Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106541 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 426(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106541 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 426(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
So I need to work out why he’s so attached to the idea of having a child with Katie.
Almost an hour later, when my stomach growls, I recall the number of times Katie’s stomach grumbled while drifting in and out of consciousness. She barely sampled her breakfast this morning before I demanded every ounce of energy she had to give.
My cock shouldn’t tighten at the thought of her passed out from exhaustion, but it does. Her warmth wrapped around me… fuck, I’ve never felt anything more magical. It had me forgetting the noose hanging around Sofia and Lera’s head. Nothing but my needs were on my mind.
Now the plate is overflowing, leaving me no choice but to burn the candle at both ends.
I’ve put steps into play to ensure Katie’s will to fight remains high. Now I need to make Sofia do the same. She once fought for Lera. I have no clue who she’s fighting for now.
As I sink back into my chair, preparing for an all-nighter, I hit the speed dial for the kitchen. While waiting for Vera to answer, I scan my eyes across the pictures of Hailey. She is very much a replica of her sister with the same fair skin and big oval eyes. She just lacks one thing—the aura of innocence.
Even while being sullied by a monster, Katie’s flushed cheeks, glossed-over eyes, and sweat- dotted skin still resembled the picture of innocence. I could taint her to hell, and she’d still convince Kirill she’s his Virgin Mary.
The thought weakens the knot in my stomach, but it doesn’t wholly end it.
The bit of leeway my confession gave is undone when I realize I’m an image short. Peter is anal. He always sends in multiples of two. He never delivers an odd number of stills—some shit about it being bad luck.
“Fucking Alek,” I grumble under my breath when I recall what image is missing. It is the one of Hailey entering Bureau headquarters. She is flanked by agents, but it is clear they’re guarding her. She isn’t being arrested as I’m sure they’d love to do with Kirill.
Milo’s death instigated a bloodbath that involved both federal agents and multiple gang associations, but since the Gottles weren’t willing to listen, we were shunted back to Russia, where we’ve lived under embargo for over four years.
Not even the CIA can touch us here.
Part of me wonders if that’s why Kirill took so long to announce Katie’s location. Is he scared of the authorities hunting us or what my reaction would be when I discovered she was alive? I’ve been his puppet for years, but the desire to change things up has been dramatically different since Katie showed up. I’m walking the tightrope, aware I am one step away from disaster but still willing to take the risk.
I am fucked in the head.
After telling Vera to ensure she takes a cell with her so I can grant Katie permission to open the door, I stray my eyes to the safe hidden under the large Persian rug in my office. I’m so fucking tempted for a line or two of snow, but I need my head clear.
For years, I haven’t cared about who I hurt to ensure Sofia and Lera’s safety. You fucking do as asked or suffer the consequences. I can’t run that route this time around. Katie has slithered under my skin, and when she fights back, she grips more than my cock.
I’m fascinated by her and dying to have her beneath me, but I need to fix this first. My mother died in this world, and my sister and niece are on the brink of following the same fate. I can’t rest for nothing.
Not even the throbs of my cock.
37
KATIE
My heart beats in my ears when the faintest dip hits the mattress. It is late, well past midnight, but like he has almost every night I’ve been here, Ghost is sneaking into my bed. He probably thinks I drank the juice that arrived with my meal hours ago.
I didn’t.
The message on the back of the photograph slipped under my door was abundantly clear.
If you want to remain lucid tonight, don’t drink the juice.
I should be annoyed Ghost has been slipping something extra into my drinks each night, but when I consider how well I’ve been sleeping the past four months and how drastically fast it lessened my migraines and body aches, my frustration didn’t linger for long.
I also couldn’t be angry with how the message was delivered.
Hailey is safe. She is protected from the monsters.
Now I need to work out how we can do the same for Lera.
Yes, you heard me right. We.
I’m not leaving her care solely to Ghost. He brought me here to help Lera, but he made his job ten times harder by freeing Hailey from the torment.