“I—yes,” my father nods weakly.
“Do you suppose she needs to hear the details?”
He quickly shakes his head. “N-no. No, Mr. Komarov.”
“Dad, what the hell is going on?”
“I’ll play your gamble, Thomas,” Viktor growls. “I will wait for this ‘sure thing’ of yours. Though, the price has doubled. It’s two contracts now, both as profitable as the first. Are we understood?”
My father nods quickly. “Yes! Yes, of course, Mr. Komarov!” He smiles that phony politician’s smile I’ve seen my entire life. “That won’t be a problem at all.”
“I know.” The Russian draws a slow breath of air. When I chance looking back at him again, I blush when I find his eyes wholly on me. His jaw clenches, and I tremble at the heat in his gaze before he turns to my father.
“And since your election is such a sure thing, I’m sure you won’t mind my taking a small…” he smiles thinly. His eyes slowly slide back to me, making me tremble. “Collateral.”
I freeze, my heart dropping. I whirl to stare at my father again. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Mr. Komarov…”
“It is this or there is no deal,” Viktor grunts. “This is not a negotiation, Thomas.”
When my father slowly nods, my face falls.
“Dad?!”
“Honey,” he turns, giving me this shitty, weak political smile. “I—I mean…” He takes a breath. “It would only be until the election.”
My eyes widen in horror. “You can’t… are you fucking serious?!”
“I strongly suggest you weigh the options here, Thomas.”
I turn. My heart skips and lurches into my throat when I see Viktor pull back his suit jacket, revealing the heavy gun tucked into a holster under his arm.
“You…” I blanche. “You can’t just—”
“Actually, Ms. Murray,” he growls. “I can.” His lips curl into a thin smile. “And I am.”
“Dad, you can’t—”
“Honey,” he says quietly. “It… it might be best if—”
“What?!”
Horror chills me to the bone. I feel like I’m having some sort of out of body experience as I whirl back and forth between my father and the Bratva kingpin—two wicked men, deciding my fate without me.
“Dad!”
“This is settled,” Viktor grunts. He nods to his three henchmen. “We’re leaving, now.”
My father swallows. “I—when would Fiona… I mean—”
“She’s coming with me. Right now.”
My mouth falls open. “Wait, what are you saying—”
“I’m saying,” Viktor turns suddenly. I tremble, feeling my core tighten again as his sharp blue eyes pierce into me. “I’m saying you’re coming with me, now, Fiona.”
He lets my name drip from his mouth. I shudder at the way he says it, like a lover’s whisper.
“I—now?” I croak.
“Yes.”
“I—you want me to come with you… where?”
He smiles thinly. “To my house.”
My face pales. “Until when?”
“Until your father wins his ‘sure thing’ mayoral election and can repay me what he owes.”
I still feel like I’m watching from outside my body. I turn in slow motion to stare at my father. “Dad…”
I’m not sure what I’m expecting. I’ve been nothing but a political prop to my father for my entire life. Do I really think he’s suddenly going to become a real father and stand up for me, to this monster?
“It’s just a month, honey!” He says cheerily, though his face is pale and haggard.
Just a month. Just a month as the captive of the most dangerous criminal in Chicago. I turn to look at Viktor again as the horror seeps into my soul.
“Come with me, Fiona.”
I swallow as the fear begins to grip me. “I—I can’t just leave…”
“Yes, you can.”
“I need to pack…”
“That won’t be necessary,” the Russian grunts.
I blink, feeling tears welling in my eyes. “No,” I whisper. “No, this is fucking insane. I’m not just—”
“It would be best, little princess,” Viktor growls quietly. He lifts his jacket again, flashing me the cold steel of his gun. “If this happened quietly.”
I turn to my father again. “Dad…”
“It’s just a month!” He smiles nervously. “Just a month, honey.”
In a daze, I turn back to the hulking, gorgeous Russian. His eyes burn into mine, and his jaw clenches as he extends a hand. “Come, Fiona,” he growls quietly. Again, my name sounds so intimate coming from his lips. “It’s time to go.”
The jet-black Bentley town-car rides silently through the city. My heart is still thudding in my ears though. And my mind is still in shock, trying to process what’s happening.
Fifteen minutes ago, I was at my own lame graduation party. I was sipping champagne, talking to my friend, and rolling my eyes at some snobby douchebag trying to hit on me. Now, I’m sitting in the back of a limousine with the most notoriously dangerous criminal in Chicago. And I’m going to be his captive for the next month.
How is this even real? But all I can do is just look out the window at the passing lights of the city. Slowly, the city fades into suburbs, and then countryside.
“You’ve just graduated law school, yes?”
I say nothing.
“And yet, you’ve never been out of your gilded cage, have you, little bird?”
I suck on my bottom lip. I turn to glare at him. “Excuse me?”
“Your father has kept you locked away in that golden tower of his your entire life, hasn’t he?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “He just wants to protect me.”
Viktor barks a laugh. “Does he?” He smiles. “Protect you from what, little bird?”
“From monsters like you,” I snap.
Viktor’s smile widens. “He does, does he?”
“Yes,” I hiss.
Viktor sighs. He speaks coolly and shrugs. “And yet, here we are.”
“Because you threatened him!”
“I hardly saw much of a fight,” Viktor grunts.
“What should he have done, hmm?” I hiss. “Get shot trying to stop you?”
“No,” I snarl. “What he should have done was paid me what he owed me, when he was supposed to.”
I purse my lips, glaring at the man across the seat from me. “What’s your business with my father?”
He smirks. “You don’t want to know those things, little bird.”
I tremble. “My father might not be perfect—”
Viktor laughs coldly, and I bristle.
“He might not be perfect, but he’s one of the good guys.”
“Oh, is he?”
