Page 49 of Captured Obsession

“I heard you killed some of my men last night. It’s been said it might have been to protect the package in question. I would hope your loyalty hasn’t shifted because of some pussy.” All of this is directed at Nikolai, in Russian.

I force my expression into one of confusion, pretending I don’t understand.

“You appointed me to keep it alive.”It.The word stings more than it should. “And I’ve done so. I expected your men to be more restrained.”

A sharp smile twists his boss’s features. “Well, it’s not like they’re not men I wasn’t willing to lose anyway. Just don’t get too comfortable with where you strike your fangs. I was lenient enough to take you in after The Lion’s fall, remember? Show some respect.”

Who are they referring to?

Nikolai nods. I’ve never seen him look so stiff, so … robotic.

His boss’s gaze roams over me suggestively, and he muses in English, “I really should have a taste before sending the parcel back to New York. She is rather divine to look at, isn’t she?”

A shudder runs through me, and my mouth turns dry.

“She’s returning to New York?” Nikolai asks.

My stomach sinks. Nikolai wouldn’t really let him touch me, would he? This is part of the act, right? Or am I the only fool here, exactly where they want me to be?

His boss assesses him carefully and then speaks in Russian again. “Yes. I had a meeting with Luca Armani over the phone, and we’ve struck up an agreement. You are to go with her to New York. Although I’d wanted to destroy them from the inside out, it turns out theArmanis and I might be able to uncover a business venture together.”

“A business venture?” Nikolai’s eyebrows dip.

Then the man standing behind his boss speaks. “The Armanis run lucrative underground fight rings in New York. As you know, my father quite enjoys violence and profiting from it.”

“Think about it.” The boss quickly cuts in. “Not just man fighting man. But man fighting beast.” Then he smiles, a gold tooth winking from behind his slightly parted lips. “He’s only open to such negotiations if the woman is returned safely. But you’re not to hand her over until we’ve finalized business.”

Nikolai’s gaze narrows, and he’s careful with his words as he looks between his boss and the man standing behind him. “It leaves us in a compromising position. They’ll kill us once they have the girl.”

My stomach twists. Wait, is his boss basically sending him on a suicide mission?

His boss’s face twists in cruel satisfaction. “But you’re the greatUdav. You can make anything happen, can’t you? I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

The man standing behind him then says, “We will succeed where The Lion failed.”

“Iwill succeed where he failed,” his boss quickly corrects.

The man nods agreeably, sinking back from the conversation, though he seems to miss nothing.

Nikolai has no tells, but I can feel pure rageradiating from him. “Don’t you think they might see you as weak, hiding behind a messenger?” Nikolai says in Russian.

“How dare you!” his boss roars, surging to his feet and knocking the woman on his lap to the floor in the process. The other two women scramble to the corners of the couch, cowering silently. The men around us point their weapons at Nikolai, but he doesn’t even flinch. He simply leans forward so he’s blocking me from the weapons. None of this goes unnoticed by the man standing behind the boss.

That’s when the tiger lunges. The collar tightens at its throat, but it’s able to snag a guard by the leg and drag the man closer. The guard screams, and when he goes to point the gun at the tiger’s head, the boss pulls out his own gun and shoots the guard. He immediately goes limp, the spray of blood dark against the wall as the tiger pulls him in and mauls his dead body.

The smell of copper permeates the air, and my breath hitches. I’m barely aware of Nikolai further extending himself over me, as if in attempt to block my view.

Oh my God.

That man was just mauled by a fucking tiger.

The rest of the guards appear nervous, but none of them lower their weapons, which are still pointed in our direction.

“You seem protective of the woman,” the man behind the boss says, shocking my nervous systemback to conversation.Don’t look in the corner, I tell myself as Nikolai maintains his protective position.

“I’m focused on keeping the package safe,” he tells the man, then turns to the boss, and says, “I’m simply surprised they’re open to negotiations after we kidnapped someone important to them. But if there’s room to gain operations in New York from this, then I’ll figure out how to keep the woman as leverage until we get what we want.”

How the fuck are they talking normally when a tiger is chomping down on a man a few feet away?