Chapter 12 #2
I finish buttoning my shirt and move toward her slowly. "So you came here to tell me we're done. That you're drawing a line. That you won't let me touch you again."
"Yes."
I smirk. "Liar."
Her eyes flash with anger. "I'm not—"
"You are." I step closer, and I see her pupils start to dilate.
"You came here to convince yourself you can walk away.
To prove you're still in control. But you're not in control, Liesl.
You haven't been since the moment I kissed you.
You were never in control from the moment you crossed the threshold of my house. "
"That's not true…"
"Isn't it?" I reach out and run my thumb along her jaw. She doesn't pull away. "Your body knows what it wants even if your mind won't admit it."
"Stop." But the word has no force behind it.
"Make me."
We stare at each other. The tension is thick enough to choke on. I can see her fighting it—fighting herself, fighting me, fighting the pull between us that neither of us seems able to resist.
Then she notices my hands.
"You have blood under your fingernails," she says quietly.
I look down. She's right. I missed a spot when I washed. There’s a thin line of red beneath the nail of my index finger.
"Whose blood is that?"
I could lie and tell her it's nothing. I could deflect and change the subject, keep her in the dark about what I've done this morning.
But I don't. "Your father's man," I say. "One I thought was mine, but was working against me. Timofey. He was feeding information to Alexander, helping him coordinate attacks against us. So I killed him."
The color drains from her face. "You—what?"
"I killed him." I say it again, slower, making sure she understands. "Put a bullet in his head about an hour ago. He betrayed us. Betrayed me. So I executed him. I had to take a few teeth first, to get information I needed. But eventually, I killed him."
She takes a step back. Then another. "Because of my father."
"Because of your father's war against me. Yes."
"This is—" Her hands clench into fists at her sides. "This is insane. You can't just kill people because they—"
"I can." I move toward her, closing the distance she just created.
"I do. That's who I am, Liesl. That's what I do. And your father knows it. He knows exactly what kind of monster I am, and he’s left you with me anyway. I kidnap women. I kill traitors. I wage war against men who threaten my power. Your father understands this, and he’s using it to his advantage. "
“I don’t think—”
"We intercepted communications this morning. Proof. Your father has been coordinating with my enemies, supplying them with weapons, helping them plan attacks against my operations. He's not refusing to pay ransom because he's negotiating or being strategic. He's refusing because he wants you exactly where you are. He wants me distracted, and he wants an excuse to justify his aggression. He’s never going to get you out of here, Liesl. Not for yourself. He’ll get you out if he wins, because why wouldn’t he? You’re his daughter.
But you’re not worth enough to him for him to give up what he stands to earn from this war. "
Tears well in her eyes and spill over her lashes. "He wouldn't—"
"He would. He did." I reach out, wipe away a tear with my thumb. "He's using you, Liesl. And I'm done pretending this is about ransom or negotiation or anything other than what it is."
She blinks, and more tears spill over. "Which is what, exactly?"
"War." I meet her eyes without flinching. "Your father is at war with me. So now I'm at war with him. And that means you're not going anywhere."
"You can't—"
"I can." I cup her face in my hands, forcing her to look at me. "You're mine now. Not his. Not a bargaining chip or a transaction or a tool in his games. Mine. And I'm going to keep you here until this is over—and maybe longer. Until I decide I want to let you go."
Her eyes have gone round in her face, her lips parting in shock. "This is insane."
"This is war."
"I'm not yours—"
"Yes you are." I press my thumb to her lower lip. "You've been mine since you came to my room and helped me clean up, and let me fuck you afterward. Since you got on your knees in my office and took my cock in your mouth. You're mine, Liesl. And I'm not letting you go."
"You're going to start a war over me?"
"I'm going to finish a war your father started. And you're going to stay right here where I can—"
A knock on the door interrupts me.
I pull back, irritated. "What?"
The door opens, and Viktor steps inside. His expression is carefully neutral, but I can see the tension in his shoulders. "We have a problem," he says.
"Another one?"
"The men." He glances at Liesl, then back to me. "They're talking. About her. About the situation."
I feel Liesl tense. "What are they saying?"
Viktor hesitates. "Maybe we should discuss this privately—"
"Say it." Maybe Liesl needs to hear this. She still seems to believe in some kind of inherent goodness, even in me, since she can’t keep herself away from me. She believes that everything will be alright, and maybe she needs to understand just how easily it can go the other way.
He takes a breath. "Someone overheard what happened between you two in the library, yesterday.
Word spread. Now the men are questioning why the ransom hasn't been paid.
Why we're keeping her when it's causing complications.
Some of them—" He pauses. "Some of them think we should kill her.
Eliminate the problem before it gets worse. "
The rage that floods through me is instant and overwhelming. "Who?"
"Does it matter? It's not just one or two. It's a sentiment that's spreading. The men see you're distracted. They see that this war with Volkov and Baumann is escalating. Yuri is dead. Other men are dead. They're connecting it to her, thinking if she was gone, things would be simpler."
"Things would not be simpler." My jaw tightens. “It won’t stop now. If she’s dead, her father will use that as an excuse to keep fighting. Whether she’s alive or dead doesn’t matter to him now.” I feel Liesl’s gasp next to me as much as I hear it, but I keep going. “It’s past that.”
"I know that. You know that. But they don't." Viktor's voice is careful.
"They see a pakhan who's fighting a war over a captive woman.
They see complications that they think wouldn't exist if we'd just ransomed her or killed her at the start.
And they think your attraction to her is clouding your judgement. "
I can feel Liesl's eyes on me. Can sense her fear over the fact that her life is being debated like a strategic problem to be solved.
"Call a meeting," I say. "All the men. Main room. One hour."
"Andrei—"
"One hour, Viktor. Make sure everyone is there."
He nods and leaves.
I turn back to Liesl. She's pale, shaking, looking at me like she's seeing everything clearly for the first time.
"They want to kill me," she says quietly.
"They won't."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because I won't let them." I cup her jaw in my hand, my thumb pressing to her lip again. "You're mine, Liesl. Mine to keep. Mine to do with as I please. And anyone who touches you answers to me."
"This is insane—"
"This is how it is." I lean in and press my lips to her forehead, my finger still pressed to the softness of her mouth. It’s a tender gesture, at odds with the anger pulsing through me right now. "Go back to your room. Lock the door. Don't come out until I come get you."
"What are you going to do?"
"What I always do." I release her, and step back. "Remind them who's in charge."
—
The main room is packed when I arrive exactly one hour later.
Every man in my organization is here. Soldiers, lieutenants, guards, drivers, all of them watching me with varying degrees of curiosity and concern… and calculation.
I stand at the front of the room and let the silence stretch. I let them wonder what I’m about to say, let remember who I am and what I'm capable of.
"I understand there are concerns," I say finally. "About the captive, and about the war with Volkov and Baumann. About my decisions regarding both."
Murmurs ripple through the crowd. No one speaks directly, but I can feel the tension.
"Some of you think we should kill her, and eliminate the complication." I let my gaze sweep across the room. "Some of you think I'm making decisions based on emotion rather than strategy. That I'm putting this organization at risk for a woman."
More murmurs. Louder now. Someone in the back shifts and whispers to the man next to him.
"Alexander Baumann has been arming our enemies," I say flatly. "He's been coordinating with Volkov, supplying weapons, helping them target our operations. We have proof, intercepted communications. And now, he’s fully committed. If she dies, he’ll use that as an excuse. He’ll say he has no choice, because we killed his daughter. Her death stops nothing. Volkov has wanted this war for a long time, and now he has an ally that can strengthen him. This is not about her living or dying.”
The whispers stop. I move forward, closer to the crowd. "And now that we have her, now that we have leverage over him, some of you want to throw that away. Want to kill her and give him exactly what he wants—a reason to escalate even further, without any possibility for negotiation."
"She's a distraction," someone calls out. I don't see who. "She's making you weak."
"Is she?" I smile, and it's not a pleasant expression. "Because from where I'm standing, I just executed a traitor this morning. I killed a man who was feeding information to Baumann and Volkov. I sent a message that betrayal has consequences. Does that seem weak to you?"
Silence.
"The girl stays.” My voice is cold and final. "She's leverage. A reminder to Baumann that he can wage his war, but he does it knowing I have his daughter. Knowing what I could do to her if he pushes too far."
"And if the men don't agree?" The voice comes from the left. I turn and see Alexei—the same man who tested me in that meeting, still pushing. Still testing.
"Then the men can leave." I meet his eyes and hold his gaze. "Anyone who doesn't like my decisions is free to walk out that door right now. I won't stop you or hunt you down. You can go find another organization to join. Another pakhan to follow."
No one moves.
"But if you stay," I continue, "if you choose to remain part of this organization, then you follow my orders.
All of them, without question or debate.
And that includes the order that the girl is off-limits.
Anyone who touches her, anyone who threatens her, anyone who even looks at her wrong—they answer to me.
Personally." I let that sink in. "The girl is mine.
My decision, my responsibility, my problem to manage.
And if any of you have an issue with that, now is the time to speak. "
The silence is absolute. I wait, and give them the chance to challenge me. To push back. To test my authority one more time. No one does.
"Good." I turn to leave, then stop and look back.
"One more thing. Timofey is dead because he betrayed us.
Because he put his own interests above the organization.
If anyone else is working with Baumann or Volkov, come forward now.
Confess, and I'll show mercy. Stay silent, and when I find you—and I will find you—it will be much worse than a bullet to the head. "
I walk out without waiting for a response.
—
Liesl is pacing when I walk into her room. She spins around when I enter, eyes wide, face pale. "What happened?"
"It's handled."
"What does that mean?"
"It means the men understand that you're off-limits. That anyone who touches you answers to me. That this isn't up for debate."
She stares at me. "You threatened them."
"I gave them a choice. Stay and follow orders, or leave. No one left."
"So they're just going to accept this? That you're keeping me here? That you're fighting a war over me?"
"The war was always coming," I say, moving toward her. "Your father made sure of that. I'm just making sure he understands there are consequences for his choices."
"By keeping me prisoner."
I shrug, sliding my hands into my pockets. “As long as you're here, as long as I have you, he has to be careful. Has to consider what I might do to you if he pushes too far."
Her eyes widen. "You wouldn't—"
"He doesn't know that." I watch her, seeing the emotions flitting across her face. "And that uncertainty is what keeps you alive. My men believe what I told them, and that’s the explanation I gave.”
"I don't belong to you." Her insistence is written all over her face, but I just smile, shrugging again.
“You can think that, Liesl. But one day, you’re going to have to admit you’re wrong. And who knows? Maybe I’ll keep you here until you do, no matter what your father does.”
She opens her mouth to speak, but before she can, I turn and leave. I close the door behind me, my heart pounding in my chest.
She is mine. And whatever happens, whatever the outcome of the war with her father, there’s another war happening right here, between us.
One I intend to win.