17. Emory
EMORY
I pull Rashid into the office and slam the door, then turn on him before he can sit down. "How the hell do you have my father? Who do you think you are, sending men to drag people out of their homes like you own this whole fucking city?"
The man is such an ass he walks past me to lean on his desk and lifts an eyebrow, unbothered by how pissed I am.
"Your father wasn't in his home, Emory. He was hiding in a hostel across town under a fake name, because he's a coward who stole from me and didn't have the spine to face what was coming. "
"He stole from Gusev, not from you." My arms fly out, gesturing wildly, but I'm so mad I can't control it. He can't do this. Batya is sick; he needs a doctor and help, not to be caged with me. God only knows what torture this man has in store for him.
"He stole my shipping routes and sold them to Gusev's people. How he got them I still don't know, but he had them and he sold them. I've lost three shipments and a quarter of my territory because your father decided to play middleman for the men who are trying to destroy me."
I scowl, rubbing my forehead with the palm of my hand while I scowl in frustration.
"He's a drunk and a gambler. He's not some criminal mastermind running operations behind your back.
Whatever he did, he did it because he was desperate and scared and trying to get enough money to get us out of the country.
" Rashid doesn't understand; this is insanity.
"And that's supposed to make me forgive him?"
I'm so mad I stomp my foot like an angry animal and spit, "He's not your enemy, Rashid.
He's a broken man who made a terrible choice and he deserves the chance to explain himself before you pass judgment on him.
" Tears are welling up but I blink them back.
This can't be happening. What will I tell Batya?
Of course he's going to assume Rashid's taken him because of his own crimes.
But when he sees me here, what then? And when he sees how much Lex looks like Rashid...
"Your father chose to involve himself in my business, and?—"
"He didn't choose anything," I snap. "He was born into this the same way I was, and the same way Lex was.
None of us asked to be part of your world.
" I'm so hot, shaking and pissed off. He lives on a different planet where he thinks he's God.
And he's wrong. "You have a Surikov in your hallway," I say more quietly.
"I saw it when I came in..." That gets a hint of attention.
He tilts his head slightly but doesn't say anything.
"A man who loves Surikov's work has a soul that understands beauty and suffering at the same time. You're better than this, Rashid. Let me and my father go, and we can work out you seeing Lex when he's older and it's safer."
"You're trying to manipulate me now?" He chuckles darkly, which makes my blood run cold as I move closer to him.
He's out of touch with reality.
To him this is nothing more than a transactional conversation. To me it's life.
"I'm trying to save my father's life because he's all I have left. My mother's dead and my sister vanished three years ago. If you kill my father then Lex and I have no one. Is that what you want for your son? You want him growing up knowing his grandfather was murdered by his own father?"
Rashid can only offer a cold stare.
He could care less.
I'd believe it if he told me he murdered his own father to take his throne.
Trying to rationalize with someone who is heartless is pointless. He's never going to hear me or understand.
"I'll make you an offer," he says, though I doubt it will be one I'm comfortable with.
"If you agree to stay here with me permanently, I'll give Oleg a chance to speak for himself before I decide what happens to him.
He gets to tell me his side and I'll listen to it.
That's more than he deserves and it's more than I've given anyone else who's stolen from me. "
"What the hell does permanently mean?" Now my heart is hammering and I feel nauseous.
I think I may pass out. I have to walk over to the desk where he perches and lean on it, because I feel lightheaded.
"It means you stay in this house. You raise Aleksandr here, with me. You become part of my life." I don't like the tone he's taking. He's too calm and possessive. It scares me.
"So I'm supposed to be your prisoner forever now?" No fucking way. I'm not a pawn. I have hopes and dreams. I want a future in art and to travel and see the world. I want Lex to go to school and have friends and a chance at a normal life.
"I want you in my bed, Emory. Aleksandr needs his mother and I need someone I can trust beside me. It's a good arrangement for both of us."
Oh my God. I back away, shaking. Flashes of his hands on me and his body buried inside mine return. His stubble on my neck, the way he growls as he consumes me. Yes, I had sex with him in his car, but it was just sex. I'm not going to marry this man.
"I can't..." I mumble, swallowing my tension.
"I'm offering you a seat at the table, Emory. Don't be foolish enough to walk away from it." Rashid stands, walking over to me until he towers over me.
I stare at him and every option I have comes up empty.
If I say no he kills my father and keeps Lex, and I walk out of here with nothing.
If I say yes I'm giving myself to a man who just admitted he sees me as a transaction.
Every part of me wants to tell him to go to hell, to grab my son and run.
But I can't outrun him and I can't outspend him and I can't even leave this house without a guard on my back.
Rashid reaches out and cups my cheek, then tilts my face up so I have to look at him.
"Imagine a life ruling beside me," he says. "Not hiding in a freezing apartment, or running from men who want to kill you. Our son will have everything he needs. Your father will have his chance. And you'll never have to be afraid again."
All I can think about is Batya in that hostel room drinking himself to death, and Lex down the hall crying for me. I don't want this man and I don't want this life, but I don't have another one to go back to.
I can't say no to him.
All I can do is agree long enough to buy us time, and pray Batya can help me find a way out.
"I'll do what you want," I tell him. "I'll stay and I'll give you what you're asking for.
But you give me your word right now that no harm comes to my father.
Not from you and not from your men. He doesn't just get to speak his piece.
You promise me you won't harm him in any way.
" I feel my lip quiver and his eyes drop to it, watching me speak like he's waiting to devour me.
His thumb moves against the side of my neck. "You have my word," he says. "As long as you keep yours."
Rashid’s thumb strokes along my jaw like he’s already claiming ownership. His dark eyes burn into mine with that unnerving intensity. “Good girl,” he grumbles, “but words are cheap in my world, Emory. Prove you can keep your word.”
My stomach twists. “Prove it how?”
A dangerous smile ghosts across his lips. He doesn’t answer with words. Instead, he slides his hand to the back of my neck and pulls me forward, crushing his mouth to mine as he tightens his grip into a fist of hair.
There’s nothing gentle about the kiss.
His lips devour me like he’s been starving for years.
I gasp and he uses it to deepen the kiss, his tongue sweeping in to tangle with mine.
The familiar taste of whiskey and dark power floods my senses.
My hands come up instinctively, pushing at his chest, but he doesn't relent.
Heat surges through my body, unwanted but undeniable.
Memories crash over me and my knees weaken.
He notices, backing me against the desk until I’m trapped between the cold wood and his hard body.
Rashid breaks the kiss just enough to bite my lower lip, then soothes it with his tongue. “That’s a start,” he rasps against my mouth. But one large hand slides down my side, gripping my waist possessively, pulling me flush against the lump growing in his pants.
I’m trembling, caught between fear and a treacherous spark of arousal I hate myself for feeling. “Rashid…” His name comes out shaky, half protest, half plea.
Rashid’s control snaps.
With a low, feral sound, he grips the front of my sweater and yanks hard.
The fabric tears down the middle and I gasp as cool air kisses my skin, but he doesn’t stop.
His hands are rough, almost violent with need, shoving the ruined sweater off my shoulders and tossing it aside.
Next come my jeans.
He spins me around, pinning my hips against the desk, and jerks them down my thighs along with my panties in one brutal tug.
The denim catches at my knees before he rips them the rest of the way off, leaving me completely bare from the waist down.
“Rashid—wait—” My voice cracks, but he’s already pushing me forward, forcing my chest down onto the cold surface of his desk.
My breasts press against scattered papers as he kicks my legs apart, exposing me completely.
The surge of arousal to my core makes me ache.
"Shit," I hiss, realizing this man is about to devour me like an animal, and it's so possessive I actually want him to do it. I look back over my shoulder as he drops to his knees behind me without a word.
Strong hands grip my ass, spreading me open, and then his mouth is on me—hot, greedy, dragging through my juices and making my knees go weaker.
His tongue slides through my folds in one long, filthy stroke, tasting every inch of me.
I whimper, fingers scrambling for a grip on the desk as he devours me from behind like a starving man.
He sucks my clit hard before fucking me with his tongue, then licking back up to circle my tightest hole.
The wet, obscene sounds fill the office as my thighs shake uncontrollably.
Every flick and thrust of his tongue sends sharp, electric pleasure shooting through me.
I try to hold back, hating how good it feels, but he doesn’t let me.