Semua Bab Don Maxim's Plaything: Bab 1 - Bab 6

There was an increasing number of female kidnappings around the area where I lived; downtown Chicago. That’s why I hugged my body to myself after my bar shift at 3 am and rushed home. I held a small pocket knife tightly in my hand inside my purse. I didn’t want to take a risk. As I was walking through the dark streets, I thought I heard footsteps behind me. I looked behind but I didn’t see anything. I had seen too many thriller movies not to guess what happened after a woman heard rustling nearby. I walked quickly, looking behind to ensure no one was following me. When I looked forward again, a man was walking toward me. I stopped and contemplated running back the way I came from. Luckily for me, the man wasn’t a threat to me. He walked past me as though he hadn’t seen me.I continued on my way home. This time, my guard was lowered because I assumed I was growing paranoid. I walked safely for the next two blocks until everything changed. It all happened in an instant. One minute

I thought Carlo would sell me immediately, kill me, or ‘service me to his men’ like he promised as he beat me to a pulp. Instead, he locked me in a basement with no lights. I had to endure the cold concrete, the screams of men being tortured, and constant hunger. No matter how much I screamed and shouted, no one let me out of the cage. The bars were too strong for me to try and break. And even if I could free myself, it was too dark for me to see a thing. The fear that a snake or rat would come and bite me was constantly haunting me. But it wasn’t greater than the fear of Carlo sending his men to come and rape me.I became so anxious that I picked up the habit of scratching my left arm to the point that it became raw. I also bit my nails until there was nothing left to bite anymore. Only when I got tired of screaming for help did Carlo’s men bring me food and water. I regained strength and screamed for help and later received a beating. The cycle continued until I finally learned

The moment I saw her, I knew she was innocent—untouched. Her innocence was like a beacon calling out to me, begging me to corrupt her and break her until the only air she wanted to breathe was mine.I didn’t understand it at all.The moment I looked into her eyes, I knew she was mine. She had the palest blue eyes I had ever seen. You could get lost in them. They were laced with innocence, fear, and deep down, a fire so wild I wasn’t sure I could tame.I knew how to read people. It had been my job to learn the inner workings of the human mind to get into my target’s mind. It’s what made me a dangerous man.I worked as an assassin for my old Pakhan until I staged a coup with Mikhail and Nikita and took over as the Pakhan. A lot of men were against the sale of flesh because they had families of their own.They supported me until I took over fully and stopped it completely. I wasn’t stupid; I knew people still practiced it in secret. I was just glad it was a taboo.Viktor knew it was wron