“But you can’t, can you?” He’s close now, close enough that I have to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. “I’m in your head, Sierra. I’ll always be in your head. You’ll never forget me. Every man you’re with, you’ll be comparing him to me.”
My hands are shaking, and I curl them into fists to hide it. He’s trying to get under my skin, and the worst part is that it’s working.
“Is that what this is about?” I force my voice to stay level. “You’re pissed that I moved on, so you kidnapped me? Trying to shoot me wasn’t enough? That’s pathetic, Viktor. Even for you.”
Something cold and sharp and dangerous flashes in his eyes for just a second.
Then the smile is back.
“Oh, darling. You misunderstand; this isn’t about jealousy.” He walks past me, toward the semi trailer parked inside the warehouse. “This is about teaching you a lesson. You picked him. Now you get to see what you’re truly worth.”
He grabs the handle and pulls, and the metal door screeches open.
The smell hits me first. Body odor and urine and something else, something metallic and wrong that makes my stomach clench. Then my eyes adjust to the darkness inside the trailer.
Girls.
Twenty of them, maybe more, huddled together in the shadows like frightened animals. They’re dirty and terrified, some of them barely women at all. Teenagers with hollow eyes and trembling hands. One of them, clutching the arm of an older girl like a lifeline, can’t be more than fifteen.
Her eyes meet mine across the distance between us. Empty. Hopeless. Like she’s already given up on anyone coming to save her.
My stomach lurches so hard that acid burns the back of my throat.
“What...” The word comes out strangled, barely audible. “What is this?”
“This is what I wanted your family to ship for me.” Viktor leans against the trailer door, casual as anything, like he’s not standing next to a container full of kidnapped girls. “Not drugs. Drugs are easy. Any idiot can smuggle a few kilos of cocaine across the border. But people?” He gestures at the girls with a lazy wave of his hand. “People require finesse. Infrastructure and connections. It’s where the real money is.”
Human trafficking.
The words echo through my skull, hollow and horrifying. Viktor isn’t just a violent stalker. He’s not just a Bratva soldier. He’s a monster who steals women and girls and sells them like cattle.
And I let him into my life. I let him kiss me and touch me and tell me he cared about me. I believed him. I actually believed him.
“You’re a human trafficker.” My voice sounds distant, like it’s coming from somewhere outside my body.
“I’m a businessman,” Viktor corrects, sounding almost bored. “Supply and demand. These girls come from places where no one will miss them. And they go to men who pay very, very well for them.”
My stomach heaves. I press a hand to my mouth, fighting the urge to vomit.
“You’re fucking disgusting.” The words rip out of me, raw and furious, all my careful control shattering. “You’re a monster.You’re scum. You’re the worst piece of shit I’ve ever met, and I hope you burn in hell.”
Viktor’s smile finally fades. He stalks toward me, his movements sharp and predatory.
“You should watch your mouth, Sierra.” His voice drops into a register that makes every hair on my body stand up. “You’re one of them now. And wherever you end up, I’m sure your new owner won’t appreciate that sharp tongue of yours.” He pauses, tilting his head like he’s considering something unpleasant. “Then again, some men pay extra for a woman who needs to be broken.”
Horror floods through me, cold and paralyzing. He means it. He actually means it. He’s going to sell me like he’s selling those girls.
“No.” I shake my head, backing away even though there’s nowhere to go. “No, you’re not going to?—”
“I’m going to do whatever I want.” He grabs my chin and forces me to look at him, his fingers digging into my jaw hard enough to bruise. “That’s what you never understood, darling. You never had any power here. You never had any choice. Everything that happened between us, every kiss, every fuck, every moment you thought you were in control? That was me letting you play pretend.”
I want to spit in his face. I want to claw his eyes out. But his men are right behind me, their presence a threat I can feel even without looking.
Harper makes a small, choked sound, and I’d almost forgotten she was here.
Viktor releases my chin and glances over at her. She’s standing where the men left her, shaking so hard I can see it from where I stand.
“Did you give him access to the truck too?” I turn on Harper, needing somewhere to aim the disgust churning through me. “The warehouse?”
