Chapter 5 - Lev

The men had no problem getting Parker to the car once Pietor had taken her out of commission for a while. The dose wouldn't last overly long, he'd assured me, and I trusted his judgment. Pietor was excellent with chemicals and the like, and I always joked that he'd make a hell of a chemist if it weren't for the mile-long rap sheet.

As we all got into the Escalade, our driver started things back up, and we set off for the Vadim house I'd been given when I'd arrived in town. Just as we pulled into the basement garage that was always guarded by more Vadim men, Parker began to stir where she lay in the back.

"Get her to my room. We're not to be disturbed, and no one goes in or out of my room unless explicitly permitted by me. Understood?"

The usual chorus of agreement echoed around the car. We drove into my normal spot beneath the mansion, and I buttoned my jacket as I waited for one of my men to open the door for me. Upon seeing it open, I slid out, tugging bruskly on my suit to settle it in place. I walked around to the trunk, where I nodded for my men to open things up.

The strong smell of gasoline and rubber invaded my nostrils as Pietor opened the door and pulled Parker out with him. She was wobbly, her limbs like cooked pasta, and I couldn't stop the smirk. She'd been quite the feisty little thing, and for some reason, it tickled me that she actually tried to put up a fight.

Hell, she even got a decent kick in there. Little brat.

My cock twitched against my leg as I imagined teaching her a lesson and narrowed my eyes toward her. That odd swirl of intrigue that I'd felt the moment I saw her flared right back to life as I walked in front of my men to my room.

Winding through the house, I could hear the moment that more of Parker's faculties returned to her, a loud shout of "hey" bouncing across the interior walls of my estate.

"Hello, Parker," I called gently over my shoulder, lacing my words with venom and promise.

My master suite was down two more halls and up the set of stairs at the far end. It was quite the walk, but it ensured privacy and a longer trip to the door should Parker try to escape again. I didn't put it past her. In fact, there was a minute part of me that wanted to see her try. To hunt her down these halls myself and drag her right back to the room where I could teach her a proper lesson in obedience.

"Let me go! Why are you doing this?"

Parker's voice was strained as she called out, tossed over Pietor's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I could hear the pain she was trying to hide in her tone. A headache, most likely. Well, I did give her options.

As we reached my door, I retrieved the only key from my pocket, unlocked the door and held it open for Pietor. He passed through, depositing Parker roughly on the bed against the far wall.

"That'll be all."

He nodded at me, a tiny smirk playing on his lips, and I rolled my eyes just for him. "Yes, yes. Get going. You know my orders."

"Of course."

Pietor nodded again and left through the door. I closed it behind him, locking it once more before I heard the pound of feet coming up behind me. Spinning, I snatched Parker's extended arm just as she was swinging down to hit me, and I met her shocked eyes. The glare I used was a gentle one, more intrigue than intimidation. However, I still pushed her backward, practically dragging her back to the bed by her arm.

When her leg hit the side of the mattress, I released her with a shove forward, flinging Parker onto the bed. It only took a moment for her to glare at me as she turned around, but I just smirked.

"That's not going to work."

She clenched her jaw before snapping out. "Fuck you."

"Interesting prospect." I folded my arms over my chest. "But there are ground rules. And I'd be more than willing to explain them now, so you don't have to learn them the hard way."

Parker shrunk back just a bit, swallowing as she let her eyes fall to the floor. I waited. I was in no hurry to get her to listen to me as she should. After another long moment, Parker met my eyes again.

"Fine."

"That's a smart girl." I let my grin spread, ticking up the corner of my mouth in an angled smirk. "First, you won't be leaving the house, so get that into your head now. Second, you effectively belong to me now. You will obey my commands, and as long as you continue to do so, you will receive no harsh treatment from me or my subordinates."

Standing up off the bed in a huff, Parker leveled me with a glare as she still tried to keep herself back. "I don't belong to anyone."

I didn't bother justifying that with a response. "Third, I will see to explaining your absence. You will have meals and clothing delivered here. If you need something, ask for it. I might even get it for you."

The sarcasm in my voice was clearly not appreciated by Ms. Kozlovsky here, but it was just so damn fun to tease her. She'd come to see soon enough that I ran a tight household, and she had no other choice but to heed my commands.

"Fourth, you'll—"

"Why did you take me," Parker cut in, her glare intensifying. "Did I treat one of your men? Did you lose him at the hospital? What's going on?"

I hadn't intended on informing Parker why she was taken, at least not for a while. But she was a persistent one, so with a sigh and roll of my eyes, I gestured to the bed.

"Have a seat. Maybe I'll tell you then."

"Tell me now. I have no idea what's going on, and I didn't do anything wrong. What use could you have for me?"

All right, this dumb act is getting a bit old. Obviously, Pavel's fucking daughter would know precisely what her father was up to.

"Use? I think leverage is good enough. So stop playing stupid. You can thank your father's dirty habits for getting you here. Maybe you should have told him to stop instead of enjoying the payout to attend some damn medical school."

Parker's mouth fell open.

"What?" Her brow crinkled into a hard frown, and she shook her head. "This has to do with my dad? Wait, what? I don't…I'm going to college on a scholarship. My dad didn't want me to go. I literally just moved out a few months ago."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" I scoffed at her, lowering my head to look down at her from beneath my brows. "Because I don't. I'm sure you just didn't think that skimming from the Vadims would catch up to you. Just like your father didn't."

"Vadims? I don't—look, I have no clue what you're talking about. Who the hell are the Vadims?" She pulled her chin back to gesture at me. "You? Okay. I'm telling you, I don't know what's going on. All I wanted was to get out of that house. To get as far away from…I-I don't have anything to do with this."

Nagging doubt prickled up my spine, and I studied her. Parker was either an incredibly good actress, or she wasn't in on her father's dealings. He still just pawned her off to me, knowing full well that she would be in way over her head. Hmm…

But I needed to be sure.

"You sure about that? Are you saying that you had no clue about gambling? About skimming money from his payout to the largest branch of the Russian mafia in Chicago? About getting the bright idea to sell you off as payment to me so I wouldn't kill him for stealing my money?"

The color left Parker's face, and she stumbled back down onto the bed with a hard thump. She looked like she might be sick, and her breathing kicked up, rushing in and out of her too fast.

"He…He…" Her stare fell to the ground, and Parker put a hand to her mouth. "Sold me. To the mob."

A sob flooded out from behind her fingers. "Of course he did. Right. It makes total sense. I mean, why not? He'd already made living with him a nightmare. Why not have someone else take care of all the dirty work for him?"

Sitting on the bed, trembling, Parker wouldn't look up at me, and her tears had mingled with an angry laugh. It all turned my blood cold. It was also clear that she had no idea what her father was playing at.

"A nightmare?" I cocked a brow at her, and when Parker glanced up, there was something that flickered behind her green stare. What was that?

Pink colored her cheeks ever so slightly, so embarrassment was on the table. But her shoulders slumped in on themselves, and Parker gripped her bicep, unknowingly stroking her thumb across a particular spot.

That wasn't just being embarrassed or shy. That was shielding behavior. I'd learned all about it when I tried that psychiatrist for like a whole two seconds. And she still hadn't answered me.

"Did he hit you?"

I kept my tone flat, matching it with an impassive expression even though the thought was making the fire in my veins tick up another notch.

Parker glared, suddenly pulled out of her thoughts. "What do you care? You just kidnapped me and had your thugs knock me out."

That was clearly a yes.

My nerves hummed, and I needed something to do with the locked-up energy that was trying to break free. Punch something. Drink. Drink and then punch something, maybe someone. Or you know, I could…

I flicked my eyes back to Parker sitting there on that bed. She was angry, the crinkle in her forehead and the clenching of her jaw clear proof. She was also eyeing me up and down. I noticed how she'd tracked my tattoos back at her place, and she was doing it again, looking for what more she could see past my suit. It gave me ideas.

Bad ideas.

Stepping forward without much thought beforehand, I towered over Parker. My leg hit the inside of her knee, and I glanced down. Moving her foot to the side with my own, I made more space for myself between Parker's legs.

As she looked up at me, having to lean back precariously to do so, Parker's lips parted. Nothing much but enough to allow me to hear her shaky breaths. Squeezing my hands into fists for a moment, I relaxed one only to use it to push back a stray copper curl, tucking it behind Parker's ear.

She stiffened at the contact, drawing her elbow back. Her father fucking abused her. I should've ended the fucker on sight. Touching her, laying even one finger on Parker's… I bit back a growl.

When I didn't pull back, Parker made her own fist—little and dainty compared to mine—and I chuckled.

"You gonna swing, sweetheart?" I smirked. "Make sure you aim right here."

Touching Parker's jaw on the side and patting it with just two fingers, I felt her flinch.

"It'll do the most damage with me up this close. But it'll definitely hurt your hand." I slowly raked my gaze down her body, gesturing to her fist with a nod. "I'd hate for you to break anything."

Her stare went to the floor before she swallowed hard and returned it to me with a refocused glare. "I'm aware of how to do the most damage to a person. I'm about to be a doctor."

Cocking a half-grin and raising my brows, I leaned closer, whispering into her ear. "You like patching up cuts and bruises? Would you like me under your care? A chance to see where these tattoos go?"

Parker's entire body shivered, and I noticed her pull her knees closer together despite how she was trying to hide it. I could practically smell the arousal on her. I could just toss her back. I could spread those legs and—

No, it was a bad idea. I knew that. There was still too much to confirm about Parker's fucking father, and I had no way of knowing how well-behaved she was going to be. Later. Maybe later.

Stepping back and taking a few extra for good measure, I gave Parker one last warning for the evening.

"You may as well get comfortable. You'll be staying here indefinitely. Thank Daddy dearest for that."

She shook her head, her anger returning. "What are you going to do with me?"

I walked to the door, leaving her to simmer with anger behind me. "Oh, sweetheart. Didn't you hear? There's going to be a wedding, and we're the guests of honor."

The last thing I heard as I closed the door behind me was the small gasp from Parker that turned into a frustrated sigh. She could be frustrated all she wanted, but it wouldn't change the fact that in no time at all, Parker would be calling herself Mrs. Lev Vadim.