“If Archer has the money, he’ll return it,” I say, trying to convince myself.
The men fall silent. Dominik studies me for a long, unreadable moment before finally saying, “You should hope he does.”
No one has ever put me first except Archer. Not my mother. Not the men she dated. No one. If he doesn’t come through now… I don’t know who I am without that anchor.
“If you’re smart,” Dominik says, “you’ll keep your mouth shut when thePakhanarrives. Be calm. Don’t provoke him. Your brother has already done enough damage for both of you.”
“Why help me now?” I ask. “Why bother warning me when you’re the one who dragged me here in the first place?”
Dominik’s expression hardens. “Blame Archer, not me. Your brother chose this. I’m just telling you how to survive it.”
“Warning me about the boss who calls all the shots,” I point out, my voice rising in irritation. He doesn’t answer; he doesn’t have to. “So, you’re just following orders? Waiting for your boss to text you what to do next?”
Dominik’s gaze drops to my throat, to the rapid flutter of my pulse, and stays there. Heat climbs my neck, not from attraction but from the unnerving knowledge that he’s reading every fear I’m trying to hide.
He says something in Russian—sharp, authoritative—and one of the men immediately turns and leaves.
“You’re staying with me,” Dominik says.
The words hit me like a physical blow. “Here?”
“Not here. Upstairs. In my penthouse.”
“I’m not sure if that’s any better,” I mutter.
“Would you rather go home with thePakhan?I believe his cage is empty tonight.”
A cold shudder tears down my spine. “Cage?”
“Gavriil pays women to try to endure being his captive for a month,” Dominik says. “Some last days. None last the full contract.”
My stomach flips. “You’re lying.”
“I don’t lie about him,” he replies. “Gavriil prefers his women to be disobedient. He hates when they become docile, too eager to please him, so he releases them before the month contract is up,” Dominik explains. “That’s why he wouldn’t be able to resist you.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” I remark, ignoring the part about his boss being drawn to my defiance.
“Care to find out for yourself?” Dominik asks with a raised eyebrow.
A bolt of panic hits so hard my limbs go numb. “No,” I breathe. “Absolutely not.”
Staying with Dominik isn’t safe, but it’s better than thePakhan’s cage.
“Then you’ll stay with me,” he says, “and you’ll do as you’re told.”
Every muscle in my body rebels at his order, wanting to refuse him just for spite.
As if he knows what I’m thinking, Dominik crouches in front of me, his fingers brushing a loose strand of my hair before giving it a slow, deliberate tug. “Do I really seem that bad to you,dikaya koshka?”
I grit my teeth, refusing to flinch even as my pulse trips. I don’t want to admit it but compared to the monster he answers to… Dominik is the lesser nightmare.
“Fine,” I snap, sentencing myself to my fate. “And what does di-ky-a kosh-a mean?”
He rises slowly, lifting his scratched hands up so I can see the marks I left on him.
“Hellcat,” he says. Then, after a beat, “And until Archer crawls out of whatever hole he’s hiding in, it means you belong to me.”
4
