Page 26 of Kneel for Me

“Yes, sir,” Mark answered.

I looked down at Ivan, roaming my eyes over his face. “I don’t feel so crazy when you’re next to me,” I blurted.

He barked out a surprised laugh. “That’s because I embrace my sanity,kotik. And one day, you will, too.”

I just hummed in response. He was probably right, but I wasn’t going to dwell on it.

The day I gave into my sanity would no doubt be the day I fell for him completely. I still hadn’t decided if giving into Ivan completely would be a good or bad thing.

21

Ivan

“James is awake,” Adrian announced as we neared the estate. I slowly blinked my eyes open, not realizing I’d dozed off. But my headache was wearing off, now just a dull ache I could tolerate. Lifting my head, I leaned back on the seat and yawned, rubbing at my eyes.

“That’s good,” I grumbled, my voice husky with sleep.

Adrian was typing away at his phone as he said, “I’m telling Darren to get him discharged and get him to the safe house. I already sent the address to Jaxon. Dr. Lebedev is ready to go when they are. When we finish with Crane, I’ll pack them some bags, and we’ll take them to the safe house.”

I nodded, then turned to look out the window. The tree line was getting thicker, which meant we were getting closer to the estate. Leaning over, I looked around Adrian to Crane, who was still slumped against the opposite door, knocked clean the fuck out. A bit of blood was running down his temple.

“He’s going to have a nasty headache when he wakes up,” I mused.

Adrian snorted. When I turned my head to look at him, he was smirking at me, a sort of lightness to his eyes that wasn’t normally there. Sitting back up, I gripped his chin, turning his head to face me. He arched a questioning brow at me when I just stared at him, drinking him in. “What?”

“You were already sexy as fuck, but you seem… freer. It’s kind of breathtaking,” I confessed.

His lips quirked up at the corners into a sort of half smile. “That’s because you’re not used to seeing me not hate your guts.”

I snickered and dropped my hand. “You never hated me,kotik. But youdidhate how much you wanted me. There’s a difference.”

We came to a stop outside of the gates, and Mark entered the code to get us through. Once we pulled up in front of the door, I got out before Mark could come open my door, then strode around to the side Crane was on. Adrian was just getting out as I reached Crane’s door. “Hold on,” Adrian told me.

I smirked at him and ignoring his request to wait, opened the door, letting Crane faceplant onto the pavement. A low groan I was pretty sure he tried to hide sounded from his throat. Adrian sighed as he rounded the car. Mark snickered. Using my shoe, I rolled Crane onto his back, grimacing at the sight of his crushed nose. Crouching, I slapped Crane’s cheek hard. He slowly blinked his eyes open, and I gave him a little finger wave.

“How long have you been awake, sunshine?” I asked. “If you were biding your time to escape, I hate to break it to you, but you’re shit out of luck.”

He spat blood on my face. Sighing, I stood back to my full height. Mark held out a napkin, and I used it to clean the blood splatter off my cheek. After handing the tissue back to Mark, I folded my arms behind my back, arching a brow at Crane. “Well, now, that wasn’t very nice,” I crooned. “I’m not even the one who tied you up, sunshine.” He bared his teeth at me, and I lifted my foot, pressing it on his throat. His eyes widened in horror. My mask fell away, and his face paled. “If you spit at me again, I will rip your fucking throat out,” I growled.

Removing my foot, I looked at Adrian. “Let’s get him inside,kotik.”

Leaning down, Adrian yanked Crane onto his feet, then tossed the man over his shoulder like he didn’t weigh a thing. And I had to admit seeing him carry a man that probably weighed as much as he did without breaking a sweat was hot as fuck. For a moment, I contemplated what it’d be like to let Adrian fuck me. To pin me to the mattress before I flipped us over and took control again.

Christ, now I was hard.

“I’ll wait here,” Mark told me.

I nodded once. “Watch your back.”

He smirked. “Always, boss.”

When we entered the mansion, Adrian beelined for a long hall. At the end, he punched in a code on the last door, then pushed it open, flicking on a light. Immediately, Crane began to twist and try to get down. Adrian grunted, almost stumbling down the stairs in front of him from Crane’s weight shifting.

My hands snapped out. My right one gripped Adrian’s shoulder, keeping him upright so he wouldn’t tumble down the stairs. The other latched around Crane’s throat, tightening until he couldn’t fucking breathe. Cocking my head to the side the slightest bit, I narrowed my eyes at him. “If you make him fall down those fucking stairs, you’ll wish you’d just stayed calm and allowed Adrian to torture you,” I growled. “Because I will make you suffer fordays, even after I have every bit of information I want. My patience isendless.”

When I released him, he stayed still. Once I was sure he wouldn’t try something stupid, I released Adrian, allowing him to descend the stairs. Once we were in the basement, Adrian dropped Crane onto a chair in the center of the room. It reeked of bleach and industrial cleaning supplies, instantly making my headache come back. But I kept my mouth shut.

We had answers to get and a man to torture. I wouldn’t sidetrack Adrian. This was too goddamn important.

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