CHAPTER SEVEN
Alina
I'M TREMBLING.
Shame burns through me, twisting with something darker—something I refuse to name. I shouldn’t have enjoyed it. I shouldn’t still feel his touch lingering on my skin. And yet…
The moment Lev leaves, I relinquish my grip on the dresser and take three faltering steps to the bed. I collapse in a heap on the very edge, drawing my knees into my chest and pressing my hands between my thighs to stop them from shaking. The silence around me is suffocating.
My panties are wedged uncomfortably to the side, the lace chafing the crack of my rear. I pull them free, flinching at the wetness that greets my fingers.
Then why are you fucking dripping for me?
I wish I knew the answer to that. This complicates things. I’m not supposed to desire this man. What happens when it’s time for me to leave?
I have to remember why I’m here.
Minutes pass…or maybe it’s hours…before I force myself to move. My skin’s gone cold, my limbs feel heavy and sluggish, and I want to do nothing more than to crawl into bed and forget everything, but I rouse myself instead.
The sooner I get things moving, the sooner I can get my life back.
I climb from the bed and cross the room to the closet, shivering in my strapless bra and panties. It’s still relatively early in the evening, and sleep is not an option. I need to take care of Marina’s debt. Everything else can wait.
My fingers curl around the handle, and I pull the closet door open.
In the bottom of the closet, the small suitcase and worn leather purse that I’d requested be brought sit, looking pathetically out of place amid the wealth surrounding them. Among the silk-lined shelves and gleaming gold hangers, my things might as well be relics from another life. A life I’m barely holding onto.
Still, they are mine. A quiet murmur of thanks slips from my lips as I drop to my knees and drag my purse into my lap. I fish through its contents, pulling free a balled-up scrap of paper and my phone. With a deep breath, I unlock the screen and open my banking app.
My stomach knots as the numbers appear on the screen. Fifty thousand. It’s there, in my account—the exact amount I bargained for—the price of my body.
I should feel relieved. Victorious. Instead, nausea rises in my throat. Nothing will ever feel like it’s enough for what I’ve given. For what I’m going to give.
And yet it’s a minute amount compared to the value of my sister’s life.
I click over to the next screen, and my hands tremble as I select “transfer funds” and begin typing in the account numbers scrawled on the crumpled paper—the account belonging to the man my sister owes money to.
I move through all of the steps until my finger hovers over the final button. The little warning blinks up at me.
This cannot be undone.
Uneasiness roils in my stomach. I’m all too aware that I have no leverage. I can send this money, and Koka can do absolutely anything he wants to. He can say thank you, your debt is paid , or he can say what money, I see no money, and I’ll be right back where I started from…except I’ll have sold myself for nothing. These are not men renowned for their honesty and fairness.
Once I send this money, I’ll have sixteen dollars to my name. Sixteen dollars, and no idea what comes next.
My breath comes short, sharp, and a migraine presses at the back of my skull. Before I can overthink the problem any further, I stab the enter button.
Done.
I move back to my account page, where I verify the funds have moved from my account. I just need to await confirmation from Koka that he received the money and the debt is cleared.
Exiting the app, I sit on the floor of the closet and stare at the phone, willing a message to come through.
Panic gnaws at my insides. Seconds stretch into eternity. But a message never comes.
My pulse spikes. No. Nonono…please don’t do this to me. I refresh the screen. I don’t have a direct line to Koka, or I would call him.
After a few more minutes, I set the phone aside resolutely. There’s nothing more I can do but wait.
Sighing, I look up at the rows of clothing in the closet. Women’s clothes, high quality and new, judging from the tags dangling from sleeves and hems. I remember Lev’s voice, quiet and uncompromising. I’ve had my staff purchase clothing for you.
How did he get these here so fast?
I push myself off the floor and strip off the underwear, replacing it with clean, silky undergarments I find in the large closet’s drawers. A thin, silky sweater is draped across a padded ottoman in the center of the closet, along with a pair of slacks that are comfortable-looking but elegant. The fabric clings like chains wrapping around my limbs, each stitch a reminder of the man who now controls my fate.
I don’t see any shoes. I frown, looking around for them. Was it a deliberate oversight? The idea that maybe if I don’t have shoes I can’t run?
Desperate for a distraction, I slide the phone into my pocket and slip out of my room, the carpeted runner soft under my bare feet. My room sits in the center of a wide hallway that branches out in several directions. Ahead of me, a staircase winds down and around, disappearing around a curve. After a brief hesitation, I choose the staircase and begin to wander through the maze of the mansion.
The grand hallways stretch endlessly, each turn leading me deeper into a world I don’t belong to.
Eventually, I stumble upon a gym. The rhythmic thud of fists slamming into a punching bag echoes through the space in sync with pounding bass piped through speakers. Through the open door, I see him—sweatpants hanging low on his hips, shirtless chest glistening with sweat, muscles taut and rippling with every powerful movement.
My breath catches.
I should leave.
I don’t.
I linger at the threshold, my pulse betraying me with its erratic beat. He moves with the precision of a predator, each strike calculated, each breath controlled. There’s no hesitation in him, no doubt. Only power.
Then he stops.
Without looking, he grabs a towel, wipes his face, and turns. His gaze finds mine immediately, locking onto me like he knew I was there all along.
I wasn’t moving, and yet everything in me freezes all the same.
“Tell me,” he says, voice smooth, lethal, “why do you think Sergei wanted you so badly?”
My mouth goes dry. I force a shrug, masking the unease prickling down my spine. “He’s like a child on the playground, wanting the toy another child has. We always want what we can’t have.”
Lev tips his chin in response, his eyes unreadable. “Maybe so. And what is it you want?”
What do I want? I hesitate. A moment too long. The tip of my tongue darts out to lick my bottom lip. Yesterday, I’d have said to clear my sister’s debt and see us all free from the shadow of the bratva.
Today… Today is more complicated.
When I finally answer, my voice is softer than I intend, tinged with something fragile. “I don’t know.”
Something shifts in his expression. The subtle crack of amusement vanishes, replaced by something colder, more calculating. He steps closer, his presence crowding mine, dominating the space. I can smell the musk on his skin, can almost taste the sweat. With an effort, I keep my eyes above his neck.
But beneath his eyes. I can’t meet his gaze for too long. He sees too much.
“What did you study?”
The question catches me off guard, and my shoulders stiffen. “I didn’t study. My father died when I was young. I had to work instead. College wasn’t an option.”
He studies me, his intense gaze making me squirm. “Then how did you learn to speak English so well?”
“I am self-taught.” My chin lifts as I fight the urge to step back. His proximity, combined with the heat radiating from his bare skin, is unnerving, but I refuse to concede to the discomfort. I’ve already given too much.
“That’s impressive,” he muses. “Any other talents you’re hiding?”
I shake my head, but the way his lips curve into another of those damnable knowing smirks makes me uneasy.
“We’ll see.” Lev turns and walks toward the punching bag.
Before I can retreat, my phone buzzes.
My stomach flips.
I pull it from my pocket, my pulse hammering as I read the message.
Koka: While I will accept the downpayment as a gesture of goodwill, it appears there has been an error in accounting. The debt owed is $100,000. You have one week to arrange the remainder.
The breath leaves my lungs. My fingers tighten around the device, disbelief crashing through me. This can’t be happening. We had a deal.
A small noise of denial escapes before I can swallow it down.
Lev’s voice cuts through the haze of panic surrounding me. “Everything okay?”
I force a tight smile, quickly shoving the phone back into my pocket. “Yeah, just tired. I think I’ll go lie down.”
His eyes narrow slightly, but he doesn’t press.
I turn on my heel and hurry back to my room, my mind racing. How am I going to come up with another fifty thousand dollars? I’ve already sold myself once.
A dark thought creeps in, chilling me to the bone.
Maybe I could do it again. My stomach churns at the idea, but the alternative is unthinkable.
As I sit alone in this lavish prison, my mind twists with possibilities. How long does Lev want me? Am I just a temporary conquest, a toy to be discarded when he’s done?
If so, maybe I could use him to my advantage. And this time, I’ll make sure Koka won’t have any way of wiggling his way out of it.
The idea forms slowly, taking root in the shadows of my desperation. If I can seduce him, gain his trust, manipulate him… Maybe, just maybe, I could find a way out of this.
But the thought makes my stomach twist with self-loathing. This isn’t who I wanted to become.
Yet, staring at the bleakness of my future, I know I may have no choice. For the first time, I consider the true cost of survival.
And how much of my soul I’m willing to sacrifice to pay it.