His breath felt like inhaling fire.“Mae,” he rasped.
“Shh.”She pressed a finger to his lips.“You’re prettier when you don’t talk.”
Alethea shoved to her feet.“Call me when you’re finished.”
“I always do, Mother.”Mae didn’t take her gaze from Dmitri, but he watched Alethea stride out of the room.She had the air of prey, and he couldn’t bring himself to feel sorry for her.If she’d let her daughter stay in jail, none of this would have happened.He would have looked for her, of course, but he wouldn’t have looked hard.If she’d left New York, he wouldn’t have hunted her down and brought her back.With Mae destined for prison, Alethea was just an old woman without an heir or a future.
“Did you like my present?”
Dmitri dragged his attention back to the woman in front of him.“We don’t kill innocents.”
“Wrong.Youdon’t kill innocents.Though that seems more than a little hypocritical since you seem to kill everybody else.”She tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear.“Of the two of us, I’m just more honest about what gets me off.”
“We’re nothing alike.”
Mae hammered another punch to his left side, and the entire room grayed out for one alarming moment.“You don’t get to take that judgmental tone withme, Romanov.Now answer the fucking question.Did you like my present?”She grinned.“Did it send you rushing to that bitch wife of yours to make sure she was okay?I bet it did.”
“If you touch Keira—”
“You’ll do nothing.”She dragged a finger down his chest.“You’re trussed up like a pig going to slaughter.I could playwith you for hours and then call your little wife and offer to trade you for her.She’ll come.You know she will.”
She would.He coughed.“You misunderstand the situation.I forced her to marry me.She doesn’t love me.She’s probably already planning on how to spend the money she’ll inherit when my body is found.”
Far from looking convinced, Mae actually seemed amused.“She loves you.She wouldn’t have been ready to slit my throat for kissing you if she didn’t.”She pressed her palm hard against the spot where she’d hit him, grinding against his ribs.“She’ll come.”
He had to keep his jaw clenched to keep any sound of pain inside.It was only when she let off the pressure that he managed to bite out words.“She.Won’t.”
“Guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”Mae ran her hands up his thighs, expression contemplative.“Did you ever see that James Bond movie?The one with the knotted rope and him tied to the chair with a well-placed hole?”
He knew what she was talking about, and Dmitri’s skin tried to crawl right off his body in revulsion.“I always liked that movie.”
“Mmm.I bet you did.”She sat back on her heels.“I’m not particularly interested in your cock, Romanov, but I wonder how much of a beating your balls can take before you’re screaming for mercy?They’re so delicate.”She chuckled.“It’s not like you’re going to live past tonight to worry about having children.”
Strange, but he hadn’t put much thought into children, aside from in theory.A man in his position had certain things expected of him, and sons or daughters were one of those expectations.
That was before.
Now, he could perfectly visualize the pair of them.A boy and a girl.Dark hair and hazel eyes, and grins that promised mischief.They’d be wily and a little wild, and they’d fill the empty halls of his house with laughter.
He wouldn’t give up the idea of them any more than he’d give up his future with Keira.
Dmitri shifted in his chair, judging the distance between him and Mae.“I’m remarkably attached to both my cock and balls.”
“Not for—”
He kicked her in the face.She hit the ground with a muffled cry, and he shoved to his feet.Dmitri kicked her once more to ensure she stayed down, and then he walked unsteadily to the array of instruments she’d set up on the table.It took two tries to grab the knife and saw his way through the zip tie, but he managed in a short time.He cracked his neck and rubbed his wrists.
On the floor, the first flicker of fear appeared in Mae’s dark eyes.
Dmitri permitted himself a smile.“Now, I think it’s time you and I had a real chat.”
“Drive faster.”Keira stared at the GPS on her phone, as if that blinking dot was her last link to Dmitri and if she blinked, she’d lose him.
Alexei didn’t tear his gaze from the road.“I drive any faster, and I’m going to draw attention.We’re almost there.Hold on.”He ran a yellow light and took a hard right, throwing Keira against the middle console.She steadied herself on the driver’s seat and looked up.
We’re here.
As much as she wanted into the building, she didn’t have a death wish—for either herself or her husband.Alexei double-parked and glanced over his shoulder.“Vlad, you’re on Mrs.Romanov.She comes up with so much as a scratch, you’ll be the one paying the price.Sava, take the van around the block and wait for my call.Move.”
