Chapter 4
Danielle
I’m in disbelief as I sit on the penthouse roof making a s’more as casually as anything. I just lost my virginity to a virtual stranger. Granted, this stranger invited me to live with him at his penthouse, but he’s a stranger, nonetheless. I can count the things I know about Ivan on one hand.
But even taking that into consideration, I don’t regret it. I wanted to sleep with him. Badly.
In hindsight, I probably could have told him I was a virgin. But he said it himself, he looked at me as this innocent, pure girl. I didn’t want him to think I was too inexperienced to go forward with something like that.
Ivan made it incredible, though. Of course, there was a little bit of pain at first, but I adjusted quickly enough, and my first time was memorable. It was better than I ever imagined it could be.
“I’m so sorry about that,” Ivan says as he comes back to join me.
I already have a marshmallow toasted and on a graham cracker that I hand to him.
He shakes his head and insists that I take it instead.
“I have to handle some business. Let’s head inside and get you warmed up. This shouldn’t be long.”
I hold my hand out for him, and he takes it, guiding me to the stairwell that leads down to his penthouse. The warmth of the room immediately wraps around me, and I’m relieved to no longer be shivering from the cold.
Ivan walks me back to my room and gives me a quick kiss before leaving me alone. I have a million questions for him. He said he does something with shipping and investments, so what emergency work could he possibly have right now?
I want to know everything I can about him. When he comes back, I can ask him everything I want to know. As I shower and rinse the chlorine off my skin, I think about all the questions I want to know. Where did he grow up? Did he go to school in the city? Is he close with his family?
All questions I would consider asking a guy before even accepting a date from him. Apparently, with Ivan, I’m doing things a little backward.
I hop out of the shower and change into a pair of loose-fitting jeans and one of my favorite old turtleneck sweaters that always reminds me of home and nice, peaceful holidays with family.
I half expect Ivan to come find me before I’m finished getting dressed, but it appears he’s still busy with work.
The past twenty-four hours have been such a mess that I realize I haven’t even been given a proper tour of the penthouse.
I came in and went straight to my room, and other than the dining room, I hardly know my way around.
When I’m dressed and put together, I see myself out of the room and start wandering through the hallways to give myself a tour.
The penthouse is overall minimalistic designed.
It’s not surprising, knowing what little I do about Ivan.
He doesn’t seem like someone who likes a lot of unnecessary things around him.
That being said, the things he does have are luxurious.
I find a parlor room with an antique pool table in pristine condition, a bar in the corner of the room filled with expensive bottles of wine and liquor.
All the furniture is plush and perfectly upholstered without a single thread out of place.
What little art hangs on the walls seems like it cost him an arm and a leg, none of it being something he picked up at Target like what I had decorating my walls in my dorm.
I walk around the penthouse for about twenty minutes, studying everything I possibly can. Ivan is still working right now, so I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do with myself. Should I just sit quietly in my room and wait for him? I’ve never been very good at that.
I grab a journal and leave a note on my nightstand letting him know that I’m going for a quick walk outside. This is such a beautiful neighborhood, and even though it’s a cold day, I can walk through Central Park and admire all of the lights with ease.
When I get to the elevator, I remember that Ivan had to punch in a code to operate it. Looking at it now, I can see there is a similar code panel to get the buttons to work just to call the elevator to head down. The stairwell is locked, too.
“Shoot,” I whisper to myself, looking around for a spare key or maybe even a sticky note with the code written down on it.
I don’t find that, so I head into the kitchen, knowing there’s bound to be some staff waiting there. Both Katia and Yuri are in the kitchen chatting with one another. When they see me open the door, they stand at attention and drop their conversation.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” I say, flashing both of them a smile. “Ivan is doing some work, and I thought I might go for a walk in the park while he’s busy. Can either of you tell me the code to the elevator?”
They look at each other for a moment, then Katia looks back at me, her lips pulled into a tight line as she shakes her head.
“I’m sorry, we can’t give that out,” Katia says. Looking at her, I can’t tell if it’s because she doesn’t want to or if she’s not allowed. I sense some apprehension in her eyes that makes my stomach twist.
“Um, okay. Thanks, anyway.” I wave timidly before walking out of the room and whispering to myself, “That was weird.”
I know Ivan is working, but I want to leave. I have every right to leave the penthouse, so it shouldn’t be a problem if I just knock on the door and get the code quickly.
Still, I find myself taking a deep breath as I navigate the halls to get to his office. I’m about to knock on his door when I freeze. I can hear his voice on the other end, sharp and demanding. It’s a side to him that I haven’t seen yet. With me, he’s been gentle and calm, but this is new.
“Listen, I don’t give a fuck where you are right now. You get the guns and bring them to the warehouse with any C4 you can find. You have two hours,” Ivan says, whisper-shouting into his phone.
Guns? C4? What the hell is he talking about?
My heart beats rapidly against my ribs as millions of thoughts cross my mind. Of course, Ivan was as vague as humanly possible when I asked about what he did. Is this the reality of it? Is he some kind of violent mobster?
If that’s the case, I’ve gotten myself into some deep trouble. I never should have accepted help from a stranger like this.
A part of my mind is telling me to run away and pretend like I didn’t hear anything, but a bigger part is reaching for the doorknob and turning it before I can think twice about it. I need to know what the hell is going on.
As soon as I step into the room, I see Ivan behind a tall, elegantly designed desk with a dark grimace on his face. Sitting across from him are two of the guards he introduced me to yesterday, Nikolai and Dimitri. Everyone turns to look at me as I stand there, feeling small in the doorway.
“What was that phone call about?” I ask, my voice shaking. “Guns and explosives? Who are you?”
Both guards turn to look at Ivan to silently ask what they’re supposed to do with me. He holds a hand up to signal for them to remain seated as he walks around the desk to stand in front of me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ivan says, his voice cold and calm.
“I know what I heard,” I say, shaking my head. He can’t lie to me right now. I won’t just fall for it.
“If you heard anything about guns, you’re just mishearing me. I told a colleague to get funds,” Ivan explains, laughing dismissively under his breath. “That has to be what this is. Through the door, things could get jumbled.”
I stare at him, and I see nothing but a stranger.
He was a mystery to me before, but now that mystery is potentially dangerous. A dangerous mystery that I just lost my virginity to.
Great.
I never should have come here. I never should have trusted that some strange man would have my best interests in mind. I know what I heard.
“Okay. I wanted to see if I could get the code for the elevator so I can go for a walk,” I say, forcing a pleasant smile on my lips. I can’t manage to bring it to meet my eyes, and I fear that’s my downfall because Ivan doesn’t appear to believe me.
“I’m afraid I can’t let you leave right now,” he says, looking over his shoulder at the guards. Their presence is suddenly understood to me. They aren’t just here to make sure the art pieces on the walls don’t get stolen in the night. “You leaving isn’t safe.”
I bite the insides of my cheeks to keep from crying. I’m terrified right now. What’s going on that I’m not safe? I can’t help but feel like he’s lying.
I willingly walked into this penthouse, and I’m realizing that it’s nothing more than a gilded cage.
“I’ll just be in my room then,” I say, turning around and walking away as quickly as possible. I’m wracking my brain thinking about a way out. All of my clothes and more prized possessions are in the guest room I’m staying in, but I still have some stuff back at my dorm room on campus.
It’s unfortunate, but if I have to get out of here, I’ll have to go home to my parents and admit defeat. That’s much better than being held captive here.
With nothing but my phone and my jacket, I head toward the stairwell that leads to the pool, knowing that it’s more than likely unlocked. I don’t know how I’ll get away from there, but there has to be some sort of fire escape or a secondary entrance for the staff who work here.
I walk away from Ivan’s office slowly, taking great care to look as calm and collected as possible. As soon as I’m out of sight, I run toward the door, swinging it open with more force than I cared to.
“Hey!” one of the guards shouts behind me. I spare a brief glance over my shoulder to see that it’s Nikolai, and he’s chasing after me.
I try to climb the stairs as quickly as I can, but Nikolai is bigger and faster than me. I’m about halfway up them when hands wrap around both of my arms, and I’m yanked backwards. It feels like I’m going to fall down the stairs, but instead of crashing to the ground, I lean back into his chest.
“Let me go!” I scream, hot tears running down my cheeks.
I struggle against him, but it’s no use. He drags me through the penthouse like I weigh nothing, and I’m led directly to Ivan’s office where he’s sitting behind the desk, holding his head in his hands.
As soon as we enter, and he looks up, his eyes narrow, and I see the fury in his eyes. I don’t know this man, but I know I’m about to see a side of him I will hate. I brace myself for whatever lashing out I’m going to get.
He storms around the desk to approach us. He grabs me from the guard’s arms, and for a moment, I feel like he’s going to throttle me, hit me, make me regret ever disobeying him. But instead, he sets me down behind him and steps up to Nikolai.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Ivan shouts, his hands moving quickly to push against Nikolai’s chest. “Who gave you the right to touch her?”
“She was running away,” Nikolai argues, taking a step forward and he’s not going to back down.
Ivan clearly doesn’t like that. He shoves him again, this time sending him sprawling to the ground. He kicks him in the side hard, muttering something in a different language under his breath. I back away from him, holding my hand over my mouth.
“Touch her again, and I put a bullet between your eyes,” Ivan warns, slamming the door.
When he turns back around to look at me, his chest is heaving as he breathes through the rage he’s feeling. I back away, trying to make myself as small as possible in front of him.
He takes a step forward, and I feel my heart beating faster. I have no idea what’s in store for me with him anymore. I have a feeling I’m not going to like finding out.