“Key,” I say in Russian as I hold my hand out.
The guard on her right, Valentin, places the key to her cuffs in my hand.
I grab the chain between the cuffs and pull her even closer just to try and provoke a reaction. The lock on the cuff clicks as I twist the key inside, freeing her right wrist, then the left.
Will she try to fight her way out of here like she fought off Dominik and his men the night he took her off the street? Will she show me how much she can’t stand me?
A flicker of excitement ignites in my chest as I wait for the explosion I know must be building inside of her.
I watch her face closely, waiting for the fire I know she carries to be unleashed upon me.
It never comes.
Alina only lowers her eyes, staring at my chest instead as she lets her unrestrained arms rest at her sides.
How disappointing.
“Put her inside,” I tell my men in Russian before stepping back. I slip my hands into my pants pockets to watch them open the door.
Alina steps into the cage without resistance, and that earns my frown. She doesn’t even react when the door slams shut behind her.
“Leave us.” I motion for my guards to get out before stepping up to the cage door and pulling a key out of my pocket to lock it.
Alina pauses in front of a thick, red velvet curtain that hangs from metal hooks on the ceiling. Curious, she reaches forward to pull it aside, then draws in a sharp breath at the sight of a toilet with a roll of tissue on the lid.
“Everything you need is in there,” I tell her. I motion to the shower head that looms over her. There’s a drain directly below it so that my bedroom doesn’t get flooded when it’s turned on.
I’m not a total monster. Cleanliness is a necessity.
Alina turns to face me, her fingers slowly curling and uncurling, but she still doesn’t say a single word to me.
I tilt my head at her as I remain in front of the cage, peering through the bars at my new prisoner. The one I’ve wanted more than any other. I knew the second I saw her in my brother’s penthouse that she would be a problem. I let Dominik have his fun, but taking her from him is what he deserves for making idiotic decisions.
Wrapping my fingers around one of the bars, I lean closer, showing her the key in my other hand. “There are only two keys,”I say, lifting it where she can see. “You’ll stay in there unless I say you can come out.”
Alina quietly glances around the cage, her clouded eyes inspecting every corner. Every item within her proximity.
I’ve had half a dozen women in here before, and none of them ever tried to escape. This became the twisted version of heaven that they never saw coming.
It’ll be the same for Alina.
Dominik looked terrified when she agreed to this arrangement because he knows exactly what I am.
Perhaps I’ll have to work a little harder on hiswildcat, but all challenges are opportunities. Not roadblocks. Not for me.
“You fit in there perfectly, right where you’ve always belonged,” I say coolly to try and get some sort of reaction from her.
It’s the truth, though.
If my brother had followed my orders, she would’ve discovered my cage the very first night he kidnapped her.
Alina doesn’t so much as blink at my inflammatory statement.
What the hell happened between now and when she was mouthing off at me in the car?
After Dominik actually did as he was told and shot her useless brother, I thought she would be coming apart at the seams with grief. I thought she would lash out. I expected a dramatic reaction, not whatever this is.
“Dominik and his men should be in their cells by now, too,” I tell her, deciding to go after another weak spot. I can’t help but wonder how she feels about my brother now that he buried a bullet inherbrother’s head. “Write a letter to Dominik. Tell him the truth, that you hate him, that you never want to see him again, and I’ll consider letting him go free based on how convincing it sounds.”
