I tapped my fingers impatiently on my lap. The waitress returned, this time she had a shy smile on her lips. Sighing to myself I tried not to look upset gulping on my wine. She served the food, bending intentionally to reveal the non-existent breasts she had. Even the way she smiled was creepy. What was so appealing about her even? What if she was tall and skinny, that didn’t make her like the—my hands stilled. Stop it, Rara. What was I so agitated about? What if she was flirting openly without regard for me? How could she do that to a married man? Could she see the ring on his finger? Or she purposely ignored it. Averting my eyes I looked down at the food. It looked as delicious as I remembered, even the aroma baffled my nostrils making my stomach growl. Killian chuckled. “My little butterfly is hungry.” Crossing his arms, he regarded me with an amused look. “It’s been a while since she ate.”I held back the urge to roll my eyes as the waitress leaned to place the bottle of red w
My heart pounded as I knocked on the door. One. Two. Three—“Come in.” I clenched my jaw. Taking a deep breath. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out—My legs were shaking and there was no doubt that my hands were trembling too. It felt like a combination of nervousness, anxiety, dread and fear all at once. My sweaty palms gently twisted the knob to open into a gigantic office room. However, my eyes refused to move anywhere, solely focusing on a man sitting behind the desk wearing an oversized sweater on his short and slightly chubby appearance. His familiar brown eyes washed over me, slowly narrowing as he pushed the glasses down his nose. I couldn’t bring myself to love. All this seemed too easy. This wasn’t supposed to be simple. It was meant to be violent and turbulent. It must be my dream, I must be hallucinating, must be in some delusional world. But when Damian’s eyes narrowed further as he took in my appearance, my face, my eyes. Unable to control myself, I stumbled on my foot breathing
Seeing the look of sheer disbelief on my face, Damian patted my shoulder, before saying. “They’re part of the world's largest criminal organisation—some even say Alexei Volkov runs the council. He provides everything for their illegal work—money, drugs, women, children. And no matter what you say or do, they won’t stop at anything.” “I don’t understand,” I said in confusion. “If he’s all that, then why do I never know?“ “You never knew because he simply didn’t want you to find.” Alessandro’s voice glittered with excitement. He took a deep breath. “As to what they want with you, it’s pretty clear by now.” I shook my head, feeling overwhelmed. “In this business, women are treated nothing more than slaves, if I am being blunt, then I’d use the term sex slaves. You’re with them because they enjoy you, not because they are in love with you or something. You’re there for their pleasure and wife is just a term they gave you on a whim. When you’re useless, then toss you around. Even goi
I swallowed to help the dryness in my throat, suddenly far less sure of the wisdom of the plan Alessandro put me through. What if I fail? Or worse, what if they find out? “Twenty minutes sixty-six seconds,” Killian sighed looking at his watch, propping his hip on the edge of the table and looking like a big cat ready to pounce on me. His pale eyes squinting. “What were you exactly doing in there, Schmetterling? Almost make me believe you escaped or something.” Something in my expression must’ve betrayed me because he let out a short chuckle. “Ah, I know you won’t. Cause there’s nowhere you can go.” Padding towards me in his expensive shoes, he grabbed my hand, “Come here, Schmetterling.” I nodded, feeling like a mute but afraid that my voice might betray my nervousness. This was not the best plan. Why had I thought that bearding the lion in his den was somehow better than trying to avoid him altogether?But there was no turning back n
Bringing me snugly against his warm chest, Killian guided us down the hallway. Despite my heart racing, I offered no resistance as his comforting hold made me feel secure and content, causing me to refrain from stealing a glance at Alexei, who was walking ahead of us. Ralph's face displayed an expression of contentment, but I could discern a troubled and contemplative look in his eyes. I was uncertain about whether to trust Alexei and more significantly, I had no desire to trust him. If his words were true, then this situation was indeed messy. A naive part of me had believed that I could confront Alexei and persuade him to change his mind. If his words were true, then I was undeniably in a difficult situation. When we got outside, the chilled Paris breeze had me chattering my teeth. I eyed as Alexei and Ralph got in the black car in front while Killian moved us into the white car. Alexei did not ride with us, instead, Ralph and he took another car. Ki
I was sleeping when I felt his cold hands on my body. I remember covering myself from head to toe with blankets, but now I could feel the night air hitting me. A manly cologne, a sweet and addicting aroma of sandalwood and mint with a hint of alcohol, wafted into my nostrils, causing my breath to catch in my chest. I was roughly flipped onto my back. Fortunately, Killian had let me sleep alone for today, realizing that I needed solace. He was ‘kind’ enough to give me his warm hoodie and even gave me privacy. I didn't know how I had ended up sleeping when I had been crying my eyes out just a few hours ago, but sleep had come naturally to me. I was tired and exhausted. What I wasn't expecting was Alexei to be here at this time of night. I was still upset with him.I remained silent as I heard him shuffling through his clothes, a thud on the nightstand as he placed his phone, watch, and gun. I held my breath but didn't move, trying to ignore his presence.
A persistent buzzing dragged me out of sound sleep. For a second, I was so disoriented I thought it was the middle of the night. But when the buzzing intensified, I let out a groan before rolling over onto my side, I blindly groped for the vibrating phone. Just as my hand touched the device, it stopped buzzing. Sighing in relief, I pulled the blanket over my head, snuggling into the pillows—My eyes snapped open, a spike of adrenaline chasing away the worst of my drowsiness. The phone. I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and realised it was Alexei’s phone on the nightstand. My thoughts immediately rushed with everything that happened in twenty-four hours and it made me completely sober. Before Killian helped me wash last night, I placed the burner phone Dominic gave me under the drawer, thinking it was safe. Looking around with anticipation I did not find Alexei anywhere. Even the bathroom was locked from the outside. My heart thudded.
My body felt as if it had been grated over burning ambers and then run over by a train. My chest felt tight, and every breath that I inhaled felt forced. Lifting my head, my eyes collided with the rearview mirror, giving me a complete view of Ralph’s stoic face set in a deep scowl, brows furrowed deep in his thoughts. It took forever for me to calm down, and because of me, he was late—not that he cared anyway. Maybe I was too much. When my anger calmed down, I realised what I just did. Though I was expecting a beating, Alexei was gentle so was Ralph despite his deep scowl. Alexei even helped me get ready, there were no words exchanged between us. Even the two-piece tweed dress felt too tight, almost claustrophobic despite being designed by one of the best designers herself. My eyes were puffy and red, even the heavy amount of concealer wasn’t able to fix that. Ironic how I created a scene at the breakfast just because I didn’t want to go with Ralph. Now see, I was sitting in the