Page 99 of Dmitri

“I’ll be back in ten minutes,” I say. “Don’t fucking move.”

The color drains from her face.

Leaving her alone in my room, unsupervised, is as ridiculous as it is necessary. Lie for a lie, truth for a truth. I’ll use every tool in my possession to get her to be real with me. So, I’m being real with her.

Shutting the door, I lock it and head straight for Vault’s security room. It’s freezing in here because he always wants the equipment cooled down. We’ve got a lot of high-tech gear in this place.

He doesn’t look surprised to see me. “What’s up, man?”

“I need you to dig up some information for me.” I brace my hands on his desk and let out a long exhale. “Daelyn’s paperwork is in the temporary guest folder. Run a background check on her and her roommate, Addie. No last name known. I want to know who their parents are. Their friends. Jobs. Fucking blood type. Whatever you can get me.”

Vault sits back, concern hardening his eyes. “What’s going on?”

“Just do it, okay?” I turn to leave, but Vault stops me with another question.

“Are you in trouble, D?”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

He stands slowly. “It’s not just you I’m worried about.”

Vault’s reminding me that I’m bringing danger not just tomy bed, but to the club. As if I’m not aware?

“Just get me the information and I’ll decide from there.” We stare at each other for a long moment, then I add, “I won’t let Hell fall over the club. If it comes close to that, I’ll leave. I won’t put anyone here in the crosshairs. You have my word.”

He knows I don’t break promises.

But Iwillbreak the woman waiting for me in my room.

Chapter 28

Daelyn

Sitting in this dingy, dark room on the concrete floor makes me detach again. I’m so exhausted, so sick and tired of everything and of myself. If Dmitri leaves me here until I decay, I won’t mind.

His room smells like him, which makes my body and brain clash because I feel both safe and trapped at the same time. I can’t believe he lives down here. I’d call him a liar if it weren’t for the rack of clothing hanging across from me. Each piece looks expensive and well taken care of. The blanket at the foot of his cot is also folded nice and neat. There isn’t even a spec of dirt or dust bunny on his cold floor.

The punching bag hanging from a chain looks menacing and well-used. How many hours a day does he spend throttling that thing?

Dread seeps in as I realize what I’ve done. I’m locked in a dangerous man’s room, in a basement of a club, with no way out or to call for help.

Suddenly, the door unlocks and swings open. Dmitri carries in a tray of food, though he still looks angry. “Thought you’d be hungry.”

I don’t move from the floor.

When he looks around as if he’s trying to find a place to rest the tray, he blows out a quick sigh and lowers it to the floor in front of me. “I live simply, and I don’t eat where I sleep, so I don’t have a table or chairs.”

But he’s not going to let me out of this room, so he’s breaking his housekeeping rules and letting me eat on the floor like a pet. I can’t tell if I’m insulted or flattered.

My nerves are too shot for me to eat the food he’s brought, but I don’t want to piss him off by rejecting it. Pulling the lid off the first plate, I stare at a massive pile of hand cut fries.

“Wasn’t sure what you’d like, but I know those are okay.” He sits on the floor across from me. “The first thing you need to remember about fighting is thatyou’re the hero in the cage, not the villain. You’re going against the worst of the worst and can stop at nothing until they surrender.”

The fry in my mouth is hard to swallow. “Okay.”

“The second part to that is…” His gaze darkens. “We’re all bad guys, Daelyn. Some of us are just better at hiding it than others.”

I couldn’t agree more. “I’m so sorry,” I say again.

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