Maxim’s the same.
He didn’t steal me from Zita and my father out of the goodness of his heart. I saw the look on his face and I knew what he was thinking.
I’m his toy. I’m his property. He fucked me first and claimed me—and he couldn’t stand the thought of me whoring myself out to other men.
It’s not about me at all.
It’s about his precious ego.
We don’t talk on the drive away from The Velvet Rope. I can’t think of anything good to say. Maybe I should thank him for dragging me from that hell, but I’m too emotionally wrecked to even begin to go there yet.
Tianna’s dead. I heard Papa say it, and even though I already suspected, the confirmation breaks my heart. I threw away my life and my world to save her life, and in the end, it didn’t matter. She got her petty revenge and my father put a bullet in her skull.
I want to cry. The tears are there, on the edge of my eyes, lodged in my throat, a stone in my gut, but I can’t bring myself to shed them. I’m all cried out like I’m dehydrated and ruined. I’m still wearing my whore clothes and I feel naked next to Maxim, and though he’s focused entirely on the road, I’m so vulnerable and unprotected.
His car glides through downtown Dallas. Big, steel skyscrapers loom over the Texan landscape. He steers into a parking structure sunk down beneath a residential building with red brick, lots of windows, and ancient-looking gargoyles perched above Gothic-style arches built on the corner of a rich neighborhood. He parks in a reserved space next to other expensive cars and kills the engine.
He doesn’t move. The parking structure is quiet and dark. Nearby, a lamp flickers, and humidity stains the walls a deep brown. He stares at his hands for a long moment before looking at me and frowning.
“We’ll have to get you some clothes,” he says.
I stare back at him—and burst out laughing.
It’s not funny. It’s not remotely funny. I hate him and hate myself and despise my father and the whole world, but I can’t help it. For some reason, him mentioning my clothes is just about the most absurd thing imaginable.
He smiles back, a ghost of humor on his lips. I shake my head and hug my knees tighter. “What, I don’t look good? You wouldn’t pay for me?”
His smile disappears. “I’m not interested in buying you.”
“Sounds like you already did.”
“I saved your life, Siena. You do realize you were about to fuck a string of strange men in that room, don’t you?”
I shrug, head tilted. “And now I’ll only have to fuck you. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
His jaw tenses. I shouldn’t tease him and push him like this, but I can’t help myself. I’m too angry and rippling with sadness to stop myself. Poor dead Tianna. She was such a sweet girl—she wanted to be a veterinarian one day. She used to feed a few stray cats in the parking lot of the whorehouse. I wonder if Papa killed the cats, too.
“You need to understand something,” he says very quietly, and the way he speaks sends a shiver down my spine. It’s terrifying and intense. “You’re about to enter my family’s home. We jokingly call it the Kremlin, but imagine it’s not so different from the real Kremlin. There are eyes and ears everywhere, and everything you do will be judged and held against you. If I had somewhere else I could put you, I would, but nowhere is safe. This is the only place I can guarantee nobody will hurt you. So you need to listen to me, Siena. If you want to survive this, you need to play my game.”
“Play your game,” I echo, shaking my head. “I thought we were getting married.”
“For now, you’re my mistress.” He doesn’t look at me as he speaks. He can’t bring himself to stare into my eyes. “That’s what we’ll say at least. It’s not unheard of. Feliks brought a woman home for a few weeks once. Jasha always threatens to do the same.”
“Feliks? Jasha?”
“My younger brothers. I have two younger sisters as well, Galina and Emiliya. You’ll meet all four of them, along with my mother and my father.”
“You have a big family.” I tilt my head slightly. “I wouldn’t have guessed.”
“And why is that?”
“Because you act as though you’re used to getting what you want, but I find that having siblings beats that out of you very quickly.”
He laughs darkly and nods. “You’re more right about that than you realize. Even still, we need to be extremely careful. My position is… tenuous.” He says that last word with upturned lips.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You will.” He gets out of the car. “Come with me. We’ll head right to my room. Emmie is about your size. I’ll steal some clothes from her.”