Almost a full day later, I was back home where I’d started. I exited the airport with my carry-on, prepared to wave down a taxi from the line waiting for passengers. Instead, two huge men crowded on either side of me, grabbing my arms. I tried to fight to escape, but they clamped harder on my arms and half-dragged me between them. I knew who they were, having recognized them from the afternoon Ivanov had come to our home, the very day of my father’s memorial service. Where they were, that bastard had to be nearby.

I was still trying to struggle when they shoved me inside a limousine before crowding in beside me on each side. Ivanov sat across from me, and he took my purse when one of the goons snatched it from my fingers. “Give that back.”

He clicked his tongue. “So you can cash your check and make off like a bandit in the night? I think not.”

I watched with horror as he opened my purse and fished out the check from “The Island.” “How…?” I trailed off, briefly wondering if the check would still be safe if I’d left it in my bra instead of moving it to my purse when I boarded the final flight that was bound for New York City.

“I’m intimately involved with “The Island,” Anya. I’m one of the main investors, and you wouldn’t believe what a chuckle I got seeing your name on the roster of competitors for the weekend.” His beady eyes focused on me, and he licked his lips in a hungry fashion. “I quite enjoyed your show, though was aggravated to have a lot of the footage missing when the producer forwarded it to me yesterday. I didn’t get to see your deflowering, for example. Tell me what the hunter did to you, and in great detail.”

I glared at him. “No way.” I wondered if he was the mobster who kept changing the terms on Sid. It wouldn’t surprise me—and didn’t bode well for any deals I might make with him. I doubted he would bother to keep his word on anything.

He leaned across from the other seat, reaching out to put a meaty hand on my knee, revealed by shorts. “Then you can show me, kotyonok.”

I shuddered and pulled my leg away, at least as much as I could maneuver between the two goons pinning me.

With a sigh, he leaned back in his seat and tucked the check into the breast pocket of his lightweight jacket. It stretched across the folds of his body in an unflattering way. “This is a nice down payment toward what you owe, and I’ll give you the standard rate for cashing such a large check. Thirty percent is the fee, and the rest will be applied to your balance.”

I glared at him. “That’s forty-five thousand dollars. You have no idea what I had to do to get that money.” I closed my mouth with a click, remembering he knew exactly what I’d done. Well, except for the most private details, thanks to failing technology.

“I’m being generous, kotyonok. For example, I could be furiously angry with you that you squandered your virginity on that show when I could’ve traded it to a very thankful associate and given you a hefty credit on your account. Instead, I’m choosing to be magnanimous. After all, it was never your virginity I wanted. Frankly, being an American girl at the age of twenty, I expected you would’ve frittered it away long ago.”

I glared at him. “Fine, then surely one hundred and five thousand dollars will buy me a little more time than two weeks?”

He laughed. “That’s not how I do business. I want all of it. Are you prepared to concede? If you entertain me and my associates here, I’ll immediately credit you another five thousand dollars on your account. Taking possession of Sasha will earn you another hundred thousand, and whatever we can sell Carrie’s virginity for will also knock some off your balance. You might be down to working for me for only five years instead of ten if you cooperate. Da?”

I clenched my hands together, struggling not to cry, scream, or tremble visibly despite wanting to do all three. “We still have a few days, and I intend to take advantage of them.”

He let out a sigh, but gave me an indulgent smile. “Suit yourself, but your stubbornness has added another fifty thousand dollars to the balance.”

I wanted to lunge forward and strangle him, but common sense prevailed. “You can’t do that.”

He looked around, waving one hand and an expansive fashion. “Who will stop me, kotyonok? You?” He laughed even harder. “You belong to me, but if you insist on preventing my possession a few more days, I can afford to let you. Just remember, your balance continues to accrue.”

The car started to slow, but the windows were too tinted to see where we were. I was sort of expecting him to just toss me out on the middle of the street wherever we were, so it was a surprise to find myself in front of my home.

One of the goons moved out and offered me a hand out the limo. I disdained it and slid past him, ignoring his grin of amusement, and took my luggage when he held it out. I didn’t look back at Ivanov, but his chilling laughter followed me, along with his words.

“I’ll be back to collect you and your sister in a few days, kotyonok.” Then the car was gone.

I wanted to pretend like it had never happened, but I couldn’t afford to bury my head in the sand that way. I trudged up the walkway, relieved that neither one of my sisters would be back yet, so I had the house to myself tonight to plan.

And cry my heart out. The tears started falling as I fumbled with the key in the lock, but I didn’t give way to heartrending sobs until I was inside and collapsed on the floor of the foyer with my back against the door. I engaged the lock even in my muddled state, in case Ivanov and his goons came back, but then gave in to the storm of tears.

I was crying at first for the futility of it all. He took the check, and he wasn’t even giving me the full credit for it. I was going to be indentured to him for years, and I sure as hell had no way to raise the remaining money—especially since he’d tacked on another fifty thousand dollars. I was no better off than I had been, and I’d participated on the show and lost my virginity for nothing.

Except I couldn’t regret having met Spencer. The circumstances had been sordid, but my time with him hadn’t been at all. I started crying because I’d never see him again either, and I wanted him to swoop in, take me in his arms protectively, and care for me like he had when he claimed me Saturday night. It was a fool’s fantasy that could never happen, and I had to force myself to accept that.

Eventually, I managed to regain enough control of my emotions to drag myself upstairs, toss my luggage in the closet without unpacking, and flop on the bed. I was worn out from travel and emotional upheaval, and I didn’t try to fight sleep. I surrendered to it willfully, needing an escape and any bit of respite, even if it amounted to nothing more than a few hours of slumber.