The other grabbed my opposite elbow. “Just get her to the room, yeah? We don’t have to do anything but keep her there until Ivan is comfortable bringing her in.”
“Ivan said day or night,” whispered back the one I was sure would crack under the pressure tonight. “We should be delivering her straight there. He wants—”
“Dimitri’s in charge. We watch her for the night, huh? What’s the worst that could happen? Just a little bit of fun for us, if nothing else.”
I’d be killing him first. I knew his tone, the one that slithered the wrong way up your spine and sent shivers everywhere. My insides revolted at the mere thought of having to withstand his advances. A whole night meant I’d have to outsmart them or use everything Dante taught me. I’d been lucky enough to have training sessions with him, to know that I had a chance at defending myself in this situation. I knew I would have to and knew that if I got through all this alive on my own, I’d make it a mission to continue training with Dante.
My chances were slim, though; two armed against one unarmed wasn’t great odds. The little girl in me, the one who’d cried in that small room when Marvin didn’t come to her bed at night, was shaking. The woman in me knew I’d be able to live with it. That woman was like a sword: burned and beaten until she was so sharp she could cut through anything.
I stumbled over some cement steps and counted each one they dragged me up. We only climbed half a flight. The metal click of a lock and the carpet under my shoes told me they’d brought me to an apartment of some sort, not a warehouse or somewhere to kill me off.
It seemed my grandfather still made most of the rules. “Do I get to meet my grandfather tonight?”
“She’s going to tell him if we don’t bring her tonight. Ivan will—”
“Dimitri is the boss.”
“Are you so stupid, huh? Ivan owns us. He’s making us escort this woman to him. Not Dimitri. Dimitri doesn’t want that. I’m not being a part of this shit.” He shoved my elbow away from him.
I yanked my other arm to see if I’d be able to maneuver out of their reach.
The second guy let me go without much fight because he was arguing. “Maksim, just settle down. Want a drink, huh?”
Maksim scoffed, but I heard genuine concern from the other guy. They were close enough for him to want Maksim to stay. I wanted Maksim to stay too.
“Can we remove the head cover at least?” I asked. “I’ll drink you both under the table all night if we’re just waiting on Dimitri.” Confidence went far with men, especially Russians who liked to drink. I remembered how Georgie’s friends would eye me up when I downed a shot.
“You heard Dimitri—a few hours aren’t going to hurt if he’s gone for the night.” Maksim sounded like he was getting rid of his shoes, and then his hands were at my neck, loosening the binding.
“I’m not taking ownership of that if he finds out,” his partner replied gruffly.
The light blinded me for a second, but I scrubbed my hands over my face and combed my fingers through my waves. “You might be stuck with me for a very long time. Blood’s Russian, you know?”
“Half Russian,” he shot back as his blue eyes scanned my face. They hovered on my lips like any creep’s, and I licked them just to taunt him.
The game we were about to play would begin with taunting. Maksim pulled out a bottle of vodka, and I took in the small room. The carpet was old like the rest of the small apartment. It looked like a stopping point for the bratva. They might check in and out of here, but no one lived in the space. The wooden table was worn with scratches and stains, and the chairs wobbled badly from years of abuse, but there were no photos on the walls and no food in the refrigerator, just alcohol.
And glasses in the cupboards.
Maksim poured generous helpings, and we drank.
Three shots in, I was looser than I wanted to be but keen enough to know that Boris, Maksim’s friend, was enjoying my company a little too much.
He drank double what I did and made a show of it as if to impress me.
His hand had been rubbing my thigh for the past five minutes, and he’d just gotten up the courage to tell Maksim to leave us. “Katie wants a couple hours with me to herself, right?” His eyebrow rose, and his hand squeezed hard over my jeans.
Had I mastered everything Dante had taught me? To the point I could execute every move perfectly? It was all about the right timing, no mistakes, making sure I was committed to the outcome.
I had to be ready to kill. You didn’t pull a gun without knowing you were going to pull the trigger.
“Why not, huh? The Italians never gave me much to write home about. Let’s see if Boris packs a punch.” I winked at Maksim, and he squinted at me like the whole thing made him queasy. In another life, we would have been friends. He would have read my wink for what it was.
I’m going to get rid of this man. He’ll be the first of many who will never hurt women again.
“Get the fuck out of here, man,” said Boris. “I’ll call you if I need you. Be back in an hour?”
“You sure?” Maksim was already getting off the worn chair, like a dog finally let off his leash.