Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Six hours in this shift, then I was off to find a new second job.
I'd been working almost an hour, losing myself in the familiar rhythm of pouring drinks and riding the line between flirting and being professional with the patrons, when Lou came barreling out of the back room. "Take a bottle of vodka to the champagne room. Now."
"Brand?"
"Whatever is on the top shelf," he said, then stopped and walked over to me, his meaty hand grabbing my arm, squeezing hard enough to make me wince as his thumb caressed my breast.
Lou pulled me closer to him, so he could whisper in my ear, my nose curling at his wretched breath. "Go to the back and grab a bottle of the good shit, not the stuff that we've already watered down for the zombies and vampires that don't know any better."
"Yes, boss," I nodded.
Delivering to the champagne room was not my job.
But I didn't argue.
The faster I got it over with, the sooner I could go back to pretending I was invisible.
Just the woman behind the bar that served their drinks while they stared at the women dancing on the center stage.
I grabbed the bottle and walked toward the private lounge, pushing past the curtain.
Where I froze.
He was waiting for me.
Pavel sat there, dressed in a black suit that was probably more expensive than anything that had ever stepped foot in this establishment. He was lounging in a leather chair, all cocky power, like he owned the fucking place.
Dark.
Dangerous.
Arrogant.
A knowing smile pulled at the corner of his lips.
He'd been expecting me and was enjoying seeing me shaken.
My stomach dropped.
I hadn't seen him come in.
How had I not seen him come in?
My body moved before my brain could catch up.
I took a step back toward the curtain, ready to drop the bottle, turn and run.
I barely took half a step before his arm shot out and grabbed my hand, stopping me.
With a rough yank, my balance shattered and suddenly I was tumbling forward, colliding with a wall of muscle.
A sharp gasp poured from my throat as I landed in his lap.
His firm hands locked around my waist as I tried to scramble up.
A low rumble of laughter vibrated from his chest as he leaned forward to whisper in my ear. "It seems I've trapped a little kitten."
CHAPTER 10
PAVEL
"What the fuck are you wearing?" I growled, looking Alina up and down, taking in the trashiest outfit I'd ever seen.
Her tits were practically spilling out of the corset, and her round, perky ass was barely covered by tiny black shorts. I wasn't even sure they could be considered shorts.
She shouldn't be wearing shit like that.
This woman should be wrapped in the finest designer silks, cashmere, and wool. Clothes that whispered status. Power. Claimed.
Instead, every time I saw her, she was dressed like someone disposable.
Her so-called cleaner uniform—black T-shirt and yoga pants—wasn’t just cheap, it was insulting. A deliberate attempt to disappear into the background like a broom or a bucket. But a body like hers was impossible to hide. The fabric clung to her curves in all the wrong ways, like an afterthought that somehow demanded attention.
And then there was this second offense.
This pathetic excuse for a strip club costume. A bartender’s outfit designed to humiliate.
She looked like a walking target.
Cheap. Unprotected.
Like no one gave a damn what happened to her.
It made my blood boil.
Because if she were mine, the only thing the world would see when she walked in a room was that she was untouchable.
The fact that other men could see this much of her, that she willingly put herself on display like this, had my grip tightening around her waist until she let out a little squeak.
Anger burned in my veins, pushed harder by a tinge of jealousy, or maybe possessiveness.
I wasn't mad because she had run, or because I had gone to her apartment and found it empty.
I wasn't even mad that I was forced to track her down like prey through the city.
That part I kind of enjoyed.
I was impressed by the chase she had given my men throughout the night.
She lost an entire team.
The first man she lost when she ran off the bus to the Metro, but the rest were able to follow her for a bit.
Then she darted away, out of their sight, jumping off one train to get on another.
More than once she ran through a train to hop one on the opposite track.
It took all night, but she lost every single one of my men.
Alina was far cleverer than I had originally given her credit for.
She had even lied on her work application, giving a false home address and listing a second job at a rat-infested strip club in a shitty neighborhood. I figured if the home address was fake, the second job had to be too.