Page 49 of Ruthless Bonds

When Nadya came after dinner to collect my dishes, she frowned at the plate still full of food, but didn’t say anything. I’d hoped my little hunger strike was going to force Kreos to let me go, but he didn’t come. At least not while I was awake. I decided to push a chair against the door so he couldn’t break inside in the middle of the night.

Of course, that didn’t stop him. When I woke up in the morning on the third day of my captivity, the chair was back in its original place. Breakfast was on the nightstand next to me, along with a note that only had one word.

Eat.

It seemed hopeless, like there was no way out of this situation.

Another untrustworthy man using me for his purposes, without a care in the world for what I wanted.

A persistent twitch developed under my right eye; the urge to scream into a pillow was strong. I was so sick of being taken advantage of.

Not anymore, though.

It was time to put an end to being a victim in this situation.

Maybe it was time to turn the tables on him. He wanted a wife, and I needed money to get far awayfrom here. I could use this situation to my advantage. Play along for a while, bide my time and put off having children. I had the birth control implant, and he didn’t need to know about that. He’d probably give me an allowance. I could use that to buy gift cards so he wouldn’t be able to trace the money I was spending. Then, when I was ready, I would have a stash of cards so I could buy a bus ticket or sell them for cash. We’d have to get the trackers out of our necks, but I’d worry about that later.

It seemed crazy.

But it could work.

I’d get everything I needed and then escape far away from here.

A sense of peace came over me as I realized I might have a way out of this after all. I pushed my breakfast to the side and knocked on my bedroom door. I wasn’t sure if anyone would be out there, but a second later, the door swung open, and a man popped his head in.

“Yes, Miss Wolfe?”

“Can you tell Kreos he wins?”

He nodded, then shut the door and locked it. I hurried to get ready, knowing soon I would be free of this room.

But it wasn’t Kreos who I came face to face with after I finished getting dressed, it was Gavriil. “Miss Wolfe.” He stood by the window, his hands clasped behind his back.

“Oh, hi, Satan.” I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest.

He chuckled, shaking his head. “You and the Pakhan’s sister are going to get along very well.”

“Where’s Kreos? I wanted to talk to him.”

“He’s busy with meetings, but he has planned a lovely celebration dinner for just the two of you tonight.”

I rolled my eyes. Celebration dinner? Yeah, my prison sentence was definitely worth celebrating.

“Before I let you leave this room, I want to discuss some rules the Pakhan has laid out for you. For today, you will not leave the premises. You will not have access to any type of phone. And most importantly, you will not cause any trouble while he is away. Is that understood?”

His eyes were cold and calculating as he assessed me, and I nodded.

“And Miss Wolfe, one more thing. You should know I’m a fixer. Problems arise, and I make them disappear.” He took a step forward into my personal space, and I glared at him. “And if you become a problem for Kreos and our organization, then I’ll fix that, too. Permanently.” A ghost of a smile formed on his face, but there was nothing warm about it.

He let the threat hang in the air, and I balled my hands into fists at my side. The nerve of him. If I was going to be a problem? I didn’t even want to be here! My nostrils flared with irritation, but I knew if I said anything other than “OK” I might end up locked in my prison again. So I nodded and plastered the same fake smile on my face.

“Great. Now let me introduce you to your security.” He opened the door and two people in suits stood against the wall, backs straight, their hands clasped in front of them.

A young guy around my age stepped forward. Hehad brown curly hair and a tattoo going up the side of his neck. He bowed, and because I had no idea what I was supposed to do, I bowed right back. He smiled briefly, but when Gavriil cleared his throat, his face turned serious again.

“Miss Wolfe, I’m Grigori. It would be my honor to serve and protect the Pakhan’s fiancée. Rest assured, I will lay down my life for yours.”

He seemed so young. I had to remember that it wasn’t everyone else’s fault that Kreos was forcing me to marry him. It was just Kreos’ fault. So I shook his hand and offered a smile. “Please don’t think you have to do that.” I chuckled, but his face remained serious.

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