His dark brows drew together. “That isn’t where I thought this was going.”
“You kill for hire, right?” I forged on, growing more confident in my plan with every passing second. This made sense. “I want to hire you. I need your services.”
“Katarina—” he started.
“It’s just business. A business proposition. I’ll hire you, and you won’t kill me because I’m just as complicit as you are.”
He sighed. “Being hired means being paid. I don’t work for free. How are you going to pay me?”
Damn it.I’d kind of forgotten that detail. I chewed my lip, his gaze riveted by the sight.
“I don’t know, but I’ll work something out. Just tell me your price. I’ll find a way, no matter what,” I rushed out.
“No. Matter. What. At any cost? Those are dangerous words, Katarina. You have to understand something about owing a debt to a man like me.”
He leaned forward, uncaring about the knife at his throat. It pressed in, and a dark line of blood ran down his neck.
“I always collect. Always.” His words were a dark promise. His body was heavy on mine, his leg nestled between my thighs, and I had the wildest, most inappropriate urge to rub against it.
“The safe!” I exclaimed as the solution suddenly popped into my head. “There’s money in the safe here. Money and all kinds of valuables. I can find out the combination somehow; I work in the office. I’ll find it out and give it to you.”
He studied me for a moment then sighed. “Who do you want killed?”
“Pavol and Benedict. They’re monsters. They deserve to die.”
He cocked his head. “Are you sure you want me to do it? You did a pretty efficient job yourself earlier.”
“Only because of you. I can’t do it without you, I’m not strong enough,” I admitted, breathless from the steady ache in my ribs. “I need your help.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “As unorthodox as my work is, I do have a schedule, commitments...”
“Please, Massimo,” I begged with as much quiet dignity as I could muster. It was the first time I’d ever called him by his name. “I need you.”
His hand moved to my jaw and gripped my chin in a firm hold.
“I like the way my name sounds on your lips. Say it again. Tell me you need me,” he ordered.
His voice had dropped, and tension dripped through me. His leg between mine pushed into me, and I felt him. A long, hard line pressing into my hip. I might have been a virgin, but I wasn’t clueless. He was hard, and that was his dick lying against me.
“I need you, Massimo,” I whispered. “No one can help me but you.”
His eyes closed for a split second, like he was savoring my words, and then snapped open with renewed focus.
“Killing two men will cost you. It’s not cheap,” he told me.
“I’ll give you everything in the safe. There’s a fortune in there. It’s all yours,” I vowed.
“It’ll cost you all of that... and more. There’s something else I want from you, Katarina.”
“What?” I asked, my skin suddenly feeling too small for my body. I was so aware of his closeness.
He still had my chin gripped between his thumb and forefinger. He used it to tilt my head down so all I could see was his face.
“You. I want you. That’s my price.”
His words took a second to register. He took advantage of that moment of confusion, and before I could move, the knife was plucked from my hand. He twirled it between his fingers and then put it to my throat when I tried to sit forward.
I froze, terrified again.