"That's not happening." He's getting sleepy. I can hear it in his voice. "Stop fighting and close your eyes."
I lie there listening to his breathing slow down and feeling his heartbeat steady beneath my ear. Part of me wants to keep arguing, but the exhaustion is winning. My eyes drift closed despite my best efforts to stay awake.
But I force them open again when I feel his chest rise and fall in the deep rhythm of sleep. His arm is still around me, but his grip has loosened.
For good measure, I wait what feels like another thirty minutes until deep sleep has taken him and a light snoring rumbles up from his throat. I know if I don't move now, he's gonna force me to stay indefinitely, and I just want to go home now.
I carefully extract myself from his hold and slide out of bed as quietly as possible. He doesn't move when I grab my clothesfrom where I left them on the floor before sex and get dressed as quickly as I can while keeping an eye on him.
I pick up my shoes instead of putting them on because the sound might wake him, then I slip out of his bedroom into the hallway. The penthouse is dark except for a dim light coming from under the office door. I tiptoe past it toward the front entrance.
My hand is on the doorknob when I realize I'm actually going to do this. I'm going to walk out and head to the train station and buy a ticket to Ukraine before he wakes up, and I'll be gone before he can stop me.
The thought sends a rush of adrenaline through my chest, causing a smile to bloom on my face as I realize I've left my duffel bag behind—my cash, my ID, my debit card. I glance over my shoulder and think about turning back, but my hand is already on the doorknob. I can't go back now. What if he wakes up?
So I turn the knob slowly and pull the door open.
And Gleb stands in the hallway right outside with his arms crossed and an expression that says he was expecting this.
"Going somewhere?" he asks while lifting one eyebrow in an accusatory manner.
"I need to leave," I whisper, hoping not to wake Dimitri. "Just let me go."
"Can't do that." Gleb doesn't move from his position blocking the elevator. "Boss's orders are nobody in or out…" He glances at the dark space behind me in the apartment and nudges his chin upward. "Go to bed."
"Come on. Dimitri's asleep." I take a step into the hallway, praying he will have mercy. "He won't know I left until morning."
"He'll know the second you get past me." Gleb takes a step forward and scowls as his hand reaches for his gun on his hip. "Which you're not going to do because I'm not taking that punishment for you. So turn around and go back inside."
"Please," I whine. I'm begging now and I hate it. "I just want to go home to my family. I won't tell anyone where I've been. I won't cause any problems. Just let me leave."
"I have my orders." His hand rises and he points into the apartment. "You need to go back inside before I have to make you."
"Make me?" Anger flares in my chest. "You can't just force me to stay somewhere against my will." I see the elevator and know I could outrun this ogre, but if the carriage isn't waiting on me, I'd end up getting nabbed while it ascends to this floor.
"I can if the boss tells me to." Gleb moves closer. "Now are you going back in on your own or do I need to call him out here?"
The thought of Dimitri waking up and finding me trying to sneak out makes me want to throw up. He'd turn into the angry monster version of himself and I'd have no choice but to cry again. I turn around and walk back into the penthouse sulking, and Gleb follows me inside but stands in the doorway.
"I'll be right outside if you try this again." He locks the door from the hallway side. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be."
The click of the lock echoes in the silent penthouse and suddenly, I can't breathe. I'm trapped, actually trapped like aprisoner with a guard standing outside to make sure I don't escape.
I walk back to the bedroom where Dimitri is still sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of what just happened. Looking at him lying there so calmly while I'm falling apart makes rage build in my chest.
This is his fault. All of it. If he'd just let me go to the police properly instead of covering everything up, maybe I wouldn't be in this situation. If he'd protected his casino better, maybe there wouldn't be a mole threatening my life. If he'd just let me leave when I asked, I could be on my way to safety right now.
But instead I'm locked in his penthouse with a guard outside the door and no way out.
I'm his prisoner now and there's nothing I can do about it.
17
DIMITRI
The bed is cold when I reach across it and find empty sheets. I'm on my feet before I'm fully awake with my heart hammering and adrenaline flooding my system. She ran. Tatiana snuck out and she's gone.
Without even putting shoes on, I don my pants, grab my gun from the nightstand, and stalk through the bedroom into the living room ready to tear this entire building apart looking for her.
