Chapter 14 Benedikt
Benedikt
The buzz of the fluorescent lights overhead grates on my nerves as I lean against the cold wall of the observation room.
Through the one-way glass of the police station, I watch Sienna sitting across from a uniformed officer. Her posture is rigid, with her hands clenched tightly in her lap as she conveys every dirty detail.
The black dress Artem picked out still hugs every curve on her body. The thin straps rest delicately over her shoulders in stark contrast to the tension radiating from her frame.
I didn’t think she’d defy me.
Artem had put the word out, so we’d know in case she showed up at any precinct. I’m not thrilled that I didn’t see this coming. I thought I had made myself clear that I wasn’t going to play these sorts of games.
The officer is nodding sympathetically as she speaks.
My jaw tightens. I’m pissed, but I’m also disappointed. That surprises me more than it should.
The officer stands, says something to her that I don’t catch, and exits the room.
He pauses when he sees us.
“Thank you, Officer Greenberg,” his superior conveys at my side. “We’ll take it from here.”
Officer Greenberg ping-pongs his stare from me to him, confused. “Sir, this woman has been—”
“It’s handled,” Captain Krupin cuts in smoothly. “I appreciate your diligence.”
Greenberg doesn’t like it. I can see it in his tight jaw and how his fists clench like he’s deciding whether it’s worth it to argue. Finally, he bites his tongue, throws me a look, and leaves.
Krupin doesn’t look at me right away. He waits until the door latches closed behind Greenberg before turning toward me with a restrained fury that comes from decades of loyalty being tested.
He straightens the cuffs on his uniform. “You kidnapping women now, Volkov?”
I don’t answer. He knows I’m not.
Too many headaches. Too risky. And not my cup of tea.
“You hiding them in hotels and dragging them across the country against their will?” His voice is cold and even, but there’s fire behind it. “That’s what I’m hearing in my damn precinct tonight.”
Still, I say nothing. I stare past him through the glass at Sienna. Her legs are crossed, and her hands are twisting nervously in her lap. That dress is still painted on her like a sin.
Krupin takes a step closer. “We’ve looked the other way for a lot of things. Guns. Moving product. God knows what else. But this? This is where I draw the fucking line, Volkov. I don’t cover for this.”
I glance at him and give the smallest shrug. “She hasn’t been kidnapped.”
“Bullshit,” he hisses. “She walked in off the street in tears. You think that looks good for me? For the badge I wear?”
“I misjudged how upset she’d get,” I say calmly, although I feel anything but. “It won’t happen again.”
He exhales harshly and shakes his head. “One more stunt like this, and I don’t care how deep I’m in with your organization.”
I nod once in acknowledgment. We both know it’s an empty threat. I pay Krupin way too much money for him to back out. He rubs a hand over his face, then gestures toward the door.
“She’s in there. You’ve got five minutes to get her out of here. Don’t give me a reason to regret this.”
He leaves without another word.
I don’t waste a second. I step into the interrogation room and shut the door softly behind me.
Sienna’s head snaps up, and her eyes widen when she sees me. She pales, and I’m not going to lie and say I don’t like it.
She runs, I’ll find her.
She gets into the wrong hands—ones not associated with me—I may just kill her.
“Miss me?” I smirk, leaning against the wall.
Sienna doesn’t answer, just stares at me like I’m a ghost.
“You’ve been busy telling stories to the nice officer.”
“They’re not stories.” She whispers.
I raise an eyebrow. “No? So, you weren’t at the hotel with me? You weren’t part of the deal your father made?”
She swallows hard. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“We all have choices, Sienna. You made yours when you walked into this station. You made yours the night I said I’d handle your father over you being stuck with me.” She jerks her head away, her eyes glistening with tears. “He’s a piece of shit. You should’ve just let me take care of him.”
“I’m not…” She inhales, struggling to keep it together. “I’m not going to be behind the decision to kill my dad.”
“He’s not a good person.”
“I know that.”
“And now you’re here with a mob boss in a police station.” She slowly brings her attention back to me. “What do you think that means for you, princess?”
She’s silent again as she pieces together the cost of her defiance.
I welcome her fear.
I cross the room slowly, closing the distance between us. She shrinks away just a bit. Her chin tips up as if she wants to hold her ground, but the panic in her eyes gives her away.
“You thought the police would save you?” I ask. “You think Krupin’s the kind of man to take me down for something like you?”
Sienna’s shoulders stiffen. “He should’ve. That’s what the police are supposed to do.”
“Maybe,” I concede, pausing just in front of her. “But he’s on my payroll, and you’re not his problem. You’re mine.”
She glares at me. “You can’t keep me, Benedikt.”
“I can do whatever the fuck I want.”
I wait for her to snap back, but she just stares instead, trying to figure out what part of me is bluffing. “Now, what. You’re going to lock me up?”
“I’m thinking about it,” I answer honestly. “You’re becoming a liability.”
She barks a dry laugh. “Took you long enough to realize that. But, then again, you’re psychotic.”
“I prefer calculated.”
She scoffs. “I’d rather be dead than go anywhere with you.” Her golden-brown eyes narrow on me. “A life with you isn’t a life I want.”
“I could fuck you instead,” I murmur. “We both might enjoy that more.”
“You’re disgusting.”
“And yet, I bet you’re wet.”
She flinches like I’ve slapped her, and I smile lazily. “You play nice, you get rewarded.”
“I don’t want to be your whore.”
“You wouldn’t be. You’d be mine.” I close more of the space between us until the hem of her black dress brushes against my leg.
I want her. There’s no pretending otherwise. But right now, it’s not about sex.
It’s about control.
“I take care of my things, princess.” The thought of her underneath me and moaning has my dick hard. “You wouldn’t want for anything.”
“So now you’re trying to buy me.”
“I’ll protect you.”
She scowls. “And who will save me from you?”
I can’t help but chuckle.
“You’re pushing it, princess,” I warn lightly. “You don’t run to the cops when shit goes sideways.”
“Scared?” she tosses back.
“I wouldn’t say scared,” I reply evenly. “Pigs are the least of my concern.”
She shoves back the wooden chair she’s been sitting in and stands up defiantly.
“Let me make myself clear,” she spits. “I don’t like you. I don’t want to be with you. I don’t want to work for you.”
I really should just let her go. She’s not worth all this. But my pride won’t let go of the debt. The last thing I need is her father telling people that I let him off the hook.
It would be easier to just kill him.
“Is that your final answer, Sienna?”
Her brows clench in frustration.
I’ve stated my case several times. It’s either her or her father.
“That’s my final decision.”
I stare at her for a long moment.
She’s a spitfire and full of piss-poor judgment, and she can’t shut up to save her life. She’s insulted me, tried to escape, walked into a fucking police station, and now she’s standing here telling me how this ends.
She’s got balls, I’ll give her that.
“All right,” I say, my voice level. “If those are your wishes.”
Sienna falters. “What?”
I reach for my phone. “I’ll have Artem book your flight. You can go back to the hotel, collect your things, and either he’ll drive you to the airport, or I’ll give you money for an Uber. Your choice.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“That’s it?”
I lift a brow. “You expecting a goodbye gift?”
“No, I just…” Her face screws up with suspicion. “What’s the catch?”
“There’s no catch.”
I won’t explain that her father will be dead before her flight lands back home, or that I plan to gut his sad little trailer for the last of his belongings, and then torch the thing.
It’s not about money anymore. Never was. I’ll never get back a cent of what he borrowed, and that’s fine.
What matters now is the message: If you take from me, you pay me back, or I take something from you. Your house, your life, your family; I don’t give a fuck. You will not walk away clean.
“You’re serious? You’re really letting me walk away?”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?”
She didn’t expect it to be this easy. Maybe part of her thought I’d chain her to a fucking radiator and play out the worst-case scenario in her head.
And maybe that’s exactly why I’m not.
She’s not worth the trouble. She can’t be trained or learn to be obedient. She won’t stop pushing until one of us snaps, and that’s not how I do business.
She made her choice, and now I’ve made mine. She might be one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen, but she’s not worth all this.
I study her one last time, committing her to memory before stepping toward the door. “Artem is waiting outside.”
I pause in the doorway. I could turn around. I could say something cruel or kind. I could tell her she’s lucky I let her off the hook. I could tell her she has one more chance.
But I don’t. Because that’d mean she matters. And she doesn’t.
“Goodbye, Sienna.”
And I walk out.