“Listen, I don’t give a fuck where you are right now. You get the guns and bring them to the warehouse with any C4 you can find. You have two hours,” Ivan says, whisper-shouting into his phone.
Guns? C4? What the hell is he talking about?
My heart beats rapidly against my ribs as millions of thoughts cross my mind. Of course, Ivan was as vague as humanly possible when I asked about what he did. Is this the reality of it? Is he some kind of violent mobster?
If that’s the case, I’ve gotten myself into some deep trouble. I never should have accepted help from a stranger like this.
A part of my mind is telling me to run away and pretend like I didn’t hear anything, but a bigger part is reaching for the doorknob and turning it before I can think twice about it. I need to know what the hell is going on.
As soon as I step into the room, I see Ivan behind a tall, elegantly designed desk with a dark grimace on his face. Sitting across from him are two of the guards he introduced me to yesterday, Nikolai and Dimitri. Everyone turns to look at me as I stand there, feeling small in the doorway.
“What was that phone call about?” I ask, my voice shaking. “Guns and explosives?Who are you?”
Both guards turn to look at Ivan to silently ask what they’re supposed to do with me. He holds a hand up to signal for them to remain seated as he walks around the desk to stand in front of me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ivan says, his voice cold and calm.
“I know what I heard,” I say, shaking my head. He can’t lie to me right now. I won’t just fall for it.
“If you heard anything about guns, you’re just mishearing me. I told a colleague to getfunds,” Ivan explains, laughing dismissively under his breath. “That has to be what this is. Through the door, things could get jumbled.”
I stare at him, and I see nothing but a stranger.
He was a mystery to me before, but now that mystery is potentially dangerous. A dangerous mystery that Ijustlost my virginity to.
Great.
I never should have come here. I never should have trusted that some strange man would have my best interests in mind. I know what I heard.
“Okay. I wanted to see if I could get the code for the elevator so I can go for a walk,” I say, forcing a pleasant smile on my lips. I can’t manage to bring it to meet my eyes, and I fear that’s my downfall because Ivan doesn’t appear to believe me.
“I’m afraid I can’t let you leave right now,” he says, looking over his shoulder at the guards. Their presence is suddenly understood to me. They aren’t just here to make sure the art pieces on the walls don’t get stolen in the night. “You leaving isn’t safe.”
I bite the insides of my cheeks to keep from crying. I’m terrified right now. What’s going on that I’m not safe? I can’t help but feel like he’s lying.
I willingly walked into this penthouse, and I’m realizing that it’s nothing more than a gilded cage.
“I’ll just be in my room then,” I say, turning around and walking away as quickly as possible. I’m wracking my brain thinking about a way out. All of my clothes and more prized possessions are in the guest room I’m staying in, but I still have some stuff back at my dorm room on campus.
It’s unfortunate, but if I have to get out of here, I’ll have to go home to my parents and admit defeat. That’s much better than being held captive here.
With nothing but my phone and my jacket, I head toward the stairwell that leads to the pool, knowing that it’s more than likely unlocked. I don’t know how I’ll get away from there, but there has to be some sort of fire escape or a secondary entrance for the staff who work here.
I walk away from Ivan’s office slowly, taking great care to look as calm and collected as possible. As soon as I’m out of sight, I run toward the door, swinging it open with more force than I cared to.
“Hey!” one of the guards shouts behind me. I spare a brief glance over my shoulder to see that it’s Nikolai, and he’s chasing after me.
I try to climb the stairs as quickly as I can, but Nikolai is bigger and faster than me. I’m about halfway up them when hands wrap around both of my arms, and I’m yanked backwards. It feels like I’m going to fall down the stairs, but instead of crashing to the ground, I lean back into his chest.
“Let me go!” I scream, hot tears running down my cheeks.
I struggle against him, but it’s no use. He drags me through the penthouse like I weigh nothing, and I’m led directly to Ivan’soffice where he’s sitting behind the desk, holding his head in his hands.
As soon as we enter, and he looks up, his eyes narrow, and I see the fury in his eyes. I don’t know this man, but I know I’m about to see a side of him I will hate. I brace myself for whatever lashing out I’m going to get.
He storms around the desk to approach us. He grabs me from the guard’s arms, and for a moment, I feel like he’s going to throttle me, hit me, make me regret ever disobeying him. But instead, he sets me down behind him and steps up to Nikolai.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Ivan shouts, his hands moving quickly to push against Nikolai’s chest. “Who gave you the right to touch her?”
