His eyes narrow slightly, studying my reaction. I keep my face blank.
“You can move things. Deliver things. Collect what is owed. Send messages without ever raising suspicion.” He pauses, letting the meaning sink in. “And when necessary, you can do more than that.”
My fingertips go cold, and I feel like I need to clear my throat, but I’m too fucking nervous to do it. To show any weakness. “You want me to be a courier,” I say. My voice sounds flat. “And...more.”
“I want you to beuseful.” Alexei’s smile sharpens.
Adriana shifts, just barely. Nolan presses his lips together, then unclenches his hands only to clench them again.
They are fucking nervous. This is bad.
“And if I say no?” The words leave my mouth before I can stop them.
Alexei doesn’t raise his voice. “You will not.”
“That’s not an answer.”
He stands up slowly, and the two men straighten behind him. Alexei steps closer until he’s beside me. He rests a hand on my shoulder with the silence that has my stomach lurching into my throat.
“Nolan has your footage,” he says quietly. “He has everything you’ve done for him. Everything you’ve taken. Everything you’ve used. One order, and it goes to the police. Youwould never walk out again. But you already know that, little rockstar.”
I focus on steadying my breathing.
“And there is something else,” he continues. “If you disappear, Jude, no one questions it. People like you burn out every goddamn day. Especially when you overdose on stage at a fucking concert.”
A chill goes through me. He doesn’t have to spell out the threat.
He squeezes my shoulder once, firm enough that my entire body goes rigid. “This is simple,” he says. “Nolan and I have struck a bargain. And you, Jude, belong toboth ofusnow.”
I don’t breathe. Not until he pulls his hand back.
Nolan finally speaks. “We’ll...we’ll talk about specifics later.”
Adriana’s voice cracks when she tries to add something, then she clears her throat and looks down at the floor.
Alexei nods once, satisfied with his intimidation, then turns away. His men follow him toward the private elevator. Before the doors close, he looks back at me. “You are stronger than you think,” he says. “That is why you are still alive.”
The doors slide shut, and the silence that follows is suffocating. Nolan finally seems to exhale. Adriana wraps her arms around her stomach and sinks into a chair. And me? I can’t get enough air in. I’ve been forced into something I don’t know how to escape. I feel nauseous.
“The fuck just happened?” I ask, my voice trembling just a little. “You struck abargainfor mylife?”
Nolan sighs. “Yeah, we did.”
I glare at him, feeling betrayed and scared. I used to think he was the worst. But he’snothingcompared to Alexei.
“Give me more.Now!”I yell, my gaze pinning Adriana. “You owe me because of last night.”
She flinches.
Nolan rolls his eyes.
“I’m waiting,” I step toward her, my body shaking.
“Fine,” she snaps, rising off the couch. “He—”
“Adriana, please,” Nolan cuts her off, walking toward me with an ignorant confidence he did not have when the bigger dog was here. “We’re combining our client base. He wants more reach in the United States, and sees our operation as a clever way to do that.”
“Seems like you’re scared of him,” I deadpan.
