Page 20 of Taken By My Grumpy Pakhan

I was drowning in a sea of voices, none sounded like help.

“Get on with it, girl.”

It was as though attention had shifted from Sylvie on the stage and everyone was suddenly interested in my nakedness.

The view of Peter’s shrewd smile blurred, a lump collected in my throat. I’d never felt so small in my life.

The voices grew louder until they fused into figures being hurled.

Eventually, a palm found its way to my ass, releasing the tear that had collected in my eyes.

“Fuck, I love it when they cry. Gets my blood rushing.”

“Please…” I croaked, not caring how pathetic I sounded or how loudly they laughed.

These were some of the most respected and civilized men in the U.S. Surely one of them would tap into their humanity before things got far.

“Here.” A younger version of Peter stepped into view, a bundle of cash in hand. “A little something to loosen you up.”

His hand made for my top button. I could only utter a plea when I felt his hand on me. It was no use fighting, I would never win in a room like this.

“Don’t do this, please.”

“But I will,” he smiled, hooking his finger around the button and bringing the cash to my face. “And you’ll enjoy it.”

He didn’t get to stuff the money into my boobs when a pitched sound exploded in the room and warm liquid splashed all over me.

It took a moment for me to realize the loud screeching noise was coming from me.

The man in front of me was missing three fingers. He had fallen to his knees and his cries of pain accentuated mine.

The room was however still, and not in the state you would expect a room where someone was shot to be.

I followed the direction of the gunshot and at the end of the trail was a vision I'd never dreamt of seeing in life.

Whatever drop of horror I felt heaped beneath a slim thread of relief.

Kazimir sat at the far end of the VIP room, a line of smoke blurring cold blue eyes. Eyes that were currently burning through me. I suddenly felt light-headed.

I was standing in the middle of an office. Sylvie had helped clean the blood off me and I changed into something more presentable.

My body was yet to relax from the event I just witnessed. I wasn’t shaking like a leaf anymore, but I sure as hell wasn’t settled.

Kazimir was in the mob? But how? He was my boss, a respected CEO who ran a security company.

He caught the bad guys, he put them away. It didn’t make sense for him to be here, and it made even less sense for everyone to refer to him as boss.

The door opened, causing me to jump a little.

Kazimir settled into a chair behind the large wooden table.

“You are free to go.”

I blinked. That was definitely not what I was expecting.

“Thank you for saving me, sir, but I owe—”

“I am aware of your debt, Genevieve.”