Page 40 of The Dancer and the Grumpy Billionaire

I step inside. “Where is Roman?”

“Sleeping, I would imagine,” she answers. “Let me get him.”

She wanders off, and eventually emerges with a shirtless Roman, rubbing his eyes.

“Tell him. “She says, gesturing to the man.

I tell them everything. I tell them Gigi asked me to come to the club, that we hadn’t seen each other in weeks. I tell them I think I am in love with her, that we were going to run away, but we got cornered in the parking lot. I tell them about the van and show them the grainy photos I was able to take. I tell them I went looking for Alexei but could not find him.

A meaningful look passes between the two of them as Roman dials a number on his phone. Someone answers quickly and I can hear them talking in rapid Russian, though I cannot tell what it being said. I watch Roman’s face, but he betrays nothing as he listens. Only when he hangs up the call does the color drain from his face.

“Alexei has done this. It was a setup.”

CHAPTER 17

Galina

Ihave fought as hard as I can, even as these men shoved a gag in my mouth and a needle in my arm. They throw me into the back of a van, the metal cold and unyielding against my mostly bare skin. The doors shut and the space is pitch black. A warm sensation starts at the site of the injection, and I know I probably have little time to think cohesively, to try to find a way out.

I roll to my side and crawl to the back door of the van, now moving quickly, and pull on the handle. Locked, to no surprise. There are no windows, and a solid separation of metal between this box I am in and the front seats.

A guttural growl of frustration erupts as I bang on the walls of the van. And then…

I realize they did not take my purse. My phone is in my purse.

I pull it out. I have only five-percent battery but that will be enough. I send a text to Vera:Taken by Russians. Black metal van. Five big men. Vasily was hurt. He was there. Can help.

I am so drowsy now, too drowsy to panic when my phone powers off, the battery drained. My stomach is queasy. I lie down on the cold floor of the moving vehicle as my eyes get heavier and heavier, too heavy…

My first instinct when I wake is to jerk forward, but I find I cannot. My wrists and ankles have been tied to the posts of a twin bed, I find, wearing myself out as I thrash and snarl against the confinement. When I finally calm, breathing hard from exertion, I look around.

I am in the bedroom of what looks like an old farmhouse. There is peeling, floral wallpaper on the walls – white with yellow flowers. The floor is hardwood, scuffed and dull from long use. There is a window at the end of the room and I can see green grass.

The sound of heavy boots on stairs, and then walking down a hallway. When the doorknob jiggles with the insertion of a key, I tense and look down at myself. I am still in the tiny dress I wore out to the club, so there is not much fabric covering me at the moment. I do not feel as if I have been violated but suddenly, the possibility seems very, very real. My heart beats wildly as I thrash against my restraints all over again.

The door opens, Alexei walking through it.

“Rychit, kak poymanny medved’” he says, chuckling as I glare at him.

“Snarling like a trapped bear.”

He clomps forward, boots loud on the wood floor, and scoots a wooden chair over so he can sit at the bedside.

“Fucking asshole,” I say, spitting at him.

He grins and leans forward to touch my cheek. I recoil, as best I can anyway.

“Baby bear,” he coos. “Settle down.”

“Fuck you,” I growl. “You disloyal prick.”

He seems unaffected by the statement. If anything, it makes him smile even more.

“Do you want to talk about loyalty?” he asks in thickly accented English. “I have been stuck babysitting Sasha’s brat for last seven years when I should be at top of organization bynow. And why? My father fucked up guarding your slut mother. Bullet in his brain, yes? And my punishment is to do the same, worthless job.”

Alexei rolls his eyes and picks at his fingernails.

“How is that my problem?” I ask. “I never asked for any of this. I am not a part of my father’s business. I just want to live my life.”

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