Eagle Elite Volume II, page 37
He lived.
But blamed me.
What? Like my mere presence caused his heart to stop?
Tears stung at the back of my eyes as I glared at the papers. I wanted a life away from my father, away from his control, away from my family. This morning I’d been so excited about my research, about meeting a man who was my idol.
It sucked.
Meeting someone you idolized for five years only to find out he’s not the hero after all—but a complete monster in disguise.
Two and a half hours—and my monster would return.
I’d be ready.
I just needed to say that in the mirror about fifty more times after finishing that bottle of champagne.
CHAPTER FIVE
Police suspect the Pier Killer may be a woman based on the hate crime toward women’s reproductive organs, reports reveal. —The Seattle Tribune
Nikolai
The elevator doors closed. I glanced at my reflection through the smooth metallic surface and looked away.
My entire life I’d avoided mirrors, shiny surfaces—anything that would reveal to me what I already knew about myself.
That I was a monster.
The eyes are the window to the soul, and I knew better than anyone else that mine was a very dark place. In bartering for Maya’s life, I hadn’t once thought about what I would do when I was finished with her.
Granted, she had to survive that long.
And so many pieces had to fall into place for that to happen that I knew getting attached would damn near kill me, destroy possibly the last shred of humanity I had left.
When the doors opened, I forced a smile across my lips—it felt awkward—it always did because happiness was such a foreign emotion I wasn’t sure I would even recognize it if it came and hit me upside the head.
“Mr. Blazik.” Tom Mikelson, one of the board members, walked by me giving a slight wave of his hand.
“Tom.” I nodded and forced the smile wider. “How’s your wife? Recovering from hip surgery?”
“Oh yes.” Tom rocked back on his heels then pushed his spectacles up on his large nose. He resembled a younger version of Santa Claus, with graying hair, ruddy cheeks and pronounced lips and nose, he was the closest thing to a friend I had.
Which was pathetic when I really thought about it.
“She loved the flowers.” He nervously tapped his pen against his leg as he was prone to do when I engaged in conversation with him. He was fidgety, always fidgety when approached by authority. “You didn’t really have to do that.”
“I did,” I said in a soft voice, trying to put him at ease. “And I’m happy she’s doing well.”
“Yes well.” Tom cleared his throat.
“Was there something else?”
He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Mr. Petrov is waiting for you in your office. I noticed him waltz in when I was coming down to deliver some contracts.”
“Thank you.” I touched his shoulder. “I’ll deal with him. Why don’t you take a long lunch?” I pulled back. “In fact, take off the afternoon, visit that wife of yours.”
His eyes narrowed in the protective way they often did when he suddenly felt the need to come to my defense, I might be the boss but he had a son my age, and always felt the need to step up to the battle if called. “Listen Nikolai, if Petrov is sniffing around again I can—”
“It’s fine.” I chuckled. “I promise. Now, go take care of your wife, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He licked his lips, his eyes darting back and forth with uncertainty before he stepped back and nodded. “Right. I’ll do that.”
“Good afternoon, Tom.”
“Nikolai.”
He rarely called me by my first name. It still made him uncomfortable to do so, and he only threw it out there when he was concerned. I thought of it as a paternal instinct, but I wouldn’t know. Both my parents were dead.
I straightened my tie and made my way to my office.
Sheila, my assistant, shared a look of disdain with me before shaking her head and grabbing her purse.
“An hour should be adequate.” I opened the door for her to leave and listened to her heels click against the marble floors. Typically, she took her breaks whenever Petrov was in the building. I didn’t want her asking questions, and I sure as hell didn’t need her to know what was going on so that she could incriminate not only herself but my entire company.
I reached for the door to my office and pulled it open.
Classical music floated through the air. The distinct smell of expensive cigars and my finest whiskey gave way to the familiar scent of Petrov. He was seated at my desk as if he owned the damn world, twirling a cigar between his fingers.
“How did it go?” he asked.
“As well as could be expected.” I walked over to the sidebar and poured myself a healthy glass of whiskey and sat on the couch, showing him my ease at his visit even while I was wondering in the back of my mind if he really would keep his end of the bargain.
“Good.” He stood. “I was worried.”
“Bullshit.” I took a swig of whiskey. “Try again.”
He pulled his lips back, revealing even white teeth as he formed a menacing smile against his pale complexion and dark hair. Petrov was a large man, he enjoyed the finer things in life and it showed in his skin and inability to wear a suit that wasn’t made strictly for his large body.
“Can a father not be concerned for his daughter?”
I pressed my lips together to keep myself from insulting him and stood. What about his other daughter? The one that was currently dying from cancer? Did he care for her? Just thinking of Andi made me want to run my fist through the man’s arrogant face, but now wasn’t the time to act, not yet. “So, now that you know she’s just fine, you’ll be leaving? Wasn’t that part of the deal?”
“The deal…” he repeated, puffing out smoke from his mouth. “I’ve come to renegotiate.”
“No.” I walked slowly toward the door.
“I rarely hear that word.”
“I wonder if it’s because you kill the individuals before they have a chance to utter it.” I tilted my head in amusement. “Now, if that’s all?”
“This isn’t over.” Petrov put out his cigar on my mahogany desk and strutted toward the door. “Eventually you will renegotiate, you’ll need a favor so I keep your little secret quiet.”
It wasn’t fear I experienced in that moment, more like dread. I’d fought for years to keep my identity a secret, to keep my Family name in the clear.
“The contract states you have no choice.” I crossed my arms. “So, unless one of us breaks said contract…”
“Hah.” He tilted his head back and barked out a strangled laugh. “Have you seen my Maya? I’m surprised the contract isn’t already void.”
“I have self-control.” Disgusted that my suspicions were correct, I turned away from him, giving him my back was basically like pulling a gun on the man. It was disrespectful, but it was all I had. Having him in the same building, let alone the same city as Maya didn’t sit well with me. She’d always been more of a pawn than a daughter, and I was beginning to realize how much.
“Till we meet again,” Petrov said in a calm voice.
The door to my office shut with a quiet click.
And I was left staring at the smoking cigar on my desk. Wondering how the hell I was going to keep my end of the bargain, when ten minutes ago I was contemplating all the ways I could break it.
CHAPTER SIX
The last female victim has been identified as Mary Smith, a drug addict and prostitute. She was HIV positive. —The Seattle Tribune
Maya
Three hours later and I was still in a state of utter disbelief. I searched the entire apartment. No computer. No phone, not even a phone jack, yes I’d actually gotten desperate enough to search for one.
I was stuck in a freaking compound.
At least I had food. And alcohol.
Pacing the marble white floor, I started chewing my thumbnail. I was a smart girl, logical, able to put pieces together, but each time I tried to make the pieces fit, it was like they rejected each other, and I was just as confused as before.
Who was Nikolai Blazik? And why was I so important?
What the hell did my father do to get on this guy’s bad side? Furthermore, how was Nikolai in the type of position that he could exert power over my father—one of the scariest individuals I’d ever known?
Nothing made sense.
Except one thing… if my father made a deal with Nikolai, that meant he was a scary man, a bad man, one who would think nothing of killing me and making it look like an accident.
My head still hurt.
The sound of a lock turning had my heart speeding up like I was getting ready to witness my own murder. Funny, how I’d look back on that very moment and realize how true my own words were.
But in that moment, with the lock turning, all I could think was that it was some sort of sick joke, or that surely Nikolai would re-think his decision. I had absolutely nothing to offer him—other than my brain and couldn’t he find any girl to do what he needed me to do?
Air whooshed out of my lungs at seeing him again. It should be a crime to be so beautiful, it was as if every single part of his body was in perfect sync with the universe as he made his way slowly across the marble floor, his shoes hitting in perfect cadence with my heart beat.
Slowly, his lips turned up into a breathtaking smile. One that had me staggering backward and wishing he was ugly so I could hate him.
But it was hard to hate pretty. Even I had to admit that. And Nikolai? He was more than pretty, he was beautiful. All our lives we’re told that ugly, deformed, is bad—but it’s a lie. Sometimes the most terrifying things you will ever encounter are also the most beautiful.
“I see you’ve read the folder?” He pointed down at the coffee table where I’d basically made a massacre of all the different pages.
“Yeah.” I croaked. My body and voice were so not in sync at that moment and my heart was still beating so hard I was afraid he was going to see the pulse in my neck and attack vampire style—he seemed the type. In fact, the whole scenario seemed like a vampire movie gone bad.
“Any questions?” His right hand grazed my shoulder gently prodding me toward the couch. With no other option but to listen to his crazy talk, I sat.
“Questions.” I huffed. “Why can’t I have access to the outside world? You do realize this is kidnapping, right?”
Nikolai pressed his lips together like he was fighting not to laugh. “Kidnapping would mean you were a mere child I’d lured here under false pretenses. Need I remind you, you spent the better part of your year calling my offices begging—”
“I didn’t beg.”
“—begging…” Brushing off my protest like an insignificant insect, he continued. “… for one interview, for ten minutes of my time, at first I believe you asked for an hour but when that wouldn’t work you were willing to meet me for twenty minutes, fifteen, finally ten, and I think the last phone call bordered on needing a restraining order when you threatened my secretary.”
Heat rushed into my face. “Well, I wasn’t sure she was giving you my messages.”
“She was.”
Awkward. I chewed my lipstick—or what was left of it—from my lower lip. “So, you’re saying that I’m here by choice.”
“Was it your choice to come to the office this afternoon?”
“Yes but—”
“And was it your choice to ask for an interview?”
“Yes.” I gritted my teeth. “But had I known it would be you owning me, not allowing me to question you, then I would have said no.”
He tilted his head to the side, his dark brown eyes going completely black. “That’s a lie.”
“So now I’m a liar?”
“Yes.” He said it so simply, so confidently, that I wanted to strangle him. “You would have been too curious to turn me down.”
“Hah, curiosity killed the cat.” I made a cutting motion across my throat.
His eyes narrowed in on my neck, as if watching the very pulse that was starting to speed up again. “You have beautiful skin… it’s very… soft isn’t it?” Lean fingers reached out and tapped the rhythm of my pulse against my neck. “Hmm…”
“Um.” My lips were trembling in anticipation of more touching. “About the job.”
“It’s yours,” he whispered, still not taking his eyes from my neck.
“Gee thanks, because that’s what I came here for, a job where I’m locked away from the Internet, can’t make any phone calls or watch Netflix, oh, and am apparently prevented from engaging in any sort of sexual relationship.”
His hand jerked back. “So that’s what this is about?”
“Yes,” I said through clenched teeth. “Being locked up in solitary doesn’t piss me off, but not being able to have sex does.” The asshole was insufferable!
Nostrils flaring, he turned away. “It’s impossible.”
“What is?”
“A relationship.” He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down that gorgeous neck of his. I really needed to stop staring. He was the enemy—not a friend.
I think in those early moments I recognized things that should have given me warning. The way he stood, the way he touched me, even his eyes. My subconscious had been warning me, but I was too horrified at my circumstances to listen.
Until it was too late.
“The pay is extravagant.” He licked his lips. “Half a million.”
“A year?” I croaked out. I’d been surrounded by money my whole life, but money, as my father said, had to be earned, it wasn’t freely given. Blood money above all else, was always earned.
“No.” Nikolai stood. “A month.”
“What?” I jumped to my feet. “Half a million a month? What the heck do you have me doing? Burying bodies!”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Would you? For half a million a month?”
“No.” Yes, probably, damn it!
“Another lie.” He angled his head in the other direction. “Come now, aren’t we close enough that you can at least be honest about what makes you tick…?” He moved until he was chest to chest with me, until there was maybe an inch of space between our lips. I fought the urge to lean. He smelled so good and something about him, maybe it was just his indifference, made me want to pick apart all his pieces.
See? I was back at the puzzle scenario.
“I barely know you,” I said in a strained voice.
“Would you like to?” His eyes hooded.
“If you let me go… I’ll come back to work every day. I swear, just let me have some sort of freedom and—”
“The contract is non-negotiable, I’m afraid. You either agree or…” His features inscrutable, he offered a weak half-shrug.
“Or?” I crossed my arms, taking a step back. “You kill me and bury my body?”
“You paying me half a million?” he fired back with a smile that actually managed to reach his eyes. “Everyone has a price, Maya.”
“I don’t.”
“You do.” He nodded, and his smile dwindled a bit. “Your price was an interview, and look how generous I’m being… giving you a year in my presence.”
“So now I’m supposed to say thank you?”
“It would only be polite.” He smirked. “But I’m a patient man. I’ll wait until you say the words.”
“I never will.”
“Lie after lie… Will you never learn?”
“What are you, a personal lie detector?”
His eyes drank me in for a few seconds before he whispered, “I know people.”
A shiver rippled through me but I managed to suppress it. “At least give me Internet.”
“I’ll tell you what…” He crossed his arms, mimicking me. “I’ll give you Internet… after you’ve worked for a few days and I find your work acceptable.”
“And if it’s not.”
“Then we’re back to burying bodies, aren’t we?” Another smile lifted his lips. That meant he was joking, right?
“Okay.”
“Fabulous.” He rubbed his hands together. “Now, go get dressed.”
“I am dressed.”
“Work.” He said in an ‘all business’ manner, “Will start this evening, only because I don’t have all week to train you. I need to be in Chicago Friday.”
“You get to go to Chicago while I sit in solitary confinement?”
“Would it make you happy if I gave you access to the library?”
“Library?” I perked up.
“You love the classics, am I right?”
“Stop being creepy.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “I don’t think anyone’s ever called me that.”
“To your face, probably not.”
“I like you.”
Schooling my expression, I leveled a cool stare at him and forced calm into my voice, even though I was ready to lose my sanity. “Well, the feeling’s not mutual.”
He smirked. “Believe me, it will be. Now, go get dressed. The closet in the master bedroom should have adequate clothing. Wear all black and please try not to take too long, we don’t want to be late.”
“You’re the boss. It’s impossible to be late.”
“Maya,” he snapped. “Get dressed. Now.”
Was I getting to him? A little thrill shot through me at the possibility. “Say please.”
“I haven’t uttered that word in ten years.”
“Try.”
With a long sigh he looked away and murmured. “Please.”
“Better.”
He pointed down the hall. “Go.”
“Fine.” I shuffled off into the general direction of the master bedroom and quickly found an outfit that would work. Black leggings, a long black sweater, and black boots.
Several masks lined the wall of my closet, the type that might be worn at a masquerade. Did that mean he hosted parties up here? Or was he thinking I’d somehow put on a mask, too? Well, he was in for one hell of a fight because I wasn’t dressing up like it was Halloween in order to do a job I didn’t even want. I accidentally knocked one of the masks off the wall as I walked by. With a curse, I bent down and picked one up. There was something so familiar about the white, something so… red. It made absolutely no sense, but it was almost like I could see blood staining it. With a shake of my head, I stood, placing it back on the wall and put on my shoes.
