Just like she does to me. But I can’t let her know that. I have to keep the upper hand, or we’re both lost.
I finish buttoning my shirt and move toward her slowly. "So you came here to tell me we're done. That you're drawing a line. That you won't let me touch you again."
"Yes."
I smirk. "Liar."
Her eyes flash with anger. "I'm not?—"
"You are." I step closer, and I see her pupils start to dilate. "You came here to convince yourself you can walk away. To prove you're still in control. But you're not in control, Liesl. You haven't been since the moment I kissed you. You were never in control from the moment you crossed the threshold of my house."
"That's not true…"
"Isn't it?" I reach out and run my thumb along her jaw. She doesn't pull away. "Your body knows what it wants even if your mind won't admit it."
"Stop." But the word has no force behind it.
"Make me."
We stare at each other. The tension is thick enough to choke on. I can see her fighting it—fighting herself, fighting me, fighting the pull between us that neither of us seems able to resist.
Then she notices my hands.
"You have blood under your fingernails," she says quietly.
I look down. She's right. I missed a spot when I washed. There’s a thin line of red beneath the nail of my index finger.
"Whose blood is that?"
I could lie and tell her it's nothing. I could deflect and change the subject, keep her in the dark about what I've done this morning.
But I don't. "Your father's man," I say. "One I thought was mine, but was working against me. Timofey. He was feeding information to Alexander, helping him coordinate attacks against us. So I killed him."
The color drains from her face. "You—what?"
"I killed him." I say it again, slower, making sure she understands. "Put a bullet in his head about an hour ago. He betrayed us. Betrayed me. So I executed him. I had to take a few teeth first, to get information I needed. But eventually, I killed him."
She takes a step back. Then another. "Because of my father."
"Because of your father's war against me. Yes."
"This is—" Her hands clench into fists at her sides. "This is insane. You can't just kill people because they?—"
"I can." I move toward her, closing the distance she just created. "I do. That's who I am, Liesl. That's what I do. And your father knows it. He knows exactly what kind of monster I am, and he’s left you with me anyway. I kidnap women. I kill traitors.I wage war against men who threaten my power. Your father understands this, and he’s using it to his advantage."
“I don’t think?—”
"We intercepted communications this morning. Proof. Your father has been coordinating with my enemies, supplying them with weapons, helping them plan attacks against my operations. He's not refusing to pay ransom because he's negotiating or being strategic. He's refusing because he wants you exactly where you are. He wants me distracted, and he wants an excuse to justify his aggression. He’s never going to get you out of here, Liesl. Not for yourself. He’ll get you out if he wins, because why wouldn’t he? You’re his daughter. But you’re not worth enough to him for him to give up what he stands to earn from this war."
Tears well in her eyes and spill over her lashes. "He wouldn't?—"
"He would. He did." I reach out, wipe away a tear with my thumb. "He's using you, Liesl. And I'm done pretending this is about ransom or negotiation or anything other than what it is."
She blinks, and more tears spill over. "Which is what, exactly?"
"War." I meet her eyes without flinching. "Your father is at war with me. So now I'm at war with him. And that means you're not going anywhere."
"You can't?—"
