It was so selfless and sweet, I could hardly believe what I was hearing. “What…?”
“When Egor asked me to buy you, I’d already retired from the business. My family and I decided it was too risky. But he gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse, more money than anyone had ever offered me before. He told me he was your brother…and I believed him.”
Fucking asshole.
“It wasn’t until I had you in my captivity that I realized he was lying. He had business to attend to, so he asked me to keep you for a month before I handed you over.”
It’d been almost a month since I’d arrived here. That meant I only had days left.
“Here we are now…” He sighed as he looked at me, his jaw tight. “I tried to interact with you as little as possible. I didn’t want to get attached to you, especially since I’ve been attracted to you since the moment you jumped out of my car. You’re like a lamb that’s about to be slaughtered…I shouldn’t make you a pet. But of course, that didn’t happen. I wanted an excuse to have you, to keep it violent and nonconsensual so there would be no emotion involved… That didn’t work. I wanted to be a bad guy for once, to live out a fantasy since the situation was perfect. But I couldn’t go through with it…and here we are.”
My hands were still pinned to the wall with his strength. Even though I wasn’t fighting him, he never relaxed his hold. He knew I would do anything to escape, and this story wouldn’t change my objective.
“I’m not as evil as you think I am. I just made a mistake.” He moved in closer to me, his lips close to mine. “I never would have bought you if I’d known. I should have been smarter. I should have been less greedy. I shouldn’t have cared about the money, especially when I don’t even need it.”
Now everything made sense. He didn’t strike me as an evil guy. I would know since I was always in the company of the cruelest men in the world. His love for his family suggested he had empathy and compassion, and judging by the fact that he wouldn’t rape me, it indicated he had a soul under that hard chest.
“I’m sorry, Mia.” He looked me in the eye as he said it. “I hate this. It makes me sick to my stomach to hand you back to him. You deserve better than that. You deserve to be free… I’ve always thought that.”
I could feel his sincerity in his touch as well as his words. I could feel the remorse, the overwhelming sadness.
He bowed his head and stared at the ground for a moment, his fingers relaxing around my wrists. “If I could let you go, I would. But Egor is the kind of man I don’t want to cross. My family is in the middle of some serious shit with the Skull Kings. My cousin almost died because of it. If I provoke Egor, I’ll drag my family into another war…and we can’t fight on two fronts.” He lifted his gaze and looked at me again. “I’m sorry. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”
I looked into his gaze and somehow found comfort in the look. I knew he was at war with himself, wanting to protect me as well as his family. He was in a difficult situation, and no matter what he decided, he lost.
But I shouldn’t feel bad for him, not when I had to worry about myself. “I believe everything you said…but you still have to let me go. I know you need to protect your family, but I have a family too. I can’t go back to him. I won’t go back to him.”
He released my wrists, assuming I was subdued. “There’s no other way, Mia.”
“I will kill you, Carter.” I looked him in the eye as I unleashed my threat. “I don’t want to, but I will. Nothing is gonna stop me…not this time.”
He gave a slight nod in understanding. “Then I’ll have to chain you up until it’s time—not that I want to do that. I was hoping we could enjoy each other a little longer…that you could be happy for a little longer.”
“You think I’m happy?” I asked coldly.
His eyes shifted back and forth as he looked into mine.
I’d never told Carter the truth about my life because I was too afraid he would use it against me. But now that his true colors were revealed, I knew exactly who he was. “You have to let me go…because I have a son.”
Carter stiffened noticeably at the revelation, his eyes stilling as they focused on me. His arms rested by his sides, but his shoulders were tight with the revelation. He took in a deep breath, like the information pained him.