatch the door and slip inside. It’s pitch dark the second the little sliver of light is cut off by the heavy steel.
“What are you doing here?” His voice is deeper, grating as if he’s been screaming.
My heart shoots into my throat, and I have to clear it before I can speak. “I’m here to help you. At least as much as I can while you’re stuck here.” I refrain from adding that it’s my fault. He knows who to blame, and I don’t want him any more riled than I’m sure he already is.
It takes several minutes to tiptoe across the floor, skirting the table and chairs, to get to the other side. Earlier, his feet were only a few feet from the table. But with the chill in the air, I hope he’s huddled up some, at least.
I crouch, and my hand meets the warm bare skin of his ankle. “Are you cold?”
“What the fuck do you care if I’m cold? You didn’t bring any clothes with you, did you?”
I shake my head and then remember he can’t see me. Nor the hot blush in my cheeks at my stupidity. “No. I didn’t bring you any clothes. I only had a few minutes to get in here while the guards changed.”