Chapter 10

Katja~

F ear raced to every inch of my body as Maksim's hand threatened to cut off my air, and if I'd thought that I was in over my head before, I could see by the look in Maksim's dark eyes that I'd just signed my own death warrant, and all I could think about was my grandfather when the police told him about how they'd found my body.

"Are you wired?" Maksim snarled in my face.

My eyes widened as I tried to shake my head, but his hold on my neck was strong enough to stop any movement. Still, I managed to choke out the one word that I was hoping could save me. "No."

Not believing me, Maksim let go of my neck long enough to tear my dress off me, and as the material floated to the floor, he snatched my purse from my shoulder. I could only stare at him as he grabbed me by my neck again, then dragged me towards the bathroom, my legs doing their best to cooperate.

Once we were in the bathroom, he tossed my purse on the floor, turned on the shower at full blast, then reached down to yank my heels off my feet. He was big enough that he hadn't needed to let go of my neck, and when he was done with my shoes, he dragged me back into the sitting room, his hold on my neck hard enough to leave bruises.

When he had me back up against the wall, he let go of my neck, but instead of stepping back to give me some room to catch my breath, he flattened his hand against my collarbone, still holding me prisoner. Though this was my fault for agreeing to do this, anger slithered down my spine at the injustice of it all. All I'd wanted to do was save my grandfather, and even if Maksim was satisfied with just killing me, I had no doubt that Klive would go after him.

"You get only one chance at this, Katja," he warned. "So, if I were you, I'd start talking, and I'd make sure to leave nothing out."

Doing my best to save my life, I said, "A few days ago, I was having lunch at Trevally's, and this guy just…he just came over and sat down at my table." Maksim's chocolate-colored gaze felt like death coating my skin, and I knew that I needed to make him believe me. "He had an envelope with him, and it was filled with pictures and…and information on me and my grandfather."

"Your grandfather?"

I nodded frantically. "Yes, he…he lives in an assisted-living complex, and…and he's the only family that I have left."

"Let me guess," Maksim drawled out. "He threatened your grandfather's life?"

Tears of anger began to coat my eyelashes. "This isn't a joke," I spat. "Do you honestly think that I'd get involved with the goddamn Russian Bratva if this was a joke? Do you honestly believe that I'd do something like this if I didn't really believe that my life and my grandfather's life were in danger?"

"Finish your story," he ordered, ignoring my minor outrage.

"After…after he sat down, he asked me if I'd gotten the flowers that he'd sent me at work, letting me know that he knew where I worked," I went on. "When I asked him who he was, he said his name was Klive Simpson, but I…I called him out on that because his accent was clearly Russian."

"He speaks with a heavy accent?" Maksim asked, his eyes looking for any lies in my story.

I nodded. "His English is good, but it's clear that English is his second language."

"What else?"

"He said that for the time being, I'd be calling him Klive." I took in a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heartbeat, but I knew that it wasn't going to help. "When I threatened to leave, he asked me what my grandfather would think of my bad manners, and that's when he called me something in Russian."

"Do you remember what he called you?"

I shook my head. "I can't pronounce it," I answered, wondering if it was going to cost me my life. "Anyway, I asked him what he wanted, and that's when he told me that he knew everything about me because he'd done his homework."

"Why did he choose you?"

"I'll…I'll get to that part," I promised. "So, when I asked him again what he wanted, he said that he wanted me to seduce you."

"Seduce me?" he echoed.

I nodded again. "I asked him if he was crazy and told him that you weren't the type to be seduced by feminine wiles, and that he was out of his mind to think that I could pull something like that off."

"And?"

I let out another panicked sigh. "He said that he'd been watching you for a while now, and that he's very familiar with your type."

Maksim's eyes darkened dangerously. "He admitted to watching me?"

"Yes," I answered. "He said that he'd been watching you, and that he knew for a fact that I was your type."

Maksim didn't bother to hide how his eyes slid down my body and then back up again. I was only in my bra and panties, so he could see practically everything. Because my dress had been designed with thin straps, I'd been forced to wear a strapless bra, so my breasts were pushed up and being presented like an offering. Or better yet, a sacrifice.

"He's not wrong," Maksim replied lethally as his eyes were back on mine.

Ignoring that, I said, "When I asked him why me, he claimed that it was just happenstance. Good luck on his part, bad luck on mine. He said that he saw me leaving work one day, and that something about me caught his eye, and that's when he put his plan into action. He said that whatever had captured his attention was bound to capture yours."

"How fortuitous for him that he was right," Maksim remarked, his voice deepening a notch.

Choosing to ignore him again, I went on with my recap of what'd happened. "When I asked him why, he said that his reasons were none of my business. When I refused, he…he said that my grandfather would not live to see next week. When I still refused, he went on to tell me about all the accidents that could befall my grandfather, then gave me a rundown of my grandfather's days at the assisted-living complex."

"Then what?"

"Then he said that if I went to the police or called the living center that…he said that it would take only one phone call, and my grandfather would be dead before I could even file a police report," I continued. "When I…when I asked him what would happen if it didn't work, he said that I better make it work. He said…he said that if I wanted my grandfather to live, then I'd better become the best…uh, that I better be good enough to keep getting invited back to your bed."

"Oh, I'm sure that's exactly how he phrased it," Maksim smirked as he arched a brow condescendingly.

Ignoring the blush on my cheeks, I said, "When I pointed out that you would kill me if you found out, he said that so would he, but unlike you, he'd also kill my grandfather, and that…that I had to decide by today." Maksim hadn't removed his hand, so I kept going, anything to save my life. "When he left, I went back to work, but when I got home that evening, I went through the envelope, and it had everything on me and my grandfather, and even a picture of you."

"What was he hoping to accomplish by this?"

I shook my head. "I don't know," I rushed out. "I think…I think his plan was for me to report back to him or something, but I honestly don't know. In fact, I still hadn't decided what I was going to do, but then I'd gotten a text earlier this evening, telling me that you were at The Swan, and that I better rush over and…and do what he wanted."

Maksim's hand slid slowly back up to wrap around my neck, and his voice sounded like all the demons in hell when he asked, "Is that why you let me finger fuck you in the men's restroom earlier, lyublyu? Is that why you came all over my hand? You liked being Klive Simpson's whore?"

My face paled at that, but it was hard to blame him for thinking that. "No," I quickly answered. "No, that had…that was something different."

"Why did you excuse yourself from our table?"

Looking into Maksim's eyes, I knew that he was just waiting for me to lie to him, so that he could kill me with justification, though I seriously doubted that Maksim Barychev felt like he needed to justify his kills. In fact, Maksim Barychev could probably sleep soundly in his bed with the blood of his enemies still on his clothing.

Knowing that it'd be my life if I lied even a little bit, I said, "Because I needed a second to try to come up with a way out of this. It took only five minutes in your company to know that my death at your hands would be a lot worse than whatever Klive Simpson could do to me, so I just…I needed a moment."

"That still doesn't explain why you let me touch you in the restroom, lyublyu."

"Maksim…"

"Or why you'd been so fucking wet," he added, making shame coat my entire face.