Chapter 9
Emilio stares me down, his nostrils flaring wider with every second. “Stand up.”
I didn’t hear him come inside.
Though I’m sure he’d win an Olympic medal in the sport of sneaking up on people and hitting them when they least expected it.
My father spent years trying to teach Aleksy that skill. He always failed. It’s probably why he’s passing the whole murder Emilio task to me.
Emilio clears his throat, snapping my attention back to him.
He’s wearing another sleek black suit—no tie, the collar loose, and a few buttons undone. His thick hair is messy, a single strand falling over his right eye.
“I’m only reading.” I hold up the book to partially shield my face. “I’m not hurting anything. Geesh.”
“Stand the fuck up, Liliya.”
I sigh, dropping the book beside me to show I mean business. “Last night, you said this was my home. And in my home, I’d like to read in peace, without being bossed around.”
I settle back, grabbing my book with a dramatic huff and opening it like a fan. I still peek over the top to watch his reaction.
He pushes himself off the doorframe and walks toward me.
Don’t be stupid, Liliya.
Drop the book and get up. Don’t provoke him.
Easier said than done.
When he reaches the sofa, he looms over me like a high-rise.
I pretend he’s not there and start reading the book aloud.
He snatches it from my hands and flings it across the room. Before I can react, he clamps his hand around my wrist.
I attempt to break free, but his grip is too tight.
He yanks me upright, and I hate that I whimper as pain shoots through my injured foot.
Surprisingly, his hold loosens, and he steadies me. His touch suddenly has a sense of gentleness.
My new husband, so hot and cold.
So brutal yet tender.
It’s like the villain and hero are waging a war inside him.
His handsome yet stoic face is only inches from mine.
Whiskey-colored eyes with irises so dark that I can almost see my reflection in them.
Olive skin with not one flaw. His face, carved with sharp lines and perfect symmetry? like something you’d see in an ancient Greek god sculpture.
Days-old stubble dusts his jaw and cheeks, adding to his raw masculinity.
Emilio is built like a man created to make chaos.
Molded into a world with no moral compass.
“Stay out of this room.” He backs me up against the wall and releases me.
My body collides with an oil-painted family portrait. “Why?”
“This room is evil.”
I blink at him. “What does that even mean?”
“Don’t come in here again.” He grabs my wrist and drags me out of the library.
I wave goodbye to the books, mouthing to them that I’ll be back.
We go straight down the hallway and toward the kitchen. When we walk in, a petite woman with silver hair framing her wrinkled face shuts a cabinet door and stares up at us. She smiles, and then her gaze drops to Emilio’s grip on my arm.
She shoots him a hard look, and he releases me.
Emilio gestures to her. “Liliya, this is Maggie. She’s the home caretaker.”
I smile awkwardly at her. “Caretaker?”
“Chef. Housekeeper.” Maggie shrugs. “I’m here for whatever you need, dear.”
Before my father’s death, we had live-in staff. But then when he was gone, Uncle Yaroslav cut our monthly allowance, claiming Aleksy wasn’t worth the same salary.
Maggie tucks a pen behind her ear and clasps her hands. “I’m off to the grocery store. Anything you’d like me to pick up? Do you follow any special diets?”
“I’ll go with you,” I quickly offer, sounding almost a little too desperate.
“No,” Emilio immediately says. “You can make a list for Maggie.”
I slump my shoulders. “Anything is fine. I’m not picky.”
“Emilio will give you my number,” Maggie offers. “Text me if you think of anything.” She circles the island, stands on her tiptoes to kiss Emilio’s cheek, waves goodbye, and leaves the kitchen.
Emilio motions to the two-person table. “Sit.”
I don’t move. “Where have you been?”
“That’s not your concern.” He pulls out a chair and gestures for me to take a seat.
I reluctantly sit.
He takes the chair across from me.
“If you can come and go as you please, then I should have the same freedom,” I say.
He leans back, stretching his legs under the table. “No.”
“How’s that fair?”
“You’re a runner. Just like your sister.”
I glower at him.
He snaps his fingers before knocking his knuckles against the table. “Speaking of your sister, where is she?”
I shrug. “No idea.”
He narrows his eyes skeptically. “Have you heard from Dasha?”
“Nope.”
“Why are you protecting her?” He draws his head back. “She fucked you over.”
“No, Aleksy fucked me over.” I bite back the urge to add his name to that as well.
He scratches his jaw, probably thinking of all the ways he’ll murder her.
“Don’t hurt her, please,” I plead. “She ran because she was scared for her life.”
He’s quiet for a moment, running his tongue along his front teeth. “Are you scared for your life, Liliya?”
“Does someone run through the woods barefoot in the middle of the night if they’re not?”
His shoulders relax an inch. “You don’t need to fear me.” He levels his elbows on the table, erasing the distance between us. “But like I told you last night, if you try to run again, that’ll change. Am I understood?”
I hold his stare. “What do you expect me to do all day then?”
“What did you do all day before?” He stands, and the chair squeaks as he pushes it back beneath the table.
“Not be held hostage—that’s for sure,” I reply with a huff.
“Be good, and maybe I’ll grant my hostage some freedom.” He walks toward the doorway before stopping to glance back at me. “Stay out of the library. If you want books, I’ll have one of my men take you to the bookstore.”
I perk up in my chair. “With an unlimited budget?”
He shrugs. “Sure.”
“That’s a very dangerous statement.”
He cocks his head to the side, as if not understanding. “I said you’d have a lack of freedom. Not a lack of funds to buy whatever you want. If you want books, I’ll buy you every damn book in the store.”
“That’s very Beauty and the Beast of you.”
He comes closer, lowering his head so his haunting eyes are level with mine. “Unfortunately for you, your life won’t become a fairy tale, and I won’t turn into Prince Charming. I’m the villain, day in and day out. There’s no getting rid of the beast inside me.”
I suck in a breath, and he leaves me there, speechless, with not another word.