“Keep your eyes on him,” I instruct. “I want to know every move he makes and every meeting he takes. If he’s planning something, I intend to know about it before he even realizes he’s made a move.”
“I’m already on it.”
I step out of the car and head for the plane, welcoming the sharp, bitter wind that cuts through my coat and keeps me focused. Zoya is waiting for me in Moscow, myVedma, the woman promised to me, who has spent five years running from a fate she doesn’t understand. She thinks some soft European businessman’s son is the monster under her bed, but she has no idea what truly awaits her.
As I climb the stairs, I’m already planning a wedding that will take place within the month. She will curse my name once I move her into my house, but she’ll learn eventually. With herfather’s throat in my hand and seventy percent of his weapons in my pocket, I hold leverage she can’t even imagine.
My little witch thinks she’s escaped her cage, but she has merely traded one set of bars for another.
Chapter 8
Zoya
Dato’s smile only grows wider when he sees me standing motionless in the doorway. He gestures with the gun as if it’s a natural extension of his hand, his movements casual and completely unbothered by the weapon’s weight.
“Zoya,” he says, his voice light. “Come in. We were just talking about you.”
The man on the floor hasn’t moved since I arrived, and the remains of the apple are scattered around him in wet, pulpy pieces that soak into the hardwood floor. He’s crying without making a sound, his body shaking with the effort of holding back his sobs while he waits for whatever Dato is going to do next.
I step into the room to escape the exposure of the open hallway, though the air inside the office is so thick and heavy that taking a full breath feels like a struggle.
“Sit,” Dato commands, pointing toward a chair near the fireplace. “Meet my brother, Stanislav.”
The younger man sits up straighter at the introduction. The family resemblance is immediately obvious in his dark hair and sharp features, though he lacks the predatory edge that defines Dato. He looks barely twenty years old, and when our eyes meet for a split second, he looks away as if he can’t bear the sight of me.
“He’s been so worried about you,” Dato continues in that same cheerful tone, never wavering for a second. “In fact, I think he believes I’ve been treating you poorly. Why don’t you come here so you can tell him straight that you’re being treated well?”
I stay exactly where I am, my hands clenched at my sides to hide any potential trembling as I stare back at him. Dato doesn’tseem to mind my silence. He simply leans back and watches me with an expectant look.
“I haven’t forced you to do anything, have I?” Dato asks, his eyes dark with mischief. “In fact, I’ve been a gentleman. Good food. A nice room. Stimulating conversation. Tell him.”
The man on the floor lets out a small, broken whimper that makes the guards shift behind me, and I realize I can’t stay silent forever. I walk closer to where Dato sits and stop a few feet away.
“He hasn’t hurt me,” I say. The words feel hollow and wrong as they leave my mouth.
Dato beams and turns to his brother. “See? She’s fine. Happy, even. So why the concern, little brother? Why the constant questions about our guest?”
Stanislav’s hands curl into fists at his sides. “I just think this is dangerous.”
“You think what?” Dato prompts.
“I think keeping her here and using her as bait is a mistake,” Stanislav says, the words coming out rushed as if he has been holding them back for days. “Romanov isn’t going to negotiate, Dato. He’s going to come here and kill everyone.”
“Let him try,” Dato replies, his voice dropping as he stands up. The mood in the room darkens instantly.
Dato walks toward his brother, the gun still dangling loosely from his fingers as he stops directly in front of him. He reaches out and grips Stanislav’s chin, forcing the younger man to meet his gaze.
“Are you perhaps in love with her?” Dato asks, his voice coming out in a deceptively soft murmur.
Stanislav’s face flushes a deep, burning red, and he tries to pull away. “What? No. I…”
“I mean, I see the appeal,” Dato interrupts, glancing back at me while his eyes travel down my body with a slow, lazyappreciation. “She’s pretty. Spirited. She is exactly the kind of woman who makes men do stupid things.”
He turns back to his brother, his grip tightening slightly. “But surely you don’t think you have a chance with her.”
“I’m not in love with her,” Stanislav snaps, finally jerking his chin free while his cheeks continue to burn. “I’ve only seen her around the house for a few days. I just don’t like seeing women kept as captives in your twisted games. That’s all.”
The room falls into a heavy silence. Dato stares at him for a long moment before he suddenly laughs, a sharp, brittle sound that seems to bounce off the stone walls.