Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
I pace around my bedroom for a long time after my encounter with that scary man. I assume it’s Nikolai, the man who bought me, but who knows? There could be even more people living in this black and white Gothic mansion.
But no. I know that was Nikolai. His presence screamed “man of the house.” He just looked so angry when he told me to go back to my room. Why would he buy me, make a deal for me with my father, then just ignore me?
The scar along his face was ugly, I’ll admit. It only served to make him more intimidating. But I’m full of questions. How did he get it? Why does he want me? And why hasn’t he come to talk to me?
I want that man far away from me, but I can’t deny I’m curious. I have nothing left to lose anymore. My mom is dead. My father betrayed me to the core. I was treated like property when I was sold to Nikolai.
The last thing I want is to die in this house.
I want to live even though the pain of losing my mother tears at me. I still push the tears away. I’m not ready yet.
There’s a full length mirror in the room. Black ornate edges with carving in them. I see a lion’s face within it—just like on the door Nikolai didn’t want me going into. This whole place is full of beasts. I’m going to get eaten alive.
Staring at myself in the mirror, I notice the stark contrast between myself and the black, white, and gray interior of this place. My hair is golden, and my dress is white with yellow flowers. It’s like I’m Persephone, minding my business in my mother’s garden until Hades comes to steal me away.
I didn’t have much light growing up. My father made sure of that. So, when my mom and I left him and made it on our own, I made sure to always have my own light. Now, I can feel it slowly getting snuffed out.
My eyes flick behind the mirror to a walk-in closet full of clothes. Women’s clothes. Dresses and tops and skirts. No pants, I notice. Everything is either black or gray. No white, curiously enough. No pinks or blues or greens or purples. There’s no color to this wardrobe.
I check the size on one of the dress and go cold. It’s my size. Did Nikolai buy these for me? Or are they left behind from a previous woman?
I know the truth, but I don’t want to think about it too hard.
This wardrobe is not me. There’s no life to it, and all I want is to live.
A knock on the door makes me jump, but when Mrs. Brown sticks her head inside, I relax slightly.
“Just brought you some food, dear.” She carries in a large tray, which she sets on a small table near the window. “Eat up. Claude is a wonderful chef. You won’t be disappointed.”
I frown. How can she speak so highly of this place when it’s a literal dungeon?
“Mrs. Brown, why do you work here?”
“What do you mean? I needed a job.”
“But this place is so …”
She sighs and points at the food. Filet mignon. Stuffed potatoes. Broccolini. “Eat up.”
Slowly, I sit down and scoop up a bit of potato and take a sniff. Is it poisoned?
“It’s not poisoned,” Mrs. Brown says as if she can read my mind. “Mr. Petrov wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”
“But he bought me,” I say, dropping my fork.
A mixture of emotions crosses Mrs. Brown’s face. “I know he did. And there’s nothing you can do to change that. So, make the most out of it and eat. Don’t go hungry. You’ll only hurt yourself.”
Except I can’t eat. I can’t eat while my mom is dead. After my father hurt me in a way I don’t think I’ll ever recover from. I push the food away.
She sighs. “You won’t eat?”
“No.” I can’t but if I say that, I’ll start crying, and I can’t cry here. I can’t sully my mom’s memory here.
“All right. Well, I’ll leave it here for now. Eat it when you’re ready. If you want me to warm it back up for you, just let me know.”
“Why are you so nice?” I ask before she can leave.
She gives me a smile over her shoulder. “Because what’s the point in being mean?”
“But you work for a man who bought me. How can you live with that?”
“As I said, Ava. I needed a job. Begger’s can’t always be choosers.” With those words, she leaves.
I slump back in my seat. So, I understand Mrs. Brown. Working here is a matter of convenience for her. I can’t blame her for that. When my mom and I left my father, we didn’t have many options. She enrolled me in public school, where I worked my butt off to get into Yale because I wanted more opportunities in life.
I was going to become a professor myself. I love to learn, so I thought, why not learn the rest of my life? And teach it while I was at it?
But now, I doubt that will ever happen. Nikolai bought me. There’s no way he’s just letting me go. A man who buys someone will want to keep them forever.
Or until he kills them.
Kills me.
I shudder at the sight of the food.
I won’t accept anything from Nikolai Petrov. I would rather die than be a prisoner in this mansion the rest of my life.
And I want to do it on my own terms.
NIKOLAI
The inside of the MC clubhouse reeks of smoke.
It was never my preferred method of a bad habit. In fact, I don’t have any. I don’t believe in using substances to get through life.
I got through my shit through sheer will.
Men surround every angle of this place—from the couches on the back wall to the bar seats against the bar, where a beautiful woman serves alcohol. They all give me dirty looks as I enter, and I know why.
I’m the Bratva. They’re just bikers. We’ve never gotten along.
I fix my cufflinks. Looking one’s best is the best thing I can do for myself. I don’t need scary clothes to intimidate people.
My face does that enough.
The president of The Knights approaches me. Lev. Another Russian who took over to gain a fraction of power within this fucking city. Unlike me, though, he’s let himself go soft from his beer belly to the jowls forming around his face.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Nik?”
“No one calls me Nik,” I remind him. Most people call me Nikolai or Mr. Petrov. “Nik” is too informal. It’s only reserved for the people closet to me.
No one’s close to me.
He rolls his eyes. “Fine. Mr. Petrov , what the fuck are you doing here?”
“I’m here on business.”
“What business? We made a deal about the guns. You got your half, and we got ours.”
“You see, that fifty-fifty deal isn’t going to work for me. You’re bikers. I’m the Bratva. I own this city. So, you’ll pay me a cut for the guns, and I won’t shoot this place up.”
Two men come to stand behind Lev.
“I don’t like that kind of deal,” Lev says.
“You work for me. You’ve always worked for me. Without me, you never would have earned as much money as you have. So, now, I’ve come to collect.”
Lev stands toe-to-toe with me. I’ll give him this—most people wouldn’t. He has balls.
He’s also just plain stupid.
“My men could kill you,” Lev threatens.
“You could. But then you’d be murdering the most powerful man in this city. I have allies, and they would hurt you. Pay me or die.”
“We’ll die,” one of the men behind Lev says. He’s younger, probably in his thirties compared to Lev’s sixty years.
“Maxim,” Lev says in a warning tone.
“We have honor within The Knights,” Maxim says. “We made a deal, and now, you want to renege on it. You have no honor.”
I bypass Lev and stand before Maxim, eyeing him over. We can’t be too far apart in age, and yet, he seems like a boy to me. I’ve lived too much and seen too much to ever be young again.
“I didn’t get where I am in life,” I say, “by having honor. I got where I am by being ruthless. So, I’m taking the money owed to me, or bad things will happen. It’s your choice.”
“It’s my choice,” Lev says, wedging himself between Maxim and me. I don’t move, but Maxim steps up a bit. “You can have your fucking money.” He nods at another man. “Colin, grab it from the safe.”
Colin is even younger in his twenties and looks eager to please. He rushes off down a hallway.
“I don’t like things getting messy,” Lev says.
“Neither do I.”
We stand in silence while Colin collects the money. It seems to take him a long time. Maybe he doesn’t know how to count. I wouldn’t put it past a biker to not know how to count.
Maxim narrows his eyes at me, and I narrow mine in return.
The clock on the wall loudly ticks by in the quiet room.
No one moves.
Until someone does.
“We worked hard for that money,” another biker growls, pulling out a gun and aiming it at me.
I tense.
“Woah,” Lev says, his hands held up. “Calm down, Jake. We don’t want bloodshed.”
“You don’t,” I say. “But I do.” I pull out my own gun and aim it back at Jake. “No one pulls a gun on me, boy.”
“You think you’re hot shit,” Jake hisses. “But you’re just some freak with a scar on his face.”
I can never forget about my scar. It’s a reminder of everything I’ve ever been through. A reminder to never fucking trust anyone.
Including the new girl living at my home.
I don’t think about her at this moment.
“If you want to shoot me,” I tell Jake, “then you had your chance. Either put your gun away, or be prepared to fight.”
“Jake,” Lev warns.
Colin comes back into the room with a wad of cash. “I have the money.”
“No,” Jake says. “We worked hard for it. You don’t get to come in here and steal it.”
He fires.
The bullet misses me and hits the side beam next to me, but I don’t miss as I pull the trigger on my own weapon. The bullet goes straight into Jake’s head.
And then all hell breaks loose.
Lev, Maxim, and the other bikers pull out their own guns. I get a shot at another biker before I dive behind the bar. The thrill of the fight courses through me. It’s the only thing I live for. It’s the only thing keeping me going.
The pretty blonde bartender is huddled behind the bar, staring at me with wide eyes. I don’t kill women. It’s my own code.
“You’re outnumbered,” Lev says.
I glance down at my suit. Bloodstains are on my white shirt. Shame. I loved this shirt.
“You really want to kill me, Lev?” I ask. “You want to risk the fallout of that? I didn’t pull the trigger first. Your man did. I’m still willing to take the money so no one else has to die.”
“Just give him the fucking money,” Maxim hisses. “Three of our men are already dead. I don’t want to see more.”
Lev is quiet for a moment before he says, “Fine.”
Slowly, I stand back up with my gun still drawn. “No one better shoot. You’ve seen how good of a shot I am.”
“Just give him the money, Colin,” Lev says.
Colin’s eyes are wide as he walks over to me and hands me the cash. I take it and step out behind the bar.
“Thanks for the money,” I say. “But here’s the thing, Lev. You’ve just proven to me you can’t keep your men under control. If I’m going to continue to work with The Knights, then I need to know this MC has a president who’ll keep his men in line. So, you need to die.”
Lev’s eyes widen as I shoot him. With a grunt, he falls onto his back. Dead.
Maxim’s face contorts into anger. “You fucking bastard.”
“You. Why don’t you be president next? And if you don’t want to die, I suggest you fall in line.” I turn my back onto Maxim because I know he won’t shoot. He saw what I can do. He knows I’ll win.
And he doesn’t shoot me in the back as I walk away, the money in my pocket and bloodstains on my nice, crisp white shirt.
When I return home, everything is quiet like I’m used to.
But there’s one difference now: the girl upstairs.
The woman I bought from her father. I have my code: never kill women. But that doesn’t make me a good man.
Her father had the audacity to offer his daughter to pay off the debts he owed me. So, I took the offer since that’s what I do. I do what’s best for me.
Mrs. Brown hesitantly approaches me as I take my jacket off. She doesn’t comment on the bloodstains on my shirt. “Mr. Petrov, I wanted to talk to you about Ava.”
Ava.
I haven’t allowed myself to say her name yet.
“What about her?” I growl.
“She hasn’t eaten yet, and it’s been almost an entire day. I’m worried.”
“She needs to eat. I don’t want her fucking starving to death.”
She blanches. “I know. But I can’t exactly force her.”
Mrs. Brown can’t.
But I can.
I storm past her and up the stairs to Ava’s room and barge inside.
She’s lying on the bed, looking innocent in her white dress, but when she sits up and sees me, the shock and fear on her face remind me she’s just a human. Not an ethereal virginal goddess. She fears me like everyone else.
“Why haven’t you eaten?” I bark at her, making her flinch.
Her eyes flick to the plate of food on the table and back to me. “I’m sorry.”
“Eat.”
She quickly gets out of the bed and rushes to the table, but then her hand hovers over the fork.
I grab the fork for her and put it in her hand. “Eat.”
Slowly, she scoops up some of the potatoes and takes a small bite.
“Good. Now, eat the rest. I didn’t buy you so you could starve.”
She flinches again, keeping her eyes downcast. She’s so fucking beautiful. It’s what drew me to accept her father’s offer in the first place.
But she looks so sad. For just a moment, I feel a flash of guilt, and then I push it down. I did what I did, and there’s no changing it. Ava is mine now.
“Are you going to eat the rest?” I ask.
Her nod is barely perceptible.
“Good.” I turn to walk away.
And then she speaks.
“Why did you buy me?” Her voice is so soft; I can barely hear the question.
I don’t look back at her as I reply. “Because you had a shitty father, and I thought I’d take you off his hands.”
“You have blood on your shirt.”
This time, I turn back around to face her, letting her see the red stains in all their glory. “I do.”
“Why?”
I walk back over to her until I’m right in front of her. She has to crane her neck back to look at me. She meets my gaze for just a moment before averting her eyes. “You shouldn’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to.”
“What are you going to do to me?” she whispers.
That’s easy to answer. “I’m going to marry you.”
She sucks in a breath and looks at me again. “What?”
“Your father needed to pay off his debts. He showed me your picture. I thought you were beautiful. I knew right then that you were going to be mine, and what better way to truly make you mine than to marry you?”
“But you don’t know me. I … don’t know you.”
“That’s right. And you’ll never get to know me. I’m not a man you just ‘get to know.’ I’m a man who takes and does whatever the fuck he wants. I want you, so you’ll be mine.” I nod at her plate. “Now, eat. I didn’t buy you just so you could kill yourself.”
She gasps.
I stare at her harder. “You didn’t think anyone would realize? When Mrs. Brown told me you hadn’t eaten all day. I figured it out. You want to die. You don’t want to be my prisoner. Well, I’m not going to let you die, Ava. You’re mine now.” I tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear. She shivers.
I let my hand linger for just a moment before I step back. “Just eat.” I can feel her eyes on me as I leave the room.
AVA
You’re mine.
Nikolai’s words keep rattling around in my head.
I understand he wants me, but I don’t understand why. Why would a scary Mafia man such as him want me? I’m just a young woman trying to live my life. I’m not a princess or a celebrity. I’m no one.
I just happened to have a father who sold me for money.
I wonder if he got his money. I wonder if he thinks it was worth selling me and killing my mother for it.
Despite Nikolai warning me to eat, I can’t. I take a few bites of everything, and that’s it. My stomach refuses to cooperate.
Poking my head out of the room, I check to see if the coast is clear before heading downstairs to the kitchen, the tray full of half-eaten food in my hands.
Claude is in the kitchen, cutting away at eggplant. I’m relieved it’s him and not Nikolai. I’m not sure I can handle another encounter with him.
I set the tray down on the counter.
He glances over at it and sneers. “Was my food not to your liking?”
“Oh, no, it was good. I’m just not hungry.”
He scoffs. “Typical. Of course you don’t like my food. What would your highness prefer me to make for you?”
I blanche. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“Well, offend me, you did.” He motions at the plates with his knife. “You can do the dishes at least.”
Feeling terribly guilty, I bring the plates over to the sink and begin to wash them. It doesn’t take long for my hands to tremble again. My mom’s face enters my mind, and I drop the plate in my hands. It crashes into the sink and cracks into pieces.
“What have you done?” Claude mutters, rushing over. “You broke a plate? Mr. Petrov won’t be happy with you for breaking his things. I won’t tell him. You have to.”
“I can’t,” I whisper. I think I would pass out if I have to speak to Nikolai again.
“It’s your mess.” He turns back to the eggplant and acts like I’m not even here.
Tears sting my eyes as I leave the kitchen. The air is too thin in this house. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.
I slump against the wall and hold my hand to my chest. Everything is closing in around me. I squeeze my eyes shut, but it doesn’t help. I can still see my mother dead on the floor.
With a large gasp, I push myself off the wall and run for the front door.
“Where are you going?” It’s Edmund. He’s standing beside the front door with perfect posture.
“I can’t stay here. Please. I can’t.”
“But you can’t leave. Mr. Petrov?—”
“I don’t care what Mr. Petrov wants. He wants to marry me, and I can’t—” I stop. “I’m leaving.” I run past him and open the door. Edmund doesn’t stop me.
The dark night sky startles me.
I know I’ve been here for a while now, but I was hoping the sun would help give me a sense of safety. Without it, everything feels dark and dreary.
And dangerous.
After my shock wears off, I start running down the circular driveway and onto the street. It’s New York City late at night, meaning there’s still a ton of people around.
But this is Billionaires’ Row. There’s no one out this late at night. The streets are kept clean, and people are kept away. There’s no one to help me.
That doesn’t stop me from screaming anyway.
“Help me! Please!” My shoes weren’t made for running, but I run despite it. The clack of my shoes on the sidewalk match the pounding of my heart.
I can’t be married to Nikolai Petrov. I don’t even quite know what he does for living, but seeing those red stains on his shirt, I know that whatever he does, it can’t be good. He will hurt me. He’s already taken me from …
From nothing, I realize. I stop dead in my tracks.
I don’t have my mom any longer. I never had my father to begin with. The only thing I have left is my education, and that feels so inconsequential now that I’ve lost my mom.
Maybe Nikolai Petrov and his staff are the only people I have left.
And then I realize—no. I have Jason. He’s my friend. He’ll help me.
He has to.
I know he lives on campus, which is hours away. But I can take the train. I just need money.
I had money stashed at my old apartment. Unless my father stole that, too, it should be there.
But going back to my apartment means seeing my mom’s body.
And that’s when it finally hits me.
The tears.
I collapse onto my knees and sob with everything inside me. The pain in my chest hurts so much, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to properly breathe again.
A car pulls up next to me, and a man steps out.
It’s Nikolai.
“You didn’t make it far,” he comments.
I can’t stop crying, and I hate that he can see me like this. He’s a monster. He doesn’t deserve my tears.
With a sigh, he crouches beside me. “The sidewalk is filthy. Get up and into the car. I’ll take you back home.”
“Just so you can hurt me?” I spit out.
“No. So I can marry you. You can’t run from me again, Ava. You are mine. And once we’re married, you’ll understand that. Now, don’t make me drag you back into the car. But I will if you don’t cooperate.”
I stare at the sidewalk ahead of me through my blurry eyes. It goes on and on and on. I would never make it far with Nikolai after me.
“Ava, get in the car,” he adds in a surprisingly gentler tone.
“I hate you,” I whisper.
“None of that matters to me.” Standing up, he opens the passenger door for me. The stare he gives me is intense and patient and says so many things while also saying nothing.
I have nowhere to go.
So, I get up and get into the car because it’s easier. And right now, I want easy. This pain is going to eat me alive, and I can’t bear it much longer.
Nikolai shuts the door behind me, locking me inside. He’s going to make me marry him.
I’m powerless to stop it.