"That's insane." I press my back harder against the wall. "You can't actually think I'll agree to this." My neck pulses and throbs. I want to turn and run, but I'm afraid of what he'll do. He knows where I work and where I live.
"I think you don't have much choice." Vadim finally lights his cigarette and exhales smoke toward the ceiling. "You know what I am now, and I can't let you walk around with that information."
"So you'll kill me if I say no." My words aren't a question at all. It makes me wish Petr were here to defend me. And to think days ago, I felt the opposite.
"I didn't say that." But Vadim doesn't deny it either. "I'm offering you a business arrangement that benefits us both."
"Benefits you," I correct him. Being so close to him makes me squirm. I invited a monster into my life when I slid him my phone number. "I get nothing except the knowledge that I helped a murderer."
"You get money." Vadim takes another drag. "Enough to pay off your debts and move somewhere better."
I wrap my arms around myself and try to think past the panic flooding my system. I don't feel safe at all, and it's so shocking considering how safe I felt with him in my home. It's so scary how blind I can be at times.
"I need you to let me go," I say, and I hate how my voice shakes. I sound like a scared little mouse.
"No." Vadim doesn't move from his position blocking the door. "Not until you agree."
"Then I'll scream." I stand straighter and try to glare at him, but my hands tremble. "The staff will hear me."
"The staff has been paid very well to ignore whatever happens in here tonight." Vadim crushes his cigarette under his boot, and I cringe at it. "No one's coming to help you."
He's not joking. This asshole thinks he really owns me now. But what if I tell someone? What would he do if I went straight to the police? Do I even want to find out?
Vadim's hand comes up toward my face, and I flinch backward so hard, my head hits the wall. But he doesn't touch me. He just reaches past me and opens the door behind my shoulder.
"You can go," Vadim says.
I stare at him trying to understand what just happened. One second, he's blocking my exit and the next, he's opening the door like nothing's wrong.
"What's the catch?" I ask because there has to be a catch.
"No catch." Vadim steps aside completely and gestures toward the open door. "You're free to leave."
With a pathof escape right in front of me, I raise my hand and slap him across the face as hard as I can. The crack stings my palm from the impact, and Vadim's head snaps to the side as he takes a step back. His hand comes up to hold his cheek and he stares at me with dark, cold eyes.
I don't believe him for a second, but I'm not stupid enough to waste a perfectly good opportunity. I shove past him and the instant my feet hit the pavement outside, I turn and run down the street. It's hard to run in a dress and heels, and I learn very quickly how out of shape I am, but I make it half a block before I see four men step out from the shadows ahead of me and spread across the sidewalk. They're massive and they spread across the sidewalk, blocking my path with their arms crossed over their chests and angry expressions trained on me. I'm forced to slow to a walk and then stop because they don't budge.
"Excuse me," I say and try to step around them.
One of the men moves to block my path without saying a word. I try the other direction, but another man mirrors his movement and my blood runs cold. This can't be a coincidence. These men know Vadim and they're here because they were sent.
"I just want to go home," I say, trying to sound confident, but I hear the whine of pleading tint my tone. My palms are sweaty and my heart is racing. Why is he doing this to me? It's not fair. I just wanted to make Petr jealous and if Vadim wanted a real date, I'd have gone with him. Now I feel like my life is quickly spiraling into a nightmare.
The men stand there glaring at me, not touching me, but not backing down either. I back up quickly and they follow. My hands are shaking when I pull out my phone, but before I can dial anything, one of the men lunges forward and grabs my wrist. The phone falls from my fingers and clatters onto the pavement, and I pull away frantically.
"Let go of me," I whimper, tugging at his grip. His hand is locked on me so hard it hurts. I glance around, praying someone is there to see this, but I'm alone.
Then another man grabs my other arm and starts pulling me toward an alley. I dig my heels in and try to resist, but they're too strong and I'm too small to fight them off. The only thing I can do is scream and thrash around.
My world narrows down to the thrumming in my ears and the pain in my wrists as I kick and lash out with my feet. There's no one around to hear me scream, but it doesn't stop me.
"Help," I scream as loud as I can. "Someone help me." Tears come fast and terror makes every hair on my body stand on end.Why would he do this to me? Why would he send men after me like this? Is this really how my life ends?
The men drag me deeper into the alley and one of them covers my mouth with his hand. I try to bite him, but he just presses harder until I can't breathe and my screams for help are muffled.
Then I hear footsteps approaching and a voice speaking that I very much recognize. It makes the men around me go still and the hand over my mouth drops away. I suck in air and look toward the mouth of the alley where Vadim is standing with his hands in his pockets.
Vadim says something in Russian that makes these men heel like dogs on a leash, and the way they recoil from me obediently shows me he's not just here to intimidate them and protect me from whatever manner of evil they were about to unleash. He planned this, and he told them when he arrived that their fun was over.
