Page 16 of Volatile

“Did you go into a room with a fucking rapist?” He snarls the last word and grows taller, wider, with anger. My feet move back as he advances and continues, “Where anything could have fucking happened to you?!”

My shoulders touch the tile and I try to press my body against it to create distance.

“You’re going to fucking listen to me or I’ll leave you hogtied right fucking here until you agree.” Flattening his palms beside my head, he leans into me until our noses are nearly touching. “Now, you have one chance to give me the right fucking answer.”

I’ve never fought other than the times we go into the safe houses and I have a weapon then, but there’s something inside me, a fight I’ve never possessed when I usually slip out of the way as the ditzy idiot who’s not worth anything.

I throw my head forward and my temple throbs as it connects with his jaw. I have to squeeze my eyes shut to stop the dizziness and his smug face is in front of me as I slowly open them. He takes half a step forward, flicking his fingers towards my restrained arms.

“You want to prove you’re tough or some shit? Get out of that and we’ll compromise.”

Dickhead.

I’ve been through this shit with Dima in case I’m caught is more advanced than a fucking T-shirt wrapped around my wrists.So, I don’t look away from Vitali’s eyes as I press my shoulders to the tile and inelegantly squat down to step through the loop he’s made. The saturated fabric works in my favor, allowing me to stretch it, but he’s knotted it. It was my favorite T-shirt, asshole. Once my hands are in front of me I bring them up to my teeth and straighten.

The knot has barely grazed my lip when it’s pulled up above my head and he pins my hands against the wall, causing Vitali’s wet, hard body to press into me. My body has a Pavlovian reaction to his and it intensifies as he kicks my ankles apart. Rough calloused fingers trace my side, bringing goosebumps in their wake as he does the same with his lips on the opposite side of my jaw.

“One fucking finger.” The bite in his voice isn’t a threat and my thrashing is pointless when this is becoming my favorite version of him. “And I’ve got you restrained, able to do anything I want to you.”

I’m not going to be against opponents who fight for a living. They sell children and have guards, they’re soft and protected, not trained killers. I force the drunk act, hating that I’m doing it in front of him, as I giggle, my voice coming out high pitched and I bat my lashes for extra emphasis.

“Oh,anything? Do I get to doanythingto you too, baby?”

People see what they want to, no one looks deeper for the actual meaning and the kid fuckers will manipulate a conversation to fit the narrative in their head.

But Vitali doesn’t and he grabs my throat, pushing me flat against the wall, his lip curling in disgust and the emotion settles into his voice.

“Don’t pull that fucking shit with me.”

Rolling my eyes, I become myself, wriggling my shoulders to get comfortable and ask, “Can you get the fuck off me now?”

I have a job to do, and I’d rather not stand here all night naked and wet in more ways than one.

He’s still pissed but shuts his mouth and unties my hands. He gives me enough space to walk around him as he turns his shoulders, and the idiot slaps my ass when I pass him. The playful puppy is back, and I want to get a ball to see if he’s any good at fetch.

I swipe his T-shirt from the hallway floor to replace the one he’s ruined and go back to my cave.It’s not set up as a normal office and there’s not a single piece of furniture in the room. I can’t sit comfortably while watching reams of evidence of true sin flash before my eyes. I’m nice enough to send the information to Vlad and Dima in a timed message so they’re not disturbed whilst they’re with their families and begin working on my side project.

Pedophiles aren’t monopolized by one identifiable trait. It’s something deeper within them and there are fuckers in the Bratva who carry the same deformity, passing it off as a preference when they ogle the younger girls around the Vory.The ones who are known are marked as untouchable, dirty creatures that can’t be trusted with forced tattoos on their hands or back depending on the depth of their crimes, so I have to wipe the slate clean with the rest of society.

I’m loading the fake profiles when the puppy comes back into the room and scratches his stomach. My lips move automatically at the sight of him and it’s an unfamiliar comfort having someone beside me as I do this. I should buy a dog; it could keep me company and it would be more obedient than Vitali as he complains about the contents of my cupboards.

“You don’t have any food, there’s a banana but it’s smaller than my hand and all you have are walnuts. They’re nasty by the way.”

He drops down beside me and noisily kisses my cheek as he picks me up to sit between his thighs, still whining about his stomach.

“You need a snack drawer and cake, yeah, I could go for some cake right now.”

I don’t go into the screens that will have images of the sick predators because I’m an idiot. They’d scare him away and I should do it, send him home with an aversion to being around me, but I like the warmth too much and he buries his face in the crook of my neck to cover his eyes.

“One day I’m going to eat cake directly from your pussy,” he mumbles. “Squirt cream between your lips before I squirtmy creaminside you.”

He ends on a choked laugh and I push my elbow into his ribs at the way he’s chosen to word that.

“Your cum is not fucking cream.”

“Hmm, why do you lick your lips then?” he laughs, shaking me in his hold before he says, “It’s actually protein, so you should have more of it since it’s good for you.” He trails the side of his finger against my cheek and whispers, “A good, organic face mask too, let me know when you want me to pamper you.”

“You are not coming on my face.”

---