Tears of Betrayal

My eyebrows arch up. “What will he do when he finds the person?”

There’s no emotion on Demitri’s face as he replies, “Kill him.”

Confusion slithers through me. “Why would he do that?”

“The Koslovs don’t condone the killing of innocent women.” His eyes drift over my face. “Even if they’re annoying.”

Ugh. Jerk.

A couple of seconds later, my teeth tug at my bottom lip before I whisper, “And the Vetrovs?”

Demitri stares at me for a moment before saying, “Only if the woman is a threat to Alexei.”

Which I’m not.

Hopefully.

“You can relax, Ariana. Until we hear from your father, I’m just here to make sure you stay alive.”

Yeah, right.

“What if you don’t hear from my father?”

Again he stares at me. “We’ll deal with that problem when it happens.”

I doubt Demitri will just let me go back to my life. My teeth tug at my bottom lip again as the apprehension trickles through my insides.

I lower my eyes to my wrists as dreadful thoughts begin to mull in my head.

Will I ever be able to return to my life, or is it gone forever?

It’s only been a day, and I’ve been choked, tossed around like a ragdoll, drugged, tied up, and left to relieve myself on a bed. What does that mean for tomorrow?

Right now, I only have a couple of bruises and have been humiliated.

But tomorrow… a bruise might become a broken bone.

Lost in my misery, I brush a finger over my left wrist.

Suddenly Demitri says, “We’re stuck here for a while. Just follow my rules, and you’ll be fine.”

Lifting my eyes, I meet his unwavering gaze. “What are the rules?”

“Don’t fight me.”

My eyes narrow on him. “Like hell. There’s no way I’m just going to let you throw me around and tie me up.”

“None of that will happen if you do what I say.”

I let out a disgruntled huff, and my anger from earlier returns, dimming the fear. “Do you get off on hurting and humiliating me?”

Demitri rises to his feet, and when he walks to where I’m sitting, every muscle in my body tenses. I move to get up, but before I can make a run for it, he’s right in front of me. He tilts his head, his eyes hard on me. “Yes, Ariana. It makes me hard as fucking steel to tie you to a bed while you screech until it feels like my ears are going to bleed.”

The image of Demitri being turned on while holding me down flashes through my mind, and it sends an unexpected wave of desire rushing through my body.

Oh, hell no. Don’t even go there.

Somehow I manage to stand my ground in front of him, giving him a glare until he walks away. My eyes burn into his back as he heads toward the stairs leading to what I assume is the basement. It’s the second time I see him go down there, and in the spur of the moment, I follow after him.

Peeking down the short stairway, I watch as Demitri keys in a code and, shoving a heavy metal door open, he disappears inside the room.

What’s in there?

Probably the keys for the boat and a phone. Everything I need to escape.

I need to find out what the code for that door is.

Chapter 7

DEMITRI

Another fucking regret.

The girl gets under my skin, but still, that’s no reason for saying what I did. She’s scared, and I probably made it worse.

The last thing I want her worrying about is me forcing myself on her. That will never happen.

Letting out a sigh, I sit and stare at the monitors. I find Ariana where she’s opening the fridge and taking a bottle of water from it.

She just wanted some kind of reassurance that I won’t hurt her. Why the fuck didn’t I give her that?

I watch as she sits down on the couch again, curling against the armrest. ‘Come on, Ian, distract me from the asshole,’ she says as she begins to watch the show again.

Day one was an epic fuck up, and I have no idea how we’re going to get through the rest of the week.

Picking up my phone, I shoot Alexei a message.

Demitri: Please tell me Lucian’s in Russia already.

A couple of minutes pass before the reply comes through.

Alexei: He’s heading to Russia tomorrow.

Demitri: Change places with me. You babysit the girl, and I’ll look for the assassin.

Alexei: Nope.

I let out a sigh.

Demitri: Have someone keep an eye on Ariana’s mother. She’s worried they’ll go after her.

Alexei: I’ll send Nikhil.

Demitri: Thanks.

Demitri: What the fuck am I supposed to do while I’m stuck here?

Alexei: Work on your people skills.

Demitri: You know I only vowed to protect you from other people, right?

Alexei: Oooh, I’m trembling.

Demitri: Fucker.

Setting the phone back down on the desk, I glance at the monitor for the living room.

Fuck this, I’m not hiding in the security room. Getting up, I stalk to the kitchen and make a cup of coffee for myself.