Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Aria

I wakefrom what feels like the deepest sleep of my life with a start.

Where am I? I blink at shadowed furniture and drawn shades. Tatiana’s living room. I’m still fully clothed, my glasses askew. I must’ve fallen asleep on her couch. How strange. I never do that.

It was quite a day, though.

I push my glasses back on right and stumble to my feet. Last night, I came back to Tatiana’s and told her everything. She assured me we’d find another way, but I could tell she was nervous. I don’t blame her, really. I basically put a big ol’ target on her residence.

I knew I had to find another place to go since she’s at risk now that I’ve outed myself like an idiot to the Romanovs.

We had a drink together…and I guess I fell asleep.

Disoriented and bleary-eyed, I drag myself to the guest room, strip down to a tank and panties, then brush my teeth and splash water on my face before I turn and face-plant onto the bed.

I close my eyes, but memories of that truly embarrassing interaction with Mikhail Romanov plague me. I can still see his cold, calculating gaze. His heavy hands, resting casually on the desk, marked in ink. I can still smell the scent of pine and leather, unapologetically masculine. If I ever smell that scent again, I’ll forever see large, calloused, inked hands resting on a gleaming desk. Hands that have no doubt committed unspeakable crimes.

Then why can’t I stop thinking about them? About him?

I can’t shake the feeling that Mikhail Romanov is a man that would stop at nothing to get what he wants.

And then the sharp, cold way he dismissed me like I was dirt on the bottom of his shoe. I told myself it was only business, but I’m still not truly immune to the biting sting of rejection. I guess that’s something you don’t outgrow.

I’m so tired I can’t think of that now, though. I flop around in bed, my eyes closed, and finally manage to conjure up sleep when something startles me fully awake.

I blink in the darkness. What was that? I swear I heard someone breathing right in this room beside me.

Was that in my mind or dream state or…is there someone here?

I sit up straight, my heart tripping against my ribcage.

Did Tatiana hear that? I wait so long in the silence, my eyelids heavy with sleep, that I convince myself I imagined it, or it was some sleep-induced delusion. Still, my heart’s racing.

I go to roll over when I’m struck with the sudden feeling I’m not alone in this room.

“Is somebody there?” I whisper, my voice husky and my mouth dry. How much did I drink last night?

My head feels as if it weighs twenty pounds. In my state of fear and confusion still tinged with sleep, I imagine I smell…pine and leather.

Oh my God.

I clear my throat and sit up in the darkness. I clutch the blanket to my body even though it offers little protection. “I said who’s there?”

A shadow moves in front of me. I open my mouth to scream, stricken with fear, when a rough hand clamps over my mouth. I scream in terror but the rough, heavy palm against my mouth muffles any sound. A heavy body pins me to the bed. I’m paralyzed with fear, my heart racing and my breathing shallow. I’m shaking, my fight or flight instinct triggered.

Strong, iron-like arms swing around me, effectively immobilizing me when moonlight hits his face. It can’t be.

Am I dreaming? Is this a nightmare? Have I conjured up in vivid detail the most terrifying man I’ve ever met?

His mouth to my ear, the words are clear. “You’re coming with me, little hacker. If you try to resist, I’ll punish you. Please, give me a reason. I’ve thought of nothing else since you left my office.”

Pain pricks my neck. A strange sense of grogginess and loss of control spiked with terror-soaked adrenaline courses through my veins. I try to fight, but it’s useless.

I’m vaguely aware of how easily he picks me up, as if I weigh nothing at all. How the way he holds me is almost gentle as he walks to the open door. He doesn’t even attempt to use the window or something more discreet, just bodily carries me out the door.

I scream in my mind but can’t seem to make words come out of my mouth. I stifle a dry sob and lift my hands to push back, but I’m completely incapable of defending myself.

Why hasn’t Tatiana heard him? I imagine he’s as quiet as a mouse, the only sounds magnified in my state of fear, but…The front door is wide open. There must be a dog, a surveillance camera, something, but I quickly realize there’s nothing at all between us and the wide-open space.

I’m being…kidnapped. Like you hear about on the news. Only then…those people very rarely come back.

My mind reels with this realization.

As he steps over the front threshold, the chill of the night bites my skin. I’m half-naked, groggy, and disoriented, and I can’t fight him. My senses are dulled. I can barely comprehend where I am or where we’re going, except I know that it’s cold, and we’re outside.

My mind reels with fear. What’s he going to do to me when he gets me alone? Why is he taking me? The last time I saw him, he was unceremoniously kicking me out of his office and being a total prick about it.

And yet now he’s surprisingly…tender. Holding me to his chest as if to shield me from the wind. When we get to the car, the door opens as if by magic. I find myself laid down in a warm interior, the seats cushioned, and a thick, velvety blanket pressed over me. I vaguely wonder if he’ll gag or bind me, but it seems he doesn’t need to. I can’t move or speak.

I’m so tired, I can barely keep my eyes open. I try, but my head falls against the padded seat. Tires rumble beneath the car.

Help I try to scream, but the words never leave my lips.