“She’s a manipulative bitch. And I didn’t like the way she was talking to you.” “Please,” I scoffed, turning away from him. “What she said was less insulting than what you’ve said to me.” “You want me to apologize for that too?” I spun to face him. “I want you to let me go!” My chest heaved in the silence that followed. Too late, I realized I was looking him in the eyes, which were blue and unwavering. I felt myself turning to stone. Cracks weaved through my resolve, splintering the anger and flooding in the thick emotion I didn’t want. The ache returned to my chest so intensely tears burned their way to the surface. I turned to walk away from him, through the maze of chairs, but I didn’t reach the door. He grabbed my wrist and forced my back against the overturned table before bracing his hands on either side to cage me in. By the tension lining his shoulders, he was completely fed up with me. “T don’t regret a lot of things, kotyonok, but I do regret what I did last night.” “Because you almost lost your collateral,” I replied emotionlessly. “No,” he said harshly. “Because you could have died.” I wanted to believe him so much a cold sweat spread through me, but his voice was also so heavy my lungs fought for a dose of oxygen. I needed air, though when I tried to escape, he wouldn’t let me go. Not from the room, the house, or his life. The hold he had on my waist was like granite; hard but smooth to the touch. Futilely, I struggled even as the smell of him —a scent so rough and persuasive—reached my heart, convincing me the last thing I wanted was for him to let me go. “Tell me what you really want from me, kotyonok. You can have it. Anything besides letting you go.” A part of me desired to say I wanted nothing else from him, but it was a lie. It seemed I couldn’t force those words past my lips even to save my own soul. It was already his. “You want to make it even and shoot me for real?” He pulled back and forced cold metal into my palm. “Go for it. It’s fully loaded this time.” Just the weight of the gun broke a dam inside me, sending hot tears down my cheeks. I sucked in a shaky breath and shook my head, letting the pistol drop to the floor. “That’s not what I want.”