Page 81 of Lethal Alliance

It takes a minute for me to realize that she isn’t looking at Orlov at all, but over his shoulder, to where Alexei is watching us. His eye isn’t blank anymore. It burns like arctic fire, holding Masha’s eyes as if he holds her heart and soul in his hands.

I hear his whisper in my mind:No matter what Orlov does to you, don’t lose yourself...

“I think you want to fuck this one, Petrovsky.” Vilnus says it without turning around. His hand rests on my breast, squeezing it uncomfortably hard, his eyes watching me keenly. I force myself not to react. “But it must be a quandary, no? What will Roman Borovsky do to you when he discovers you broke in his only daughter? What will your sister say when she realizes the kind of animal you’ve become? After all she did to protect you back in the day?”

He turns abruptly to look at Alexei. But the dull mask is firmly back in place, his lone eye the dull, disinterested opaque it always is in Orlov’s presence.

“Mysister,” Alexei says flatly, with just enough contempt on the second word to send a ripple of real fear through me, “left me here without a second thought. She and that greedy bastard she calls father are dead to me. They have been from the day they ran.”

Vilnus’s lip curls. “So you always say,” he says silkily. “Even when I cut you to ribbons, you insisted you had no part in their escape. But I wonder how true that really is, Petrovsky. What if I make you fuck this one now and send the video to your sister? Something tells me that there’ll be no coming back for you after that.”

Alexei lifts a disinterested shoulder. “It would be an effort. She’s got barely enough meat on her bones to get a cock rise out of me.”

The ripple of laughter that goes through the watching men clearly gets under Orlov’s skin, because his smile fades, replaced by a sour, mean expression.

His hand tightens convulsively on my breast, and I wince. “Then you won’t care if I fuck her myself.”

Alexei yawns. “I don’t give a shit who you fuck, Vilnus. At least I can get some sleep while you do it, since you’ve kept me on nonstop babysitting duty for the past week.”

Vilnus’s eyes narrow. But whatever response he’s about to make is cut abruptly short by a commotion in the hall.

“I am sorry to interrupt your games, Vilnus.” The newcomer speaks in Russian. He’s an old man, dressed impeccably in a black tailored suit and crisp tie. His voice is calm and measured. His eyes barely skim over me, but even that brief touch is enough to send a cold shiver through my body.

They’re the darkest, coldest eyes I’ve ever seen. Not dark like Roman’s, which always have a hint of warmth lingering beneath them. Not an inscrutable mask, like Alexei’s.

These eyes are completely dead—and they terrify me more than even Vilnus’s hand on my breast.

I’m not the only one intimidated by the newcomer.

Vilnus swings around. “Ilyan.” He’s clearly unsettled by the visitor’s arrival. “I didn’t know I was expecting you.”

“Let’s just say I grew impatient.” The man called Ilyan stares flatly at him. “I’m changing the plan.”

“I thought we agreed—”

“Wedidn’t agree anything, Vilnus. I gave you a plan, and you followed it. That’s how this relationship works.” The man’s contempt is scathing. He glances at the gathered guards. “You can leave us.” They clearly know who gives the orders, because they all scatter without a moment’s protest.

All except Alexei.

“Borovsky is taking too long.” Ilyan speaks without preamble. He looks at some point over Vilnus’s head, as if he can’t be bothered to actually meet the other man’s eyes. “Something is up, and I don’t like it.”

“He’s got no chance of taking this place,” Vilnus says defensively. “It’s too well protected.”

“Maybe. But I’m taking precautions nonetheless.” He steps aside. “Come here, my dear.”

As the tall, slender figure enters the room, Masha tenses against me, and I suck in my breath. “Mama,” I breathe, relief washing over me in a hot tide.

“Ofelia.” Inger says my name hollowly, like she’s somewhere else. She’s dressed as impeccably as ever in a designer dress. Her hair is carefully coiffed, and she’s dripping with expensive jewelry. I feel a savage rush of anger.

How can she look like that while we are here, in the same bloodstained rags we’ve worn for days, enduring Vilnus’s daily torture?

“Your mother and I are taking a little trip.” Ilyan doesn’t try to smile at me. He doesn’t even look at me. “I brought her here to say goodbye—and to remind her of what happens if she disobeys my orders.” He puts his face close to Inger’s ear. “Do exactly as I say, or your daughters will die, my dear.”

What?

The blood drains from my face, the room spinning around me.

The room is suddenly silent. I can actually hear the beating of my own heart. Masha is stiff and silent beside me, her eyes glued on Mama.

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