Page 28 of Twilight Sins

“I don’t give a fuck if you believe me,” he says coolly. “You can think I’m crazy if you want. At least you’ll be alive.”

Whatever sympathy I felt towards Yakov for being obviously mentally unstable is burning away quickly.

“This doesn’t make any sense. I don’t know what your deal is, but you have to see that this isn’t normal. You made up some threat. I’m safe.”

“You are now. Because no one gets on or off my property without my permission.”

I glance around the room, but I don’t see any obvious cameras. No motion detection lasers. No sentries ready to pump me full of lead if I so much as breathe wrong.

“None of this is real. I’m safe,” I tell him again.

He crosses his arms and I studiously ignore the way his biceps strain against the material of his t-shirt. “You’re lying to yourself.”

It’s so absurd that I almost laugh. “I don’t need to lie to myself. You’ve been lying to me since the moment we met!”

“You didn’t want to hear the truth.” His green eyes are sharp, piercing straight through me. “You asked what I did for work and I said I’d tell you the truth if you were brave enough to hear it. You chose the pretty lie instead. You stopped asking questions. You left with me even though you had no fucking clue who I was.”

“So this is all my fault now? You kidnap me, but I’m the bad guy?”

“No, I’m definitely the bad guy,” he says with a dark laugh. “You’re just the silly girl who didn’t figure that out soon enough.”

My dress is so tight that I can’t breathe. I never would have thought a mansion could be too small, but I’m feeling claustrophobic.

“Okay, then tell me the ugly truth.” I throw my arms wide. “You’re kidnapping me. That’s pretty ugly. I think you’ve blown your cover. Might as well tell me everything else.”

“Do you think kidnapping is the worst it gets for me, Luna?” Yakov saunters a step closer to me. “Everyone you met this morning knows that you aren’t permitted to leave the premises and they didn’t bat a fucking eye. They’ve seen far worse.”

He said the same thing last night about the driver. I assumed it was because he’d had a lot of women in the backseat. Now, I’m not so sure.

He steps back, once again looking bored. “You can go wherever you want in the house and the grounds, but don’t try to leave the property. I don’t want to waste time bringing you back.”

“You can’t be serious. You really expect me to just sit around and… what? Wait for you to come back?”

“There’s a library, a pool, a television. It’s not like I’ve left you in a jail cell with a metal cup,” he snaps. “You’re in a mansion. Enjoy it.”

At that, I really do laugh. “Of course. I should be grateful you’re kidnapping me, right? Otherwise, I’d never be able to afford these kinds of luxuries. Unfortunately, I don’t put a price on my fucking freedom!”

He’s in front of me before I can even blink. My head barely reaches his chin and I have to tilt my head back to look up at him.

“Do you have any idea how easy it would have been for me to leave you at that restaurant? I could have left you to fend for yourself without a second thought. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.”

“I’ve survived just fine on my own so far.”

“You’ve survived in your world. Where your biggest threat is a mean ex-boyfriend and drunk assholes who show up late to dates. But you’re in my world now,” he snarls. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”

I’m not sure what’s worse: the thought that Yakov might be crazy…

Or the overwhelming feeling I have that he isn’t crazy at all.

“I’ll call the police,” I blurt suddenly. “If you don’t let me leave, then I’ll call the cops.”

He glowers down at me. “With what phone?”

It takes a second for the words to sink in. As soon as they do, I stagger back. “You… you stole my phone. You went into my purse while I was sleeping and stole from me!”

He brushes me off. “Add it to the list of sins.”

Tears burn in my eyes. Not even ten minutes ago, I was creating a very different list for Yakov. I could barely believe he was real. It seemed impossible that one man could have so many amazing qualities.

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