“Don’t hurt them.” Panic welled inside me. “Please don’t hurt them.”
Kirill wasn’t a lone madman. He was the motherfucking heir to a bratva empire. He had more men than I could count shadowing his steps. He could command and control a private army.
He tutted. “Molly, do you think I hurt people I’ve never met? Of course, I don’t. If they get hurt, it will be because of you. Don’t forget that.”
“So, what do you want from me to guarantee they don’t get hurt?”
A flicker of satisfaction entered his eyes. “How quickly you bargain, Princess. Still mercenary, I see. I want you. I want to do whatever I wish with you, to you, whenever and wherever I want. I want complete dominion over your mind, body, and soul.”
His words stole my breath. How could I respond?“Why?” My question landed like a bewildered accusation.
“Because you were mine from the start, Mallory Madison. You and your father stole seven years from me.”
“Kirill.” His name left me in a rush. “Don’t do this. It’s me. It’s Molly. I’ve missed you as much as you’ve missed me. You’re the only man I’ve ever loved—”
“Prove it.” His hard voice was dispassionate. “Prove it and surrender yourself to me.”
There were no words I could find in my desolate heart to answer his plea. It seemed to come from somewhere deep inside, and my heart ached. I’d thought of this man every day for seven years, missed him, and loved him from afar. Could I willingly abandon him now?
“Lori!” A male voice called up the corridor, freezing me mid-thought.
Kirill’s hint of vulnerability shuttered, and his face grew dark. “Is that a man looking for you?” he asked, his voice silky with danger.
I shook my head, suddenly remembering my oh-so-clever backup plan.
I turned my head to see my worst nightmare walking toward me: Theo, Federica, and Theo’s new boyfriend, Officer Tucker. The cop had his hand on the butt of his gun as he approached.
“Are you Lori Wilson? Sir, please step away from the woman,” Tucker instructed.
“You called the cops on me, Princess?” Kirill murmured, looking intrigued but unworried.
“I didn’t mean to,” I fibbed.
The side of his mouth jerked up in a grin. “We’ll have to teach you some manners when we get home, Mallory. Like when we were teens, you need a firm hand to teach you how to play well with others.” He leaned in toward me, his lips brushing my ear. “I’ll be that hand.”
He leaned back, and I caught a glimpse of a shiny black weapon before he pointed the gun at Tucker. It all happened too quickly. The gunshot rent the air, and Tucker fell to the floor, cursing loudly. Theo and Federica cried out, hitting the ground and keeping low.
Kirill hadn’t taken his eyes off me. “Well, decision time. Who lives, and who dies? Or will you come with me?”
My hands were clamped over my ears, and when I removed them, they were ringing. I stared in horror at the scene in the hall, where Tucker was gripping his leg, and Theo was trying to apply pressure.
“Don’t hurt them. I’ll come with you,” I heard myself say.
Kirill grinned triumphantly. “That wasn’t so hard, was it? Say goodbye. You’ll never see them again,” he muttered in my ear.
He shoved his gun into his waistband and bent sharply at the waist. He hauled me across his shoulders in a fireman’s lift and turned along the hall toward the fire exit at the end. The last I saw of my friends was Theo dialing an ambulance and Federica staring mutely at us as tears streamed down her face.
27
KIRILL
Molly didn’t fight me when I bound her hands and pushed her into the backseat of my car. She was in shock. She lay along the leather, staring forward. I wasn’t fooled. She might be down, but she was far from beaten. She was a survivor, and she was trying to outthink me. I couldn’t lie. It was a fucking turn-on.
There wasn’t time to dwell on that now, as someone must have called the cops. While getting in trouble wasn’t likely, given the dirt I had on the officials in this city, being detained would be an inconvenience. I didn’t need to instruct my men to make sure the security footage inside the nursing home was taken care of. It was a given clean-up task in our world.
Max approached as soon as he saw us.“Ivan has Henry Madison. Where do you want him?”
“The warehouse. I’ll go there now. Take Mallory home and see she stays in her room. I’ll be back to deal with her shortly.”