Page 17 of Nikolai (Kansas City Reapers)

And I, for one, knew better than to rattle a creature poised to bite.

Chapter 5

Maddy

I could notbelievethat man. The utter audacity of making me go through that again. And not listening to my boundary? Fuck that shit. I might be going through something, and, yes, they might be here to help me, but that didnotmean I was about to be some timid little mouse, cowering under his demands like that.

Fuck him.

And fuck this place.

In fact…

I stopped my incessant pacing around my room, thankful yet again for the lock that keptthemfromme.Stomping over to the closet, I pulled my suitcase from where it sat, tearing my clothes out of the closet a million times faster than I had put them in just this last night.

Had it already been a day? Honestly, I had lost track of time during the interrogation session with Major Fuckwad. A glance at the clock told me it was nearing noon, but I didn’t care. At least I had daylight.

More haphazardly than I’d ever allowed myself under normal circumstances, I threw my few belongings back into my bags, zipping them closed with so much aggression the zipper almost yanked off its tracks.

“Fuck this place. And fuck that man,” I grumbled under my breath, lifting the two suitcases off the bed and heading to the door. I wasn’t about to stay in this place a second longer. Not if I was going to be pressured and coerced into reliving my greatest nightmare — and for what? For their amusement? No way.

I’d walk to the nearest bus stop or something and head straight to the police station. Surely the detective who brought me here could find somewhere else for me to stay. Anywhere else. Hell, couldn’t they put me up in a hotel with a security guard or something? At least then I could order room service and be left to my own devices.

I tugged at the door violently, letting it fly from my fingertips as I stormed out of the room. I didn’t even flinch when the door hit the bedroom wall with a loud crash. Hell, I fuckinghopedit left a hole for these fuckers to have to fix.

Not my problem.

Not anymore.

The sound of voices below didn’t affect me for a second as I stomped down the stairs, my suitcase hitting each step with a loud boom along the way. Could I have picked it up and carried it? Sure. Was I about to? Fuck no.

As soon as my foot hit the ground from the final stair, I collided with something hard, pushing me back towards the floor and staircase behind me.

My bags fell from my hands, crashing against the floor as the world turned on its axis.

Except…

I didn’t fall.

Two muscular arms wrapped around me. Hands gripped at my back, pulling me back up against the warmth of a man’s chest.

My breath left my lungs, the sheer strength of this man shocking me as he held me aloft, keeping me from crashing to the ground. My eyes flitted from the buttons that tugged a little too much at his chest, the fabric pulling just a little above what felt like rippling muscles hidden beneath, and onwards up to deep blue eyes that were so vibrant, so intense, it nearly took my breath away. How had I never noticed his eyes before?

My mouth opened with a gasp of surprise.

His eyes locked on mine for only a moment before descending slowly, taking in my face — and then lower. I didn’t miss the way his pupils dilated for just a moment, our chests pressing together with shuddery breaths.

Locked in that frozen moment, neither of us heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

“You guys, o…oh…” Sully’s voice called from beside us, theohof understanding shattering the moment as we both leaped apart as though burned.

The awkward silence that followed was deafening.

“So, what’s going on here?” Sully asked, his hands tucked into his back pockets as he rocked back on his heels with a look of suspicion.

“My question exactly.” Niko cleared his throat, andthough I wasn’t looking up at him, I could feel the heat of his gaze on me, even still.

“I’m leaving. That’s what’s happening,” I spat out venomously.

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