Page 6 of Heartless Sinner

Dad gazes at me with worried eyes. I never told him about my savings. I wanted to keep it secret to keep it safe.

“I can wire it to you.”

The man snaps his fingers, and bad breath guy releases me. I stumble as the air returns to my body and the blood starts flowing again, free from the stench of him and the restriction of his arms.

Russian guy steps forward, his gun pointed at me as he smiles. The sight of the gun makes me feel fragile, like I may shatter in the wind.

He retrieves a piece of paper from his pocket and hands it to me. I take it with trembling hands. It has bank account details scrawled in the center and the name of a company—Tate Ltd.

“Wire it now,” Russian guy orders, moving closer.

I get my phone and access my bank app, then he watches me like a hawk while I transfer everything I own to this unknown account.

The transaction processes and I recall with agony all that hard work I had to put in to save that money. Now it’s all gone.Everythingis gone.

It’s not until the transaction flashes up as complete that Russian guy lowers his gun and steps out of my personal space.

“Pleasure doing business with you, beautiful.” He nods and his lips curl into a smirk. I want to tell him to fuck off and not to call me beautiful, but I hold my tongue. “By the way, Anton Chekov sends his regards.”

I was already numb and hollow inside, but hearing my greatest fears confirmed turns my blood to rocks in my veins.

I was right.

Anton.

He’s back.

And from the look of this messed-up situation, Dad and Johnny took a loan from him. Antonisthe boss.

“Don’t you have any messages for him?” Russian guy smirks.

“No.” My barely-there voice sounds like a whisper hanging on to the edge of the wind.

He smiles wider. “Anton wants the rest of the money by Monday.”

I suck in a sharp breath, suddenly feeling like I may fall forward and keep going through the earth. “What?”

“You heard me, beautiful. Anton wants the balance by Monday. Three hundred and forty thousand dollars. Now that you have the account details, you know where to wire the money.”

“But I don’t… we don’t have that kind of money,” I stammer.

The man steps close again, towering over me. “That’s not my problem, sweetheart. Pay up by Monday, or we take everything.The house, the mechanic shop, and whatever your daddy’s got left.” He leans in, his gaze dropping to my breasts. “And if that doesn’t cover it or Anton’s not satisfied, well… let’s just say you better find that money. Or hewillfind other ways to deal with you.Allof you.”

All of us. Including me.

My heart pounds as if someone added a dose of napalm to my blood.

Jesus.How the hell did this happen?

With a wicked smirk, Russian guy strides toward the door. Bad breath guy follows.

I watch them leave, listening as the front door opens and closes while I stay where I am, too afraid to move. Too afraid to face this new disaster.

Finally, I look at Dad and find him already watching me, his eyes filled with sadness and regret.

I want to scream, but as I stare back at him, I see the father who became both mother and father to me when I was nine and Mom left us. I see the father who worked his fingers to the bone to make sure we had everything. I see the father who would do anything for his kids, including welcoming back his daughter into his home after her seriously bad breakup with the same Russian mobster he now owes.

I was a mess. And thanks to Anton, I was addicted to prescription drugs and all kinds of shit. I nearly lost my life. Dad spent everything he had to get me into rehab and he didn’t stop taking care of me until I was better.

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