“I could report you for?—”
“You won’t want to do that,” says Valerian. “Let me give you a word of advice, seeing as though you’ve never been in this situation before: never go to the police. Not unless you want your body to waste away at the top of the San Bernardino mountains. And there’s quite a few species of vultures up there.”
“Okay. No need to go on. I get your point.”
“Great,” says Valerian. He finally releases my chin, sitting back down on the bed. “I’ll give you the rest of the day to pack up your life. I need you here tomorrow at eight a.m. Sharp. I don’t like to be kept waiting.”
And I don’t like people having autonomy over my life.
I shake my head, scoffing. “All of this because Igor betrayed you?”
“Yes,” he says. “Igor seems to have forgotten just who his father is. It’s time I remind him. Punishment applies toeveryonewho breaks my trust. It doesn’t matter who they are.”
“Punish him another way. I’m innocent in all of this.”
The dangerous look Valerian flashes me suggests he doesn’t care about innocents, and won’t let them intervene with his plans.
There really is no soul behind his eyes. Just a face and a body. And a very expensive suit. That I’d still like to remove.
I decide to suck up what he’s saying, just to get out of these handcuffs.
“When we’re married, you’ll stay with me here.”
I nod, knowing full well that won’t be happening.
Because I won’t be marrying him.
I need to find a way to get out of this.
“You’ll be taken care of, all meals and finances provided,” he continues. “There’s no pressure to consummate the marriage. But if I find out that you’d like that, we can come to an arrangement.”
An arrangement?
Valerian reaches over me, key at the ready tofinallyset me free. “I’m warning you, Joy. If I hear of any funny business from now until tomorrow morning, you’ll pay.”
Right.Just not with those five thousand bucks.
Valerian slots the key into the handcuffs, releasing me. I sigh, taking back my wrists.
“Eight a.m. sharp,” he reminds me.
Like I could forget.
“Up.” He snaps his fingers, and I scramble off the bed. “Come here.” He yanks me to his side. “I’ll see you off the property.”
I look around as he guides me out of his bedroom, into a long hallway that leads to the staircase.
Agrandstaircase.
I note the chandeliers and all of the portraits lined along the walls. All of them are men. Maybe they’re the previous Bratva leaders?
I grab onto the banister as he brings me downstairs. This whole place is huge. Just walking through the foyer makes me feel like a fish out of water.
We cross the foyer together, his footsteps ringing through the open space. I glance over my shoulder, expecting to see a head on a spike. A dead body.
Nothing is too inhumane or big for Valerian. He made that clear when he forced a woman he doesn’t even know into marriage.
I mean, he knows those last a lifetime, right?