Page 35 of Black Ledger

My face scrunched. The comment came out of nowhere. “Why?”

“For when I eventually fuck you.”

Then he did something I’d never expected and had no idea how to handle. In fairness, I didn’t know how to handle any of this.

He plunged his thumb into my mouth, and I gasped.

I froze. Every muscle in my body went taut as a harp string.

“Suck,” he said darkly.

What? No fucking chance.

“No.”

“Suck, Zaya.”

“No.” My nostrils flared, and I glared up at him. Out of pure defiance, I bit down.

His eyes stormed, and my heart pounded. The tension was unbearable. He was unreadable, and not knowing what he was feeling or thinking killed me.

It wasn’t fair. I was an open book. Every thought, every feeling, was readable. Painted across my face like a da Vinci masterpiece.

Then he chuckled. “Oh, you are too much fun.” He pulled his thumb from my mouth with a pop, and he stepped back, giving me some room to breathe.

“One day, I will fuck you, Zaychik.”

I shook my head, and a muscle jumped in his cheek. “Maybe. But don’t ask me again unless you want it to matter. Unless you want to keep me forever.”

“That won’t happen.”

“I know,” My voice barely carried, “So you’ll never have me.”

My stomach twisted as I stared into his liquid-blue eyes. I needed to get as far away from Severin Volkov as possible. I had planned to stay in New York for college, but my father wanted me to go to the University of Chicago.

He wanted me to get away from the Volkovs.

He was right.

Chapter Eighteen

Xeniya Morozova

Age 19

Sixteen Years Ago

Iwanted to be like all the other girls. To belong.

I had intentionally left New York City and Severin behind, so I could find myself outside of the Bratva. So I could be a normal girl.

But the wall of high-end dresses at the luxury boutique store mocked me—sparkling under the lights, each one a reminder that I wasn’t a normal girl. I wasn’t designed to be soft or feminine. I was sculpted by cruel men to be a killer and the best hacker the Bratva had ever seen.

So I didn’t know how to dress myself or apply makeup. I spent my childhood learning how to fight instead.

Still, I wanted to learn.

College was supposed to be my chance to reinvent myself, wasn’t it?