Chapter 9

Alexei

 

I left her alone after she spoke those two words to me. I didn’t let on that I knew what she said but she wasn’t wrong. She saw the devil in me and I can’t say she was mistaken. I’m not a good man nor am I pure evil. For if I was, I would have taken her without her consent right there. Touching her soft skin and feeling how she felt that chemistry between us too almost had me rethinking myself. I had to leave. She watched me go without another word, but I find myself intrigued to know more. She didn’t want to be returned home which made me wonder why. What happened that was so bad for her there? The thought alone that someone else may have hurt her sends anger coursing through me. It makes no sense to have these feelings for someone that I don’t even know, yet they’re there.

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” Dmitry asks as I pull my shirt down my arms and circle the chair in the basement.

“Are you calling me weak?”

“No, I’m calling you the Vor. You don’t have to partake in this,” he says motioning to the table of tools he’s set up.

“I am the Vor and I can do as I please. I need the distraction,” I admit to him. Dmitry nods his head as I circle Jimmy. We’ve been looking for him for a while now and when Dmitry told me he found him, I was ecstatic. Jimmy sits naked in the chair in the middle of my basement not saying a word. He’s better off that way if I’m being honest. After having that girl in my house for weeks, my head is a little cloudy. She hasn’t spoken to me again and I’ve given her a free pass to roam as she wishes. We run into each other occasionally, although I mostly plan it that way. Every corner of my house has a camera set up for security purposes and I find myself watching her more and more. The subtle way she moves, the way she talks to Vera and Alina. It pisses me off that she will relate to them but brushes me off.

“Are you just going to pretend this isn’t the way you’re going to die?” I chuckle as I ask Jimmy. He gazes up at me but he doesn’t utter a word. I walk to the table and grab cutters before moving back toward him.

“When we have a rat that speaks to the police, we have a problem. The only way to fix that problem is to rid ourselves of the infestation. I thought better of you, Jimmy. I thought higher of you, but I see that I was wrong. You are nothing to the syndicate. You will be punished accordingly. Which will be by death, but you will also serve as an example to others that wish to cross us,” I inform him as I reach for his hand.

“Fuck you,” he sneers at me. I chuckle once more as I bring the cutters to his finger. His body tenses knowing what’s about to happen to him. He doesn’t try to hide it either as he clenches his eyes closed. I squeeze the handle and listen as the bone is cut in half. Jimmy screams loudly, piercing my ears as he does.

“Which one should we send your girlfriend?” I ask. Jimmy’s eyes widen as he looks up at me with tears streaming down his face. “Oh, you thought we didn’t know about her, yes? We do and that little boy of yours too. He’s at the perfect age to become a soldier, don’t you think?” Anger filters into his eyes as he screams at me, trying to free himself of the binds that hold him to the chair.

“I’ll fucking kill you! I will come after you!”

“Highly unlikely,” Dmitry muses from next to me. I shrug and smile.

“He is right. You won’t be leaving this room to come after me. Don’t worry though, Jimmy. I will make sure your boy is well taken care of,” I sneer as I cut off another finger. Blood coats my hands as I finish cutting each finger from his hand. I plan on sending one to all his family members as a reminder that you do not speak to the authorities. For any reason. Let alone to try to bring me down. Once Jimmy has passed out from the pain, I look to Dmitry.

“You want some?” He nods his head and walks to the table grabbing a knife. He gets to work carving at Jimmy’s skin as I watch.

“What of his boy? Are we going to use him?”

“No. I just wanted the threat to linger. I wanted him to take that with him to his death. His breed is not worthy of such things,” I tell him. Dmitry chuckles before holding the knife out to me. I grab it in my hand, walk behind Jimmy, and grab a handful of hair. Tipping his head back, I slide the knife across his throat. Too bad he wasn’t awake for this part. The blood sprays out, some landing on my chest. It isn’t until I look up that I see her. Wide blue eyes watch the knife in my hand as if it’s a mirage. Dmitry follows my gaze when I can’t pull away from her. My cock hardens painfully as I watch the look in her eyes.

“You want me to grab her?” Dmitry asks. I nod once and walk to place the knife on the table. Much to my surprise when Dmitry heads toward her, she jerks away walking herself into the room.

“Leave us,” I tell him. He nods and leaves, closing the door behind him. I watch her, the girl who refuses to give me her name as she walks closer to the dead body. I’m intrigued as to what she thinks, but the more I watch her, the more I don’t want to speak. I’m under a spell. A spell that is all her and the curiosity that lingers in those big blue eyes. She steps up next to Jimmy and raises her hand but before she touches him, she looks to me as if to ask permission. I nod my head because frankly, I want to see what she will do. When she runs her fingers along the cut on his neck, I nearly come in my slacks. I’ve never seen this kind of wonder in a woman before.  When she pulls her hand away from him, she looks at the blood that now coats her skin before looking up at me with curious eyes.

“What are you doing?” I ask her calmly trying to figure out what her play is. She doesn’t say a word of course, but she does move toward me slowly, cautiously. Her eyes roam over my chest, no doubt taking in the many tattoos that adorn my body before raising her hand to touch me. Again, she looks to me for permission which I give with a nod. Her fingers slowly move, barely touching me at first. Then she starts to trace the lines of the stars that are permanently inked onto my shoulders. Stars that show the position I hold. No one has ever touched them before, so why am I letting her now?

“You are very intrigued, yes?” She slowly drags her gaze to mine and nods before looking back at my chest. My body is buzzing with excitement and lust. I want to take her, slam her against the wall and fuck her in all our bloody glory. I rein it all in because frankly, I’m impressed with her. She hasn’t spoken but two words to me since she’s been here and now she’s touching me like I’m a prized possession. Her fingers roam further down over my abs and I stuck in a breath. Her eyes dart back to me, a small smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

“You like driving me crazy?” She tilts her head as if she’s trying to figure out what she’s doing to me. As if she doesn’t know that her touch is igniting a flame inside of me.

“Clara,” she says softly, and I’m stunned. She spoke to me on her own.

“Your name?” I ask getting a nod in return. She goes back to her exploration of my body, but I can’t handle anymore. I lose myself, grabbing her shoulders and spinning her around, pressing her body against the wall. Her eyes widen but she doesn’t move or make a sound.

“You’re playing with the devil, Clara,” I tell her before grabbing her face in my hands. I lean down quickly and slam my lips against hers, tasting her. I devour her mouth in a heated kiss that is going to get me in trouble, but I don’t stop. My tongue runs along the seam of her mouth and a soft whimper escapes her. When she parts her lips, I slide my tongue in and take what I need from her. She’s as eager as I am, kissing me back but as our tongues slide against each other, something is off. I pull away and look down at her, my brows furrowed. She knows what I found and that look on her face says it all. She’s ashamed. She ducks under my arm and runs from the room as I try to figure out what the hell happened.