Page 33 of Malevolent King

Worse of all, a twisting black guilt sat in my belly. I’d set the wheels in motion for his recapture, and now, after last night, it was a heavy weight. He hadn’t forced me or hurt me when he easily could have. There was an honor to him I didn’t understand, but a code sat somewhere in his messed-up morals, and he didn’t cross it. I respected that.

Maybe I was as fucked in the head as he was. Even more fucked up was the part of me that regretted giving the trucker my father’s number. If De Sanctis men busted in here now, they’d save me from my kidnapper, but they’d also take Nikolai back to Casa Nera to answer for his crimes.

After last night, I wasn’t sure what to feel.

I carefully detangled my hand from his, my heartbeat so loud I was surprised he couldn’t hear it. My wrists were freed before I knew it, and I stared in shock at my hands. A feeling of unreality followed me as I tiptoed out of bed and dressed silently in my damp clothes. I had no idea how long Nikolai had been awake, but it had to have been over two nights in a row. No wonder he was out.

In the end, it was almost too easy to escape him. I felt odd as I twisted the doorknob and silently edged out into the hallway. Something flickered in my chest when I turned to look at the dark shape in the bed. The fragile intimacy of last night was like a bubble floating above me, perfect and short-lived. As I closed the door, the bubble burst.

The click was much louder than I’d have liked.

As soon as I let go of the knob, I hurried down the hall. I headed downstairs toward the reception desk. The same sleepy-looking employee who’d checked us in was sitting at the desk. He blinked at me when I ran toward him.

“I need to use your phone,” I said quickly and moved around the desk.

He leaped up, seeming more awake than I’d have guessed. His name tag read Larry.“Miss, no guests behind here. I have to ask you to step out,” he exclaimed. Far too loudly.

Panic flooded me. I shushed him and tried to look placating.“Please, I need help. I’m being held captive by that man I came with, and I need to get away.”

Larry paled and reached for the phone. “If that’s true, I need to call the cops.”

“No! No cops,” I hissed, moving toward him and trying to stop him from dialing 911. My father didn’t take kindly to cops getting involved in his business.

The receptionist held out a hand, stopping me.“Miss! I’m warning you not to come closer. I’m armed, and I’m not afraid to use lethal force if I feel my life is being threatened,” he nearly shouted.

Holy crap.

“I have no weapons! I just need help,” I protested, twisting to look down the dark hall where I’d come from. This man was making far too much noise.

“If you need help, you’d want me to call the cops. You must be running some kind of hustle, you and your gangster boyfriend,” Larry said, and tapped the side of his head with a meaty finger. “I watchDateline. I know all about that stuff.”

“Please, believe me,” I attempted one last time and then froze. My shoulders inched up to my ears as the man reached below the counter and pulled out a gun. A fucking gun. Really? I had to have the worst luck in the world.

“Put your hands up where I can see them. I’m calling the cops, and you’re staying here until they come.”

Urgency beat at me, making me wonder if it was worth rushing him and trying to grab his gun. But I could end up shot, and I was less scared of Nikolai than I was of that.

“Please, listen to me. If the man I came with hears you, if he comes here and finds us… he might kill you,” I said calmly, trying to project my serenity onto the clerk.

Larry snorted. “You might have noticed that I’m the one with the gun, Miss,” he said dismissively.

“The man I’m with doesn’t need a gun to kill you!” My voice was turning shrill, and I couldn’t help it. “Please, listen to me if you want to live.”

A prickling sensation along the back of my neck announced we were no longer alone.

“You should have listened to her, Larry. That was dumb,” Nikolai’s lazy voice floated over my head.

Larry squinted through the darkness past my shoulder. “You should know that I’m calling the police!”

“Go ahead,” Nikolai said, looking unbothered.

Larry frowned at him and turned his attention to the old landline phone sitting on the desk. The bullet caught him in the shoulder, and he spun a hundred and eighty degrees before falling. I hadn’t chanced trying to take the gun when I’d tiptoed out of the room, seeing as Niko had it under his pillow.

Now, I cursed my cowardice as I made a break for the glass doors.

I reached them and pulled on the handle.

It didn’t budge. I rattled it in disbelief.

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