“Isabella Hartwell,” he says.
My stomach drops.
“You know my name.”
“I know many things.” He smiles faintly. “My name is Vladimir Pavlov. Pleased to finally make your acquaintance.”
“Can’t say I’ve ever heard of you.”
“Then your man has done you wrong,” he says. “He knows I’ve been circling. The least he could have done was give you a head’s up.”
Except that he did.I think back to Nico’s caginess, the way he insisted we’d be safer under his roof. That his enemies had found us. This Vladimir, whoever he is, must be one of them.
“I’m not a kept woman,” I tell him, voice wavering. “You’ve got the wrong person, sir.”
“I don’t think so. And I don’t appreciate lies, Ms. Hartwell. They force me to apply,” he stopped and narrows his eyes. “What’s the word? Aha! Pressure. They force me to apply pressure. To whatever they hold most precious.”
My eyes flick toward the doorway where Noah is still sitting on the floor. Terror seizes me.
Vladimir notices.
“Your son is safe,” he says calmly. “For now.”
My hands clench against the ropes around my wrists. “What do you want?”
He takes another step closer.
“A conversation.”
“That desperate for a date, are you?”
“Not with you,ptichka.” His pale eyes meet mine. “Niccolò Neri.”
The name hangs in the air between us.
“What makes you think I can get him for you?” I say, again, with more bravery than I feel. “I’m just his waitress. He won’t come for someone like me.”
“Oh, he will.” Vladimir smiles—a snake’s smile. “You’re much more than his waitress, Ms. Hartwell. You do not give yourself enough credit. Or,” he adds, and his voice dips dangerously here, “you take me for a fool. Which would be a mistake.”
His eyes flick to Noah.
My bravado seeps out of me.
I can’t keep defying this man. It won’t be just me paying the price. It’ll be my son. And I love him too much to put him in any more danger than I already have.
But betraying Nico… I don’t know if I can do that, either. Not after everything we’ve been through. He’s my son’s father, and he’s?—
The man I love.
It’s an impossible choice.
I don’t want to make it.
“And if he does not come?” I ask, swallowing hard, trying to buy as much time as I can.
Vladimir’s expression doesn’t change. “Then I will send you back to him in pieces.”
“No!” Noah screams from the other room. “Don’t hurt my mom!”
