“Now you do. What’s the situation here?” Carver didn’t ask. He demanded.
Here was a man in command, used to giving orders. She shivered, wondering what Carver would be like in the bedroom. He’d be controlling, dominating even. Carver would be able to give what she’d only dreamed of. Her first boyfriend called her a freak, a slut, and other worse names when she confessed to him about her dark desires, and he’d made her ashamed of them. Carver wouldn’t laugh. He’d give her exactly what she’d craved.
Why did that thought make her pulse race, her heart skip a beat? This was so wrong on many levels. She should be worried about her life, how this situation would turn out. Dangerous thoughts. Tangling with a man like Carver would be like playing with fire.
Yasmin wouldn’t come out unscathed, but he didn’t interrupt Anatoli out of the kindness of his heart. Did men like Carver even have a heart? Ten years ago, she’d glimpsed the darkness in him and knew he wasn’t a good man, but even now, she was drawn to him like a moth to a flame.
“Larry McDowell here owes us thirty grand, and I offered to take his daughter off his hands to settle his debt,” Anatoli said.
Her father looked from Anatoli then to him. Too late. She recognized the greedy glint in his eyes. Larry had that same look when he took her to the races for her fourteenth birthday instead of the amusement park like he promised.
Larry rubbed his hands in anticipation, and she knew whatever he’d say next would only land them both in further trouble. He licked his lips. “I see you have a thing for her, kingpin. She’s pretty, I give you that. What do you say we cancel my debt and you can have her all to yourself? I’d really be grateful. I’ll tell everyone about your mercy and kindness.”
Yasmin stared at him, opened her mouth, then closed it. Spewing a number of curses at him wouldn’t help. She couldn’t believe the same blood ran in her veins.Ungrateful bastard.All the times she’d sprung him out of trouble, paid for his bail, amounted to this. Reality felt like a brutal slap to her face. He really didn’t give a damn about her. All Larry was concerned about was saving his own skin.
Why did she think that she could still change him? Her father was beyond saving.
One shove and the table toppled over. Anatoli got out of the way, but Larry’s chair fell over. The next thing Yasmin knew, Carver grabbed the knife embedded on the table. He moved at a speed she didn’t think possible for a man of his size and shoved Larry to the closest wall, one hand over Larry’s throat while he gripped the knife.
“Insect, you think you can make deals with me?” Carver didn’t shout, but everyone in the room could hear the threat in his deadly and quiet voice.
Larry choked, his face beginning to turn purple. He flailed his arms, trying to kick at Carver, but it was useless.
“Wait, please.” Yasmin knew it was suicide, running up to Carter. One of the suits moved, but she reached Carter in time. “Please don’t kill him. He’s my father.”
“This piece of garbage doesn’t deserve to draw breath.” Carver practically spat out the words.
Panic seized her. The image of the hospital room where her mother had spent her last months rose up in her head. She remembered walking in at twelve years old, wondering who the shrunken and pale figure on the bed was, but her mother’s grip on her fingers remained firm, filled with unexpected strength.Take care of your father. He’ll lose his way without me.
God knew she’d tried to keep their family together, but it got too hard. She needed to live her own life, too, to get away from the poison her father had become. In the end, she’d ended up back where she started.
Yasmin said the first thing in her head. “I’m yours. I won’t fight you. Do what you want with me but let him live. Please.”
“After all he’s done to you, you’re still going to beg for his life?” Carver’s narrowed gaze pinned her in place, stripping her to the core. For a moment, she thought he could see right into her soul, but she didn’t mistake the interest there. This man had showed her, in a span of a few seconds, that he had no hesitation when out came to snuffing out lives.
“I promised my mom on her deathbed I’d look after him,” she whispered. “Please.”
Those painful next seconds dragged on like hours. Finally, Carver released his hold on Larry’s throat. Yasmin winced as Carver kicked him in the ribs.
What had she done? Did she really give herself to the kingpin, just so he could spare the life of a man who didn’t hesitate to sell her off to pay off his debts?
“You’re going to pay Anatoli every penny, with ten percent more interest,” Carver said in a toneless voice. “Anatoli, get this scum out of my sight.”
Carver turned to her, curving his lips to a smile that made her shudder in fear, in anticipation. She felt a little lightheaded and began swaying slightly on her feet.
“As for you, angel, you now belong to me,” Carver said before she lost consciousness.