Chapter Five
Present Day
Alora
The leather chair creaked as I shifted. K—which apparently stood for Kreos—sat across from me behind a massive desk. The air around us was charged with unspoken words.
He looked—different. Imposing and muscular. It was as if he had grown into his power. An aura of authority surrounded him, screaming power, control, money, from the perfectly fitted charcoal suit to the fifty-thousand-dollar Rolex he wore on his left wrist. That definitely wasn’t a knockoff. He was annoyingly handsome, even more so than six years ago. I hated I was attracted to him, seeing how he was the leader of a US branch of the Russian mafia and my life was now in his hands.
His eyes were cold and calculating as he typed on his phone, and when his gaze locked onto mine, the urge to flee was intense. But I couldn’t. I sat frozen, fully aware that I was sitting across from a predator.
A lump formed in my throat, making it difficult to swallow. What were the chances that I was leaving here alive? Not very good. My only saving grace was that he owed me for saving his life. The question was, would he keep his word ?
He rolled up the sleeves of his white button-up, his forearms covered in tattoos. I wished he would say something. Anything. But he’d been completely silent since we left that shithole basement.
My mind had been racing with worst-case scenarios ever since he’d untied me and brought me here. Where? I wasn’t sure exactly, but it appeared to be an apartment in Manhattan. Everything about the place screamed luxury, although I tried not to look around too much. It was clear, though, that I was in the lion’s den.
I’d been na?ve to be unafraid of him all those years ago. Foolish to let myself be charmed by a ruthless killer. And that was exactly who he was. A cold-blooded murderer.
Not my friend. A killer. Who I had stolen from.
“I thought you were going to get away from all this? Stop stealing?”
His words jarred me back to reality, and I dug my nails into my palms. “I did.”
He raised his eyebrow.
My shoulders dropped. “I had no choice.”
“There’s always a choice, Alora.”
The way he said my name had me nibbling on my bottom lip. He couldn’t possibly be upset that I’d given him a fake name before, could he?
“What are you going to do with me?” The anxiety of not knowing was unbearable. Dove was probably worried out of her mind by now. I had no idea what time it was, or how long I’d been away.
“I haven’t decided yet.” He leaned back in the chair, loosening his red tie. The movement drew my attention to the hollow of his throat, then up his tattooed neck to his strong jawline. There was a hint of stubble there, like he hadn’t shaved in a day or two. Memories of me tracing the scar on his chin and over his lips filled my mind.
When our eyes met, he smirked, as if he knew exactly what I’d been thinking. My face heated, and I stared down at my clasped hands in my lap.
“Tell me why you had no choice. I want to know everything.” The smirk was gone, and so was that vision of him from six years ago. In its place was the same man who’d just slit someone’s throat with a hook.
I told him everything I could. Well, almost everything—I didn’t want to paint Dylan in a bad light by saying he’d stolen from me, so I kept that part out. I told him Dylan had fallen in with a dangerous crowd, and that he owed some bad people money. The motorcycle club he ran with had set up a score, but everything about it had gone wrong. I blamed it on miscommunication. There was no jewelry, just drugs. I told him about finding the body and someone setting the house on fire, about how we’d barely escaped. I left out the part about the coin and the man’s last words. I didn’t see how that would help anything. It was already too late for him, and nothing I could have done would have saved him. So why mention it?
Kreos listened intently, hanging on to every word. By the time I finished, a dull ache had settled behind my eyes. All I wanted to do was to get Dove and go home. After everything I’d just told him, I hoped it was enough for him to let me go.
I squeezed my eyes shut, rubbing my temples. The sound of him moving around the room had me opening one eye, keeping track of him as he walked to a bar filled with alcohol. He grabbed a crystal decanter filled with a dark liquid and poured two glasses. I watched him closely, making sure he didn’t put anything else in my drink.
He handed me a glass, our fingers brushing against each other. Little sparks of electricity shot through me, and I glared up at him accusingly, as if he’d done that on purpose.
The Scotch burned down my throat, but I didn’t mind. I needed the distraction. How had everything gotten so messed up?
He sat on the edge of his desk, never taking his eyes off me. “You could have called me. I would have helped you. Helped your brother with money.”
What—that wasn’t what I’d been expecting him to say. It seemed like a trick, and I wasn’t going to fall for it.
“I—didn’t have your number. I threw the card away the night you gave it to me.” My face heated at the lie, but if he suspected it, he didn’t let on. He only nodded, then took a sip of his drink.
“And your photography?”
I paused, my drink halfway to my lips. He remembered? I guessed he probably remembered every little thing about the people he met so he could use it against them one day. “I’m working on it.”
“Hmm.” He put his drink down and checked the time on his watch.
Hmm? It sounded more like a grunt of disapproval than anything. Un-freaking-believable. He didn’t know anything about me or the sacrifices I’d had to make, or the constant struggle to care for two kids when I was a kid myself. A fire burned in my chest at his audacity.
“I want to go home.” I stood and faced him.
He chuckled, the sound sending chills up my spine. “That’s awfully bold of you.”
“You owe me.” My hands balled into fists at my side.
He reached me in two steps, his eyes burning into mine. “You’re alive, aren’t you? If I hadn’t stopped Sergei—you don’t want to know what he would have done.” His nostrils flared with unmistakable anger as he gripped me by my upper arms.
“And you?” I raised my chin up, only inches from his face. “Is that the kind of monster you are now? You rape and torture women?” The words caught in my throat, leaving me almost unable to get them out. The thought of him doing something like that made me sick.
His jaw clenched, the disgust clear on his face. “I’m a lot of things, Miss Wolfe, but a rapist is not one of them.” He released me roughly, and I stumbled back a step. “Sit.” He pointed at the chair, and I did as he said, not willing to push him any more than I already had.
“If you were anyone else, you would be dead already. That’s the kind of man I am. You steal from me, you hurt my family, then I kill you. Count your fucking blessings you’re alive. We’re even. Understood?”
The air in the room was tense, like if you dared strike a match, everything would ignite in an inferno. I nodded, staring at the carpet. He watched me intently, tapping his finger against his glass. My whole body was a bundle of nerves, my leg bouncing up and down.
“What happened to your sister?”
My leg froze mid-bounce, and I slowly looked up from the floor to meet his gaze. It was impossible to read his face. What did he know about Dove? How could he know anything had happened to her? Unless—they’d gotten to her?
“Please, Kreos. Leave her out of this. She’s completely innocent. Please don’t do anything to her.” My voice shook. For the first time since all of this had started, I wanted to cry. “I’ll do anything, just please don’t hurt her.”
He straightened his back, a total transformation taking place right in front of my eyes. The powerful, ruthless man was once again standing in front of me.
“One of my men is dead. Someone stole my product and destroyed my house. And you’re saying a mysterious third person is responsible. That you and your brother had nothing to do with it.”
“Yes!” It sounded like bullshit when he said it that way, but he had to know I was telling the truth.
“I don’t believe you.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets and stared down at me. “I want a life for a life. Your brother’s or yours. Decide.”
A wave of numbness washed over me. “You want me to choose between you killing my brother, or you killing me?” My mouth went dry, mind racing. So, this was it. After everything I’d been through, this was how it all ended. I’d known I meant nothing to him, but for him to talk about killing me so casually—it was a bitter pill to swallow.
“I have no intention of killing you, Miss Wolfe.”
I understood the undertone of his words. Dylan was as good as dead if I said his name. But me? What would he do to me? “What do you mean, then? You want my life in what way? ”
He cocked his head to the side and rubbed his chin. “Your life will be mine. I’ll own it. You’ll do anything I ask of you.”
“For how long? Forever?” My breath caught in my throat. God, he might actually be insane.
“For however long I deem necessary. However long it takes you to pay your penance.”
“And you’ll leave my family alone?”
“You have my word.”
It was an easy decision to make. My family would always come first. “OK. I agree.” I held his gaze, even though I didn’t want to. But I refused to show him any fear. He was the kind of man who thrived on it, and I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“Excellent.” His expression didn’t change; there was zero emotion on his face. I was pretty sure he might be a psychopath.
And I’d just made a deal with him.
“There are a few things we need to discuss, but your sister needs to hear this too.” He pulled out his phone and held it against his ear. “Bring her in.”
My body trembled with barely controlled anger at the realization that Dove was here. She must be terrified. The door swung open, and I stood, my hands balled into fists. A man walked in, similar in height and build to Kreos, but a tad slimmer and with darker hair. His hand was on Dove’s lower back as he escorted her into the room, and she jerked away from his touch.
When her gaze landed on me, I could see the relief in her red-rimmed eyes. She rushed over and squeezed me into a tight hug. “Are you OK?” I whispered into her ear, and she nodded once. She pulled back and looked at my face, then up and down my body .
“You?” she mouthed, and I nodded.
“Miss Lane, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Kreos stalked forward and held his hand out to Dove. She glanced at me out of the corner of my eye, and I nodded. She gripped his hand, then snatched it back just as quickly, tugging her hat on. “I see you’re already familiar with my second-in-command, Gavriil.”
Dove glared at Gavriil and nodded, which made him smirk. Second-in-command, huh? Great, now we were dealing with two assholes instead of just one. Gavriil walked over to the bar area and opened up a safe. He pulled out a box and laid it on the bar.
“Let’s get right to the point.” Kreos waved his hands at the two seats in front of his desk, and we sat down. “My name is Kreos Zokrov and I’m the Pakhan of the Zokrov Bratva, which means I’m the most dangerous man you’ll ever meet in your life.” He looked mostly at Dove as he spoke, except when he said “dangerous,” he glanced at me.
Dove’s hand gripped mine in a vise, her nails digging into my palms. I wanted to tell her everything was going to be OK, but I didn’t know if it was this time.
“In exchange for not harming your brother, or you for that matter, your sister has pledged her life to me, for however long I deem it necessary.”
Gavriil walked over with a tray and set it on the edge of Kreos’ desk. There was a white cloth over the top, so I couldn’t tell what was underneath. Honestly, I didn’t want to know what it was.
“Let me be blunt so we can all get on with our night. If you go to the police, or try to run from me, I’ll kill you.” Kreos stared at Dove until she nodded. Her palms were sweaty, or maybe it was mine. Either way, I gripped her hand tightly.
“Miss Wolfe?” Kreos looked at me, and I nodded too. It wasn’t like I had any choice in the matter.
Gavriil removed the cloth from the tray and two things that looked like syringes lay there. He put on a pair of medical gloves and walked over to Dove.
“This is a tracking device, nothing to be alarmed about. An insurance policy, so to speak.” Before she could protest, he injected it into the back of her neck. She slapped her hand over the spot and glared at him. He walked over to the tray to grab the other syringe, but Kreos stopped him.
“No, I’ll do it.” Kreos stood and put on a pair of medical gloves, ignoring the look Gavriil was giving him.
He stalked over to me like a predator who had just captured his prey, which was basically the truth. I shivered as he moved my hair to the side, his fingers trailing over my neck. There was a slight prickling sensation that made me gasp as he injected me. His fingers lingered on my skin for longer than necessary, it seemed, before he walked back to his desk.
“What now?” I asked as I rubbed the back of my neck. There was definitely a small lump there, no bigger than a centimeter.
Gavriil handed me my phone, and I snatched it from him, making sure to stare him directly in the eyes. I hoped he understood the look I was giving him— Fuck with my sister again and I’ll cut your balls off.
“You go home. Go back to your life. I’ll be in touch when I need something.”
“And when’s that going to be?” I couldn’t hide the anger in my voice. Was I just supposed to sit around waiting? The stress of not knowing would put me in an early grave.
“So eager, kotic . Do you want to come home with me tonight? I’m sure I can find something for you to do.”
Gavriil’s head snapped to Kreos, as if he couldn’t believe what had come out of his mouth. Neither could I, for that matter. My face burned as I stared at him with my mouth open. I cleared my throat, shaking my head. “No—no, I don’t want to.”
“Very well.” He shrugged and stood, straightening out his suit. “Gavriil will take you home.”
Dove and I stood and walked toward the door. I wasn’t sure what to say at this point.
Thanks for not killing me or my family. Looking forward to not dying in the near future. Oh, and looking forward to being owned by you. Whatever the hell that meant.
“Miss Wolfe.”
I turned around to face him, attempting to keep my face neutral.
“Remember what I said. Don’t make me punish you.”
“Yes, sir.” I glared at him and stormed out of the room.
The ride home wasn’t much better. When Kreos said Gavriil would take us home, I thought he meant drive us. I hadn’t realized he meant the three of us would pile into a huge SUV while two men built like gladiators sat up front and drove us.
Gavriil sat across from us, his tablet in his lap, not paying any attention to us whatsoever. I knew better than to say anything, and so did Dove. So, we sat in silence the entire car ride. When we got to our building, he stepped out and walked us to the lobby door.
I reached into my purse for my keys, but he pulled them from his pocket and dangled them in front of me. “The mess inside your home has been taken care of.”
Oh, how nice for my kidnappers to clean up after themselves. I reached for the keys, but he moved his hand away before I could grab them.
“What?” I snapped.
“You have no idea how lucky you are. He’s never shown mercy like this before.” His voice lowered as he dropped the keys into my open palm. “Don’t give him a reason to regret his generosity. The consequences would be—severe.” He glanced at Dove.
My jaw tightened as I debated stabbing him in the eye with the keys. Instead, I nodded and stepped around him. Once we were behind the glass lobby door, Dove flipped him the bird, which only made him smirk. I didn’t even have the energy to scold her.
I was shocked when we got into our apartment and everything had been put back in its place. There was no evidence of any struggle, no bookshelf knocked over. The only sign a fight had taken place was the hole in the wall from my baseball bat.
My mind immediately flashed back to Kreos when he’d slit Sergei’s throat. The absolute brutality of it made my stomach churn, but Kreos hadn’t even batted an eyelash. I guessed that was a normal thing for him. How many people had he killed? Was it something he enjoyed? What was he going to make me do? He knew I was a thief; maybe he would have me steal things for him. A crushing weight settled on my chest, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
It’s OK. I’m OK. Everything is OK.
If I said it enough times, maybe I would actually believe it.
None of this meant anything. I could still have a life. A future. The photography competition was two months away, and I could still win. Nothing had to change.
Dove had a million questions, but I shook my head. I just couldn’t talk about it anymore. All I wanted was a hot shower and to crawl into bed. I promised her I would explain everything in the morning.
After a burning hot shower where I scrubbed every inch of my skin, I wrapped myself up in all my blankets and tried to fall asleep.
It felt impossible, my mind going over every single detail of the last twenty-four hours. Finally, when the sun was rising, I fell asleep. The last image in my head was of Kreos smirking, telling me to call him master.
*** ***
The rest of the weekend went by in a haze. I told Dove everything, from meeting Kreos six years ago and saving him, to Dylan stealing from me to help pay his gambling debt, to the dead body and the house exploding.
Dove reminded me she wasn’t a little kid anymore, and that I didn’t need to keep things from her. And she was right. The thing was, I’d been taking care of her since she was six years old, so it was hard to remember she wasn’t that little girl in pigtails anymore. She was a grown woman who was dealing with her own shit, and I needed to stop trying to protect her from everything.
She felt terrible that Dylan had taken my money, and that we were now short on rent, especially since she couldn’t work, but I told her not to worry. Dylan was supposed to be bringing me back my money. And if he didn’t pull through, then I could still make more tips at the Altar. There was also the figure modeling in a few days. That would bring in an extra four hundred bucks.
I tried not to think about Kreos, but I couldn’t help it, so I did what any normal person would do and hid in my bathroom so I could google him. My heart was going crazy when all the results popped up. I didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t this good-guy facade all over the internet.
Publicly, he was completely legit—CEO of a prestigious financial firm, founder of a well-known import and export company, a philanthropist, and the owner of successful nightclubs and bars all over Manhattan.
There were tons of photos of him online at charity galas and business functions. He always looked impeccably dressed and wore that wolfish smile of his.
After searching for almost two hours, I came to find there was little to no personal information about him online. No talk about his criminal empire, no scandals—nothing. I found it beyond suspicious. Someone—probably Gavriil—had gone to great lengths to clean up his online presence. Which just left me with even more questions about the man who supposedly owned me now.
Saturday, we didn’t leave the house. I thought we were both afraid that a certain someone might be out there waiting for us. I ended up searching for bus tickets to see how much it would cost if we needed to run, but quickly closed out the app and deleted my browsing history. God forbid Kreos found out.
I couldn’t help but think about the strange coin the dying man had given me. Should I have told Kreos? Maybe he would have known what it meant. On one side of the coin was what looked like two eagles holding a shield with something on it. On the other side were the words and the number eighteen twenty-two, with a vine pattern. My eyes blurred as I tried to figure out the tiny details, and I ended up tossing it back into my hiding spot.
On Sunday, I was tired of hiding inside and told Dove that was enough. We weren’t going to hide from this; we had nothing to be afraid of. And although I knew she didn’t want to, she did tag along with me so that I could take photos for the competition.
I usually took photos at night. I liked to use colored gels and small LED panels in the darkness to make everything look more surreal. But with everything that had happened, we settled on taking photos at an abandoned church just before sunset.
I’d spoken to Solene, who said the Altar’s roof was fixed, so I was going back to work. Thank God, because I needed the money.
By the time Monday morning came around, I was feeling a lot better. I hadn’t heard from Kreos or any of his cronies. It was like it hadn’t really happened.
Like it had all been a dream.
Well, more like a nightmare.
My good mood was quickly ruined when, at nine a.m., there was a knock on my door. Dread filled my entire body at the persistent knocking, because whoever was on the other side wasn’t going to be anyone good. Unless it was that sweepstakes guy, which I doubted.
Sure enough, I swung the door open, and Agent Greene stood on the other side of the door, arm raised mid-knock.
“Morning, Alora.” She grinned.
“Agent Greene.” I didn’t return her smile, but I did my best not to scowl at her this time. “Kind of early for house calls, isn’t it?”
She scrunched up her face and checked her watch. “It’s nine. Don’t tell me you’re not a morning person?” She chuckled.
Everything about her irritated me, and I couldn’t figure out why. Mira would say it was because I didn’t trust anyone, especially the police.
But Agent Greene knew I worked the late shift at the Altar. So why did I have a feeling her showing up at nine a.m. was because she thought I’d be asleep and could catch Dove by herself?
A moment of silence passed between us, and she glanced over my shoulder. “Is Dove in?”
“She’s still asleep.” Actually, she was in the shower, but I didn’t want Agent Greene to know that. Then she might try to stick around. “Can I give her a message for you?”
“I could just come back another day.”
“Is that for her?” I nodded toward the thick white binder under her arm. No doubt the mugshots Dove was telling me about. “Mugshots, right? I can give it to her.”
“Oh, well, yes, but I really shouldn’t leave it here unattended. Government property.” She sucked in air through her teeth and looked down the hall.
“OK then—I’ll let her know you stopped by.”
She looked as if she wanted to say something else, but didn’t, just smiled brightly and thanked me before heading back down the hall. I’d have to tell Dove she’d stopped by because I was sure Agent Greene would text her. I really didn’t want her here when I wasn’t home. Especially since there had been no developments in Dove’s case. There were no answers as to who had done this to her, and I was worried that Agent Greene was doing more harm than good with all her pestering.
The days blurred together as I focused on finding inspiration to take photos for the competition. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched and I constantly checked over my shoulder. Nothing was ever there, though.
Lucky for me and my wallet, the bar was packed every single night. It was like since the bar had been closed for the weekend, everyone had a lot of drinking to make up for. Hell, I couldn’t blame them.
A group of office workers cheered when I brought them another round of shots. They were celebrating someone’s promotion and were not shy about tipping. The skimpy pink tank top and skintight shorts I wore probably didn’t hurt either.
I filled drink orders, chatted with regulars, and even gave some advice to a heartbroken woman who’d been stood up. By the time we closed and cleaned everything up, exhaustion had taken over me. But on the bright side, I had to have pulled in over three hundred in tips. Mentally I’d already split up the money for gas, groceries, but most of it to rent. Because, believe it or not, I still hadn’t heard from Dylan .
Solene and I chatted at her car while we waited for Drake to lock up. A few minutes later, I hugged them goodbye and then turned to unlock my door.
No sooner did Solene and Drake disappear from my sight than a black sedan pulled into the parking lot. My skin prickled with goosebumps. Rule number one: always trust the goosebumps. My keys fell to the ground, not once, but twice, and I realized that I would probably never survive a horror movie. I snatched them up and attempted to unlock my door with fumbling fingers. Before I could open it, heavy footsteps approached from behind. With only a second to think, I reached down and pulled my knife out of my boot, turning to face whoever was coming.
In one smooth move, Kreos yanked the knife out of my hand and slipped it into his pocket. He stepped forward until my back was pressed against my car door. One thing was for certain.
He was pissed.
And that anger was directed all at me.