Mikhail

For three days, I remained cuffed to the bed. I waited for the Pakhan to come in and show what kind of a monster he truly was, but he never did.

I was in a bedroom that was much bigger than my apartment back in Chicago. It had a king-sized bed, a walk-in closet, a fully equipped bathroom, and a locked balcony.

It was the best place I had lived in for a while.

I was fed, taken for bathroom breaks, and I had a television to entertain me. It was bigger than anything I had ever seen, but all the channels were in Russian. What they didn’t know was that I could understand Russian very well.

One of the few things I could thank Father for.

What did they want with me? It was like being in that cage back again—never knowing what was going to happen next. In those three days, I never saw the Pakhan or his mouthpiece.

I thought he only pretended to have morals and secretly bought women to play with. Otherwise, why keep me?

A part of me really wished he was the monster I thought him to be. If he was, it would be easier to loathe him like I did my family. It didn’t matter that I thought Maxim was hot, and I might have been a little attracted to him.

I couldn’t afford to be comfortable in a foreign country whose language I couldn’t speak—only hear. People were waiting for me back in the U.S. Some plans were already in motion and couldn’t be postponed.

I hated Russia. Since I was young, I disliked how cold it was. I didn’t understand how we could go on vacation to such a cold country. As an adult, I appreciated the visits we made to the Motherland because at least I knew the country a little.

That knowledge would come in handy when I finally escaped.

My train of thought was cut short when the door opened, and Maxim’s mouthpiece entered. I’d heard someone call him Mikhail. He wasn’t as gloomy as Maxim, but his bubbly personality didn’t fool me one bit.

He was just as dangerous and evil as Maxim. They both had blood on their hands and many sins to atone for.

Two other maids followed after him. They approached me and uncuffed me from the bed. He expected me to run, but I didn’t. I knew better.

I needed to play nice if I had any chance at an escape. A part of me was still scared of what would happen if I tried to run. Viktor had already hit me for trying.

There was no telling what Mikhail or his men would do to me if I tried it. I didn’t buy that they were any different than my brothers and father. All men in the mafia were women beaters.

Mikhail approached the bed, and I backed myself into a corner and hugged my body to myself. In my mind, I was still in Carlos’ cage, with him closing in on me so he could hit me for screaming for help.

“I’m not going to hurt you. I’ve decided to uncuff you. Will you run if I let you out of this room?” He asked.

I shook my head profusely. I was too scared to speak. I didn’t want to risk saying the wrong thing and having him hit me for it.

“Okay. Who are you?”

My head whipped in his direction very fast. Did he finally figure out why Viktor thought I was so important? I could lie and get punished if he found out, or I could tell the truth and still die a miserable death.

Either way, I was fighting a losing game. I was going to take my chances.

“Livia Brown. I’m from Chicago.”

“Who are your parents?”

“Dead.”

“Why did Viktor take you?”

I shrugged my shoulders and looked away. He didn’t know my true identity, which was an advantage for me. It meant I had a fighting chance to make it to old age.

Mikhail came closer and lifted his hand. I flinched and closed my eyes, waiting for the blow or slap to come, but it never did. Instead, he grabbed my chin roughly.

“Look at me,” he said aggressively.

When I opened my eyes, his features were coated with darkness and danger. If looks could kill, I would be six feet under.

“I don’t trust you, and I think you’re hiding something. I will personally torture you for hours until you beg me for death if I find out you’re lying.” He threatened. His voice dropped. “Is there something you would like to say to me?”

Mikhail may have been intimidating, but I didn’t cave. He wasn’t the first, nor would he be the last man to threaten me like that.

I gulped and shook my head. My heart was racing wildly, and fear almost incapacitated me. I didn’t want to die at the hands of my father’s enemies.

It would only be a matter of time before they figured out who I really was. Once they did, it would be game over. I had to get out of there before then.

“I hope you didn’t lie to me. If you think I’m scary, then wait until you see what Maxim is capable of. He has less patience than I do.”

He let go of my chin and stepped back. The more I looked at him, the more I saw the slight resemblance between him and Maxim. Were they brothers?

“We’re twins,” he said like he was a freaking mind reader. “You’ll do best to remember that nothing flies under my nose.”