Chapter 14 Ayla #2
The impact jolts up my arm, a clean, brutal line of pain. His head snaps to the side, breath punching out of him in a sharp exhale. Not stunned, but disrupted. That’s all I need.
I move on instinct.
My free hand slides between us, fast and precise, fingers hooking into his pocket. Keys. Cold metal bites my palm as I wrench them free. His hand tightens reflexively at my throat—then loosens, just enough.
I don’t wait to see his face.
I twist, duck under his arm, and bolt.
Branches whip my face as I tear through the dark, lungs burning, boots slipping on wet leaves. Behind me, I hear it—low at first, then breaking wide open.
Laughter.
Howling laughter.
He sounds…delighted.
It echoes through the trees, wild and unhinged, following me all the way to the clearing where his car waits. I fumble the door open, slam inside, hands shaking as the engine turns over on the first try.
His laughter is still ringing when I throw it into gear
I don’t look back.
I leave him standing there in the dark—bleeding, laughing, empty-handed, as I peel onto the road and disappear.
***
I drop his car off at my place. He’ll be heading there anyway and I run to the only person who Maksim wouldn’t expect.
Gabriel.
I pound on Gabriel’s door hard enough that my knuckles split.
The night air bites at my face, sweat cooling on my skin, making me shiver. My breath comes in ragged gasps that I can’t control.
The door swings open.
Emir stands there, gun already drawn, eyes scanning the street behind me before landing on my face.
“Ayla?” His brows furrow. “What the fuck—”
“I need to see Gabriel.”
“It’s three in the morning.”
“I don’t care.”
He studies me for a long moment—the sweat, the brass knuckles still on my hand that I forgot to take off. His jaw tightens.
“He’s in his office. But—”
I’m already moving.
Gabriel glances up when I enter, his expression shifting from mild annoyance to calculation in the span of a heartbeat. He takes in my appearance, the designer clothes, the wild look in my eyes.
“Well,” he says slowly, setting down his pen. “This is unexpected.”
I close the door behind me. Lock it.
“I need somewhere to stay. For a few days.”
His eyebrow arches. “And why would I—”
“Because Maksim Korsakov chased me through the woods!”
And I don’t know which part of him wanted to fuck me and which part wanted to kill me.
Silence.
Gabriel leans back in his chair, fingers steepling beneath his chin. His eyes gleam with interest. Dangerous interest.
“Did he now?”
I nod, trying to catch my breath. My ribs ache. My hands won’t stop shaking. The adrenaline is crashing hard now, leaving nothing but exhaustion and the bone-deep certainty that I just made everything infinitely worse.
“You’ve been ignoring my commands.”
“I know, but I didn’t have anything.”
Gabriel studies me for a beat. “Tell me everything, now.”
So I do.
I tell him about the apartment break-ins, the breakfast, the diner, Mrs. Hardinoff’s. I tell him about the clothes, the drive, the woods. I leave out the part where Maksim’s mouth was on mine. Where I tasted his blood. Where something dark woke up inside me that I don’t have a name for.
Gabriel listens without interrupting. When I finish, he’s quiet for a long moment.
“You stole his car,” he says finally.
“I borrowed it.”
“You punched him in the face and stole his car.”
“He was going to—” I stop. Swallow. “Yes.”
A smile spreads across Gabriel’s face. Slow. Predatory. The kind that makes my skin crawl.
“This is perfect,” he breathes.
My stomach drops. “What?”
“Don’t you see?” He stands, moves around the desk. “You’ve gotten under his skin. Korsakov doesn’t chase girls through the woods for fun, Ayla. He wants you.”
“He wants to kill me—”
“No.” Gabriel shakes his head. “If he wanted you dead, you’d be dead. He wants to own you. There’s a difference.”
I take a step back. “I’m not going back.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Gabriel—”
“This is exactly what we need.” He’s circling me now, like I’m prey he’s already caught. “You’ve become interesting to him. Valuable. He’ll come for you. And when he does, you’re going to let him catch you.”
“No.”
His hand moves fast—grabbing my jaw, forcing me to look at him. “You don’t get to say no to me, Ayla. Not when your friend’s lives are on the line.”
My friends.
At least Santi is safe.
“You’re going back to Korsakov,” Gabriel continues, his grip tightening. “You’re going to let him fuck you, own you, whatever it takes. And you’re going to get me intel on every shipment, every deal, every weakness in the Bratva.”
“He’ll kill me when he finds out—”
“Then don’t let him find out.” Gabriel releases me, steps back. “You’re smart, Ayla. Smarter than you pretend to be. Use it.”
I want to argue. Want to fight. Want to run until my legs give out.
But I can’t.
Because Gabriel’s right about one thing—I don’t have a choice.
I never did.
“Fine,” I whisper.
Gabriel nods. “Good. Now, go off to your room. Get some sleep. You have three days, then we plan how you’re going to handle the very angry Pakhan who’s probably tearing apart the city looking for you right now.”
I turn to leave.
“Oh, and Ayla?”
I stop, hand on the doorknob.
“Keep the brass knuckles,” Gabriel says. “Something tells me you’re going to need them.”