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)
The tears tracking down her cheeks should have evoked mercy.
Instead, they tempted me to taste them, to consume every drop of her terror before replacing it with a far more addictive emotion.
My lips curled into something between amusement and warning. “You saw me kill that man, didn’t you, moy kotyonochek?”
My sweet little kitten.
Such a fitting name for such an enticing little creature caught in my trap.
Finally, I took a step back, letting her rise to her feet.
"I swear, I won't tell anyone, I won't say—" She swiped at the wetness trailing down her face, her brown eyes glistening as she stared up at me.
“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. I don't believe you." I traced the barrel of my gun along her jawline.
She sucked in a soft hiss through her teeth at the contact, her gaze breaking away from mine and darting left, then right.
She was looking for an escape.
She wouldn’t find one.
"Don't even think about running again," I warned. "I've memorized every route you take through this building. I know where you'd go."
Part of me wanted to let her run, just so I could chase her again.
Maybe if we'd been truly alone, I would have let her.
Let her tire herself out running down the halls, finding new places to hide that I could discover.
Each time I found her, I'd remove a piece of her clothing as my reward.
It was tempting, but my men were still in the building.
And I was going to be the only one who played this game with her.
"Please," she begged. "I'll do anything. Just let me go."
"Anything?" I raised an eyebrow. "That's a dangerous offer to make to a man like me. A man who just blew someone's brains across the marble."
Her body started at my cold-blooded admission.
Slow and steady, I moved forward, herding her to exactly where I wanted her.
Forcing her back until she hit the wall and opened her lips to let slip a little squeak of terror.
I lifted my hand, brushing a stray curl that had fallen out of her cute ponytail from her face, not with my fingers, but with the still-warm barrel of my gun.
Her breath hitched, and she flinched away.
"You should be afraid," I murmured. "But you should also know that for weeks I've made sure no one else laid a hand on you. I've been watching over you, Alina. Protecting you. So you can understand how angry I would be, now that you have put us both in a very…difficult…position.”
“I promise, I won’t tell a soul about what I saw.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You promise? Well that changes everything as long as you promise.”
Perhaps it was cruel to taunt her, but then again, I was a cruel man.
I tilted my head, studying her.
Her pulse hammered violently against the delicate column of her throat.
Even terrified, she was beautiful.
But there was something else beneath the fear.
She enjoyed being hunted by the big bad wolf, whether she realized it or not.
By dawn, she'd know exactly what belonged to me.
Her fear.
Her body.
Her obedience.
I'd carve my name into her soul until she couldn't remember a time before she was mine.
I smirked. This was going to be so much fun.
"The question, moy kotyonochek, is what am I going to do with you now?"
CHAPTER 4
ALINA
Pavel trailed his gun along my ear as a scream caught in my throat.
I wanted to cry, to beg, to fight—to do anything but whimper at his touch.
Fight or flight should have kicked in.
All those true crime podcasts I'd binged while working, the ones I thought would save me if I ever faced a killer.
All those times I'd rolled my eyes at victims and smugly thought, I'd survive.
I'd grab a weapon, find the perfect hiding spot, maybe even pull some Jackie Chan shit.
And now? When death was literally staring me in the face?
I had nothing.
Not a single coherent thought. Just white-hot panic flooding every synapse until even breathing felt impossible.
"Look at me," he commanded, pressing the barrel harder against my skin. "Your pretty eyes tell me everything I need to know."
"Please…" I gasped, trying to flatten myself against the wall. "You gain nothing by killing me."
He moved closer, invading my space with his imposing frame. "Who said anything about killing you? Not yet, anyway."
The pistol caressed my skin, still warm from being fired. My stomach recoiled at the thought of that man's blood being smeared across my cheek.
"This shouldn't be happening," I whispered, more to myself than to him.
His eyebrow arched. "And what exactly should be happening to a girl lurking where she doesn't belong?"
"I was just doing my job," I managed, struggling to keep my breathing steady.
"Your job?" He laughed, cold and sharp. "Your job was to clean. Not witness executions." His fingers traced where his gun had been. "Tell me why you're really working here. A girl with your education, mopping floors in a building full of criminals?"