God, Igor… my guard was still here? How’d he even get into my apartment? Guards didn’t have access unless… my father crossed lines and gave them keys.
I should have been relieved Igor came to be my potential rescuer, but I just knew the man above me was far too dangerous for Igor to take on.
God, this had gone from bad to worse.
But my would-be attacker didn’t act like he cared, didn’t act like it bothered him that I was afraid or that someone would catch him. He just hovered over me, staring into my eyes, my breath stalling as he slowly cocked his head to the side and looked at my bedroom door once more.
“He’s worried about you,” he murmured.
“Please don’t hurt him. He’s just doing his job.”
I let my gaze travel down to his neck where I could see Russian tattoos depicted on his skin. I couldn’t see them clearly, but I could see a Russian doll on the side of his throat and script in old Russian—proverbs about death and life written on his flesh.
My thoughts were whisked away when there was a soft knock on my door followed by Igor saying, “Miss Mulkova, are you okay in there?”
The man on top of me looked at me a second before he leaned in close and his lips brushed the shell of my ear. “Go on,” he said in a husky voice. “Call out to him. Give me a reason to kill him.”
I felt my eyes widen even more at the same time he pulled back.
“I don’t need a reason to kill him, but I will, gladly so, if he gets between us.”
I slowly shook my head—my nonverbal response that I wouldn’t say anything. I wouldn’t have someone’s death on my hands.
And I knew that even if I did cry out for help, Igor wasn’t a match for this man. He just had an unsurmountable danger—an evil presence—that surrounded him.
“Tell him you’re fine.” His gaze flickered over my face, settling on my lips a second before he looked back in my eyes.
I licked my lips and watched as he lowered his gaze to watch the act. My heart was speeding so fast I became dizzy, which seemed implausible given the fact I was lying down. I closed my eyes for a minute, trying to regain my composure, and when I opened them again, I forced myself to exhale slowly.
“I’m fine.” I was shocked that my voice was as steady as it was. I held his gaze, hoping he could see that I wouldn’t be easily broken. The corner of his mouth kicked up as if I said those words out loud, and I swore I sensed a bit of… respect coming from him.
He wouldn’t stop staring at me, his focus so intent, unwavering.
“I heard a scream,” Igor said. I squeeze my eyes shut and breathed out slowly again before answering.
“It was just a bad dream, Igor. I’m fine. You can go now.”
My voice caught at the end when the man above me pressed his chest more firmly against mine. I felt him move his hand closer to my throat, the gentle brush of his fingers causing my skin to tighten. And when he moved the pads of those digits along my pulse point right beneath my ear, a small sound escaped me.
And then Igor tried the doorknob, and I knew I hadn’t fooled him enough.
“Igor,” I said with more firmness in my voice. “I told you I’m fine. I need you to leave now.”
I was breathing harder, and Igor pounded on the door again, cursing in Russian, knowing something was wrong. I made a frightened noise and tried to push the man off me.
Surprisingly enough, he obliged. I pushed myself back on the bed, panting heavily, looking at the door.
The massive man stood on the other side of the bed just watching me, shadows covering him, and along with the hoodie over his head, I couldn’t make out any of his features aside from the sheer size of his body.
It was only when Igor started slamming his body against the door that the other man moved toward it. He reached out, unlocked it, and pulled it open as he stepped aside.
Igor stumbled inside, having been in the process of hitting the door once more with his body.
He looked around and spotted me on the bed, his gun in his hand. And I swear to God, I saw the other man smile in the darkness as he reached out, gripped Igor’s head, and twisted it to the side so unnaturally that the crack of bone breaking filled the interior of my room.
I was pretty sure I was screaming, but I couldn’t hear anything past the rush of my heartbeat through my ears. Igor crumbled to the ground in a lifeless mass, and I felt the vibrations all the way from where I sat.