I forced my eyes open again, blinking through the pain, and recognition washed over me.
I knew this place.
I was in Oskar’s office, the same building I’d infiltrated to save Avit.
“Ah.” A deep Russian accent drifted across the room. “Mrs. Safin, you’re awake.”
I lifted my chin. I wouldn’t let this bastard see an ounce of fear. Dying wasn’t an option, not when my baby needed me alive.
“Oskar Mosav,” I sneered, meeting his cold black eyes head-on.
His lips curled. “Not a coward like your old man, I see.” He strolled toward me, stopping just inches away. “But it doesn’t matter. I told Jasper that if he crossed me, I’d come for you. Looks like the bastard didn’t care enough about his only daughter.”
I rolled my eyes despite the pain of hearing about my father. “Cut the melodrama. You didn’t kill me, so why am I here?”
His smirk widened. He reached out to touch my face; I jerked away. He chuckled.
“Beauty…and brains.” He dragged a chair closer and sat leaning in. “You’re worth more alive than dead. After all, you’re the wife of a Safin. Your husband has something I need. If he doesn’t give it to me today…” His eyes hardened to coal. “You die.”
To hide the ripple of dread I felt at his words, I laughed dryly. “And you really think that after you kill me, you’ll be able to walk the streets of Philadelphia, Rasko Vosam?”
His eyes widened.
“Yes,” I smiled and continued, “I know everything about you—your enemies, your deals, and that little sister you keep hidden. It would be a shame if you killed me, only to go home and find her dead.”
I heard the smack before I even felt the sting. Heat exploded across my cheek, blood coating my tongue.
“You stupid bitch,” he hissed. “You think you can threaten me? And if you’re dead, you can’t use that information, can you?”
“I can more than threaten you when you think you can use me as a fucking pawn,” I spat back. “I told my husband everything. The Safin faction is one of the most powerful in Philadelphia, and they’re aligned with the Rykovs. Combined, there isn’t a stronger Bratva alliance in the city. If you kill me, Avitwillfind you and kill you. There wouldn’t be a place on earth your sorry ass could hide from him.”
By the time I finished, my breaths were uneven—not from anger, but anxiety, though my eyes remained defiant. Because I knew damn well Avit didn’t care about me. I was no less a pawn to him than I was to Oskar. But Oskar didn’t know that. I just needed to say the right things, in the right way, long enough for him to let me go.
Then all I had to do was survive the next two months.
After graduation, Mandy and I would be on the first flight to the UK.
“What’s the saying? The bigger they are, the harder they fall?” he smirked. “There are wives and children involved. And maybe I will die, but I’ll sure as hell take a few of his family members with me.”
My stomach lurched, and my head spun, but I refused to let him see me flinch. Before I could respond, a knock echoed through the room.
Oskar rose and opened the door.
“Boss, we have a guest,” said the man standing there.
Then he leaned in and whispered something low enough I couldn’t hear. A vicious smile spread slowly across Oskar's lips.
“Let the bastard in.”
My gaze locked on the doorway, pulse hammering. A few moments later, Avit came into view, wearing a tuxedo.
My eyes widened. What the hell was he doing here?
And despite the terror twisting in my gut, I couldn’t help noticing how handsome he looked.
“Welcome, Mr. Safin, thank you for accepting my invitation. I knew you'd want to see your wife up close and personal. The picture didn't do much justice to her, did it? Do come in,” Oskar said as he extended his hand into the room.
Wait? Oskar sent Avit a picture of me?
