Page 18 of Ivory Sins
With a sudden gasp, I raise my head and see a masked man standing in front of me. I swallow hard, a wave of heat spreading across my body. I'm scared, but I try to act like I'm not.
“Cut the act, Hunter. I know it's you,” I say to him, trying to sound as courageous as I can.
He sighs. “Well, I guess I won't be needing this anymore.” Hunter takes off his mask, his eyes locked on me.
I shake my head, my voice barely above a whisper. “Why are you doing this?”
“Why?” He scoffs. “Is that an actual question, hmm, Livvy-loo?” He draws nearer. “Did you forget how your family ruined my life–how you played a huge part in my downfall?” He glares at me, his voice rising with each question.
His outburst startles me and I flinch, my heart pounding in my chest.
He continues, “And to think I was in love with you.” Hunter clicks his tongue and bends over, hands on his knees, as he looks into my eyes. “I would have done anything for you, Livvy-loo—anything at all, but you rejected me…you acted like I never even existed.”
I honestly can almost feel his pain—the pain of my rejection.
“I thought you were different.” He straightens. “But you're not. You're just another spoiled brat, another educated professional who chose the criminal world. How disappointing.”
I pause for a moment, wondering why he hasn't mentioned Enzo yet. He's been blabbing about his obsession with me, but hasn't talked about the blackmail yet. Something isn't adding up.
The front door swings open and a man walks in with a smirk on his face. He looks Russian. “Hello, beautiful, we haven’t officially met yet. My name is Nova Koslov, your host for the evening.” His expression darkens and a throaty, sinister laugh escapes his lips. “Hunter, could you give me a minute?” he asks politely, flashing an obviously plastic grin.
Without question, Hunter does as he's told and leaves the room. I didn't need to be a psychologist to see what's happening here. Hunter is nothing but a puppet. This Nova guy is the grand puppeteer.
“Who are you?” I ask him now that we're alone.
“Try to keep up, honey, I told you my name already,” he answers, walking toward a table to my right-hand side.
On the table are torture equipments, and the sight of them causes my breath to hitch in my throat.
He picks up a knife and heads back to me. “You see, Olivia, I'm the guy who comes out on top at the end of this little game.”
“What're you talking about?” I ask, truly confused. “I mean, I get why Hunter Calderon is doing this, but why are you doing this?”
He sighs. “Hunter's an idiot. He's not doing anything that I don't tell him to do.” Nova bends over, flashing the blade in my face. “I'm the one you should be worried about.” He places the sharp, pointy edge of the blade on my skin and it pricks my flesh enough to make me bleed. “Oops!” He withdraws the knife and smiles at me.
This man's a psycho.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask, my lips trembling, especially now that I know he's mentally unstable.
“Why else?” He spreads his arms. “Power.” Nova walks around me, his shoes clicking against the pavement. “You did me a solid the night you ran that bastard Enzo over and I can't thank you enough.” He taps my shoulder from behind and leans forward, his breath against my ear. “You didn't kill Enzo DiMartino…I did.”
My heart sinks into my chest as a wave of mixed emotions wash over me. I'm relieved by this revelation and to know I can't rejoice yet, not while I'm still in this madman's captivity. There's clearly more that he has to say to me.
“Why? Why did you kill him?” I ask, indulging Nova so he'd keep talking.
Knowing my family and Marco, I'm certain that they're doing everything in their power to find me. I just need to stall Nova a little more, and I can only hope that it works.
“The young DiMartino discovered my extensive blackmail operations targeting crime families across Europe and America. He had evidence of my involvement in high-profile family assassinations that had been blamed on rivals,” he explains.
“So, you targeted him next?” I ask.
“It was him or me, honey.” He points the knife at me, smirking. “And you made things easy for me. You see, the night you ran him over was the same night I went after him. Imagine my surprise at finding him injured on the floor.” He laughs eerily. “It was an opportunity that I couldn't pass on. So, I finished the job, and let it look like an accident.”
“And Hunter? How's he involved in all of this?” I ask.
“He’s just a pawn,” Nova claims, his voice laced with disgust. “I met him at an underground gambling den. Later, I found out that he'd been kicked out of the Bellanti empire, where he used to work. I also realized that he had a bit of an obsession with you—and guess what?”
“You manipulated events and turned everything in your favor,” I answer.
