And then, fuck it. I snap the book of puzzles closed. It’s another relic, left behind by the previous owner of the cabin, butI kinda like it. I’d like it even more if I didn’t have a mouthy hostage in the next room, interrupting my concentration every thirty seconds.
“What’s your number?”
Jesus fuck. This woman.
I stand, abandoning the stool and sudoku, and stalk to the bedroom to unlock the door. Knowing she’s capable of anything, even if it should be impossible for her to escape the handcuffs and the sturdier bed—I clearly made a mistake thinking that bolting the piece of shit in the other room to the floor would stop her—I take out my Glock and have it at the ready as I swing the door open. I didn’t have time to install a camera in this room, unlike the other one, where I planned to keep her, until the hellcat broke the damn place apart.
Ekaterina is where I left her, lying on the bed with her hands cuffed to the headboard. Her silky black hair is spread over the pillows, and her tee has ridden up, revealing her toned midriff and the button that’s still undone on her jeans.
“What number?” I bite out, trying to ignore the twinge of lust inside me at the sight of her there, at my mercy.
Ekaterina Sidorova could give a dead man a rager.
“Your body count. You know, how many people you’ve killed.”
I lean my hip against the doorjamb and tuck my piece away. “You’re awfully interested in my business.”
“Maybe I’m sizing up the enemy.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. If it’s me versus you, I’m going to win. Every fucking time.”
Her eyes narrow to slits. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that if I were you.”
I drag my thumb along my jaw, feeling the scrape of scruff I haven’t shaved in a few days. “I’m not the one handcuffed to the bed right now, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“You had an unfair advantage. You dragged me off the street from behind.”
I grin. “Who said anything about playing fair?”
Taking her was easy. I’m not sure what the fuck Sidorov was thinking, allowing his sister free rein in the city. It took my men less than three hours to find out everything I needed to know about her, from what she ate for breakfast to every detail of her daily routine. If I didn’t already want to clip Sidorov for the stunts he’s pulled, I’d want to watch him choke to death on his own blood for not looking after his own sister.
She tugs at her wrists. “Seriously, Andriani. I’m losing the feeling in the tips of my fingers again. Isn’t there some other way you can hold me hostage?”
“I could put you in a cage.”
“Fuck that.”
“Cuffs, it is.”
She thrashes on the bed, the movement making her tits bounce in ways I absolutely should not notice. “I need a shower.”
I’m going to need one after this too. An ice-fucking-cold one.
“How about a sponge bath?” I suggest just to be an asshole.
Her eyes seethe with ice-blue flames. “You’re a pig, you know that?”
“Has anyone ever told you that the best way to get what you want from someone isn’t to fling insults at them?”
She bares her teeth at me like the feral hellcat she is. “How much longer is this purgatory going to last, Andriani?”
Fuck if I know. Somewhere between taking her off the street and having to sleep on the lumpy-ass couch in the living area all night long, I realized that I may have bitten off a bit more than I can chew. Why couldn’t Ekaterina be meek and terrified of me? This all would have been so much easier if she were crying in the fetal position.
But no.
I’ve got a demanding diva on my hands instead, one who refuses to be afraid or shut up.
“Until I say it’s over,” I tell her. “And not a second sooner.”