Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Dmitry Balakin was a monster, a killer, someone to be feared. How did she know this? George, after that weird party he insisted on taking her to, had informed her. Dmitry had hurt himself at the party. She had done what any self-respecting person would have done. She helped him.
George had warned her. If Dmitry wasn’t happy, she’d be dead. If she had done anything to jeopardize his position, he would gladly divorce her. Alix had hoped she’d done something wrong so she would get that divorce. She’d been trying to get rid of him for months, only he wouldn’t sign the damn papers. They were at least signed now and she was free of him. The only problem was she didn’t have her freedom. For George to keep all his limbs and his life, he’d sold her. Useless prick.
She never cursed out loud. Never, ever. It was something her parents had told her a lady didn’t do, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t curse inside her head, which she liked to do a lot.
Alix couldn’t believe she had just blurted out that question to this man. He was dangerous. The leader, the boss, the whatever he wanted to call himself of the Bratva. She had asked him if she had proven herself to him.
Dmitry stared at her. He had blue eyes. Beautiful, almost shocking in their intensity. She could imagine he’d terrified a lot of people during his time, and would continue to do so.
Again, she was a strange person because she wasn’t afraid at all. Staring into his eyes, she had that safe feeling—like everything was going to be okay, and she no longer needed to worry about anything. This was a monster and she felt safe.
“That depends, Alix, do you just want to be my nanny?”
She glanced down at Sofia.
“Wait, why do I have to come with you?”
“Because you’re mine now. Your husband has sold you to me. You are my property to do with as I wish.”
Those words continued to ring in her head daily. They had done so for three months now.
She didn’t know what she expected from him but it hadn’t been to take care of his child. Of course, when he came to collect her, she hadn’t known he had a child. Other than what George told her, she knew nothing about him.
From his house, his clothes, and even the watch he wore, she knew he was wealthy. The guards who were constantly carrying weapons also gave away the fact he was powerful. They always hid the weapons from Sofia, not from her.
Dmitry had told her she wasn’t to run. If she ran, his men were ordered to shoot to kill. She wasn’t allowed to leave the grounds. She had to get permission to take Sofia outside. Alix wasn’t stupid. She didn’t want to die.
Her curiosity about this man surprised her. She must clearly not have a warning switch inside her head about the impending doom and danger he possessed. He could kill her easily.
Staring at him now, she couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. Of course, she didn’t ask him.
“Dmitry, you came to collect me. I have no idea what you want from me,” she said, being as honest as she could. Again, another rule her parents had instilled in her. Lying only served to make things worse … much, much worse.
She had never told a lie, other than to George’s parents, but her own had told her some lies were necessary. Yeah, there was a bit of a confusion with that one, but it made sense to her, at least it had a few seconds before she began thinking about rules and her parents. She did miss them, a lot. Most of the time, she tried not to think about their loss, or George’s.
Dmitry stared at her silently. He was thinking, she could tell, even if it was only the slightest twitch of his lips, he was still thinking. She wanted to ask him what he was thinking about, so she could understand what was going on inside his head.
Her life was on the line, thanks to George, and clearly thankful to this man who wanted her to take care of his child. She had no idea what happened to Sofia’s mother. Just the few whispers of the guards who didn’t know she was there. The guards did like to gossip. According to them, Sofia’s mother had hated Dmitry. She had tried to kill him and because Dmitry hated liars and rats, he killed her with his bare hands.
She had no idea how much of that story was true, if it was true. Either way, it did in fact, terrify her—the very thought of Dmitry killing anyone—at the same time she couldn’t help but agree. If his ex posed a threat to Dmitry and their daughter, then something had to happen.