Page 136 of Born in Depravity

My eyes widened in surprise, and I moved back then. Was this some sort of a kink for him? He liked to call me “pet,” and though at first it was offensive, I almost thought it sounded affectionate now.

Fuck, I was stupid.

He swung the collar over his shoulder, and grasped my biceps with his big hands, holding me still. I struggled and he tightened his hold a smidge. I looked up and met his eyes, and I knew I couldn’t hide the hurt on my face.

He let out a sigh and directed me to the bed, then pulled me down on his lap. I avoided his eyes, looking directly at his tie. It had small, very slight black lines that ran diagonally down.

“Did Mikhail ever tell you why we’re here?”

I paused. That was not what I was expecting him to say. I shook my head, keeping my gaze level with his chest.

“I thought he might have. Seemed he had gotten a little … protective of you.”

If only.

If Mikhail was protective of me, he wouldn’t have let Damien take me out.

Captors.

They were my captors.

I needed to remember that.

“We think the man who owns this house is feeding information to your father.”

What?

Damien continued. “Private information. Like where our trap houses are. Like when our shipments are arriving from overseas. One of our ships sank recently, and we’re sure it’s because the Petrov bastard told your dad.”

Didn’t that make him a traitor? In my father’s world, that made him a dead man. And I was sure that was the case in Damien’s world as well.

Damien’s eyes were still expressionless, but there was something blazing in them now.

He was angry about this.

He grabbed my notebook and pen, handing them to me.

“Ask,” he said.

I wrote down my question.

Why is he still alive?

Damien took one look at the question and laughed darkly. I didn’t mean for the question to sound so … diabolical.

And now Damien was laughing at me.

He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “He’s still alive because he’s high up in rank, and I can’t just kill him without any proof.”

I swallowed and looked away. So he did plan on killing him.

“Mikhail is working to get the proof now. We heard a rumor that Petrov likes to keep ‘insurances.’ And that means he’s keeping one on your father as well. A list of his operations. If we can get our hands on that list, it would prove he is a traitor, and we can use it to attack your father’s operation and weaken him.”

He cupped my cheek. I looked up at him, and I couldn’t help myself when I moved closer to his touch. He seemed surprised over the little movement. I hesitated.

Then his eyes softened, and though he wasn’t smiling, I felt like I had just won somehow.

“We already started a war on him by taking his greatest treasure.”

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