She shakes her head. “No, but—”
“Silent,” I growl.
Her jaw snaps shut as she purses her lips together, irritation sparking to life in her eyes.
“I’m the one that makes the propositions around here.” I walk around her in a slow circle. “You won’t speak unless I permit you to. Do you understand?”
Her brow furrows and her nose wrinkles adorably as she gets more frustrated. “But—”
I stop in front of her and grab her throat, squeezing hard in warning. “Do. You. Understand?”
Anya can’t answer me, not with my fingers wrapped around her slender throat. Instead, she jerks her head in a nod.
“Good. Now you are going to listen to me.” I release her throat reluctantly, enjoying the way her pulse thundered beneath my skin.
Walking around her chair, I try to gather my thoughts.
Anya Lebedev will have inside information about how Grigory operates for sure, which will be valuable to me.
“Your father has responded to my claims of having you by putting a price on my head, dead or alive.” I watch her as her shoulders drop slightly, as if she had been holding onto a tiny silver of hope that he’d do the right thing by her. “Which means I need you to betray your father and tell me how I can bring him down.”
She smiles, and it’s the most achingly beautiful smile I’ve ever seen that for a moment I’m dazzled by it. “Great minds think alike.”
I narrow my eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I knew my father wouldn’t care what you do to me, so why should I care about his secrets?” She shakes her head. “If they can save my life, I’ll happily hand them over, as he’s not going to save me.”
It’s clever and true.
Grigory might as well have signed her death certificate with that move earlier, putting a hit out on me.
He clearly doesn’t care whether his daughter lives or dies.
“What information do you have?”
She bites her bottom lip, an innocent move, but one that makes my mind run wild with dirty fucking thoughts. “Before I give you anything, you need to make me some assurances.”
I arch a brow. “What kind of assurances?”
“That you won’t murder me once you have what you want, for one.”
I stare at her, wondering where Grigory has been hiding this beautiful, smart creature. “Of course.”
“And that I will be given freedom and a safe passage somewhere my father can’t get to me.”
I narrow my eyes. “Your father won’t be alive to go after you.”
Her throat bobs as she swallows hard. “You can’t be certain what way it will go.”
I can’t understand why her underestimating me makes me more angry than anything. “Are you suggesting you think your father can best me, even with insider information?”
She shrugs nonchalantly. “There are no guarantees in war.”
I slam my hand into her throat again, forcing her chin up so that she has to hold my gaze. “I will destroy him, obliterate the bastard until there’s nothing left. Do you understand?”
Her nostrils flare and I notice the way her eyes dilate with a mix of fear and excitement. I saw it before, her reaction to me. It’s desire at its finest and she can’t hide it, no matter how much she tries.
“I have a better proposition,” I murmur, flexing my fingers around her throat. “You tell me what I want to know and if it helps, then I’ll consider letting you live outside of this basement.”