“You have her. He’s coming for you. He’s coming for both of you.” It was clear that hysteria had taken the place of his pain, his fear. “Vadik won’t rest until he has her back.”
I stilled and felt the blood in my veins rush to my chest. “Because of the chip. He wants her back because of the chip he hid underneath her skin.”
James swallowed hard, his eyes wild and haunted. “She belongs to him. He wants her back.”
I let out a roar of anger before I punched him in his side, then his gut, and then his side again. Hearing him say that Doe belonged to another was fucking with my head. All of this was fucking with my head.
“She belongs to me now! And no one will dare take her away from me.”
James spat out blood and took shallow breaths. “You won’t win. It’s impossible to beat Vadik.”
“I will win. I have the chip. I have what I need to destroy him.”
“What you have is a ticking time bomb. Do you really think if you go after Vadik, he’ll go down without a fight?” James coughed, his face turning all shades of red.
I grabbed my knife and flicked the flesh of my thumb over the blade. “I have the list.”
“No. She has the list. And what do you think Vadik’s clients will do if they find out this list exists? That their names are on that goddamn list?”
More blood rushed to my chest, my spine turning in to ice. “What are you saying?”
Lucio stepped up next to me. “I think what he’s saying is…if word gets out that Doe has this list, every motherfucker whose name is on it will want her dead.”
My gaze cut to Lucio, and the horror on his face mirrored my own. Lucio glanced from me to James and back to me. “Antonio, if word gets out that such a list exists, Doe will be—”
“A walking target.” I cast my eyes down at the ground. “She’ll be the number one hit for every goddamn assassin on a payroll.”
Fuck.
Chapter 6
Doe
I couldn’t sleep.
Ever since Antonio moved me into his bedroom, I could never fall asleep unless he was with me. Next to me. Holding me. It was a source of comfort I quickly grabbed hold of. A woman like me wasn’t used to feeling cherished, adored…safe.
Before Antonio, I spent my nights in fear, hoping I wouldn’t hear the sound of a key unlocking the door to my own little room in hell. My body would quiver all night long, no matter the temperature. Hot or cold, my bones were filled with terror, every limb tight and achy from the trepidation that coursed through me every minute of every hour of every day.
But whenever I felt Antonio’s arms around me, listened to his steady breathing, his heat thawing every chill in my body, I felt protected and secure. Falling asleep had never felt so peaceful as it did while I shared a bed with him.
I was sold by the devil pretending to be an angel. Then I was saved by an angel pretending to be the devil.
“You’re not naked.”
When I heard his voice, I sucked in a breath.
“I told you to wait for me…naked.” There was a low tone of warning his voice, a sound that made my body tremble, and I knew it meant only one thing.
The door slammed shut behind me, and I closed my eyes. “I’m sorry, Master.” Then I slipped the dress off my shoulders, the soft fabric pooling around my bare feet.
“There’s my girl.” He was so close, I could feel his warm breath against my neck and the subtlest touch of his knuckles against my back as he unbuttoned his shirt. The shirt he wore joined my dress on the floor. When I looked down, I caught sight of crimson staining the white fabric, and I stilled, suddenly forgetting how to breathe.
“Are you afraid?” He stepped up, his naked chest against my back. “Are you scared?”
“No, Master.”
“Liar.”