Page 82 of Captive Prize

Shit.

“I’m a fair man. A loyal and righteous man.”

“You’re a disloyal drug addict who would be on a corner in Bogotá sucking cock for coke if your uncle didn’t sell you toLosInfidelesas a child. You are nothing more than a foot soldier whose own people thought so poorly of you, they sold you to work for a Russian woman.”

The next hit came faster, stronger, and made the room spin. My eyes watered and my fingers pulled at the ropes, trying to find the knot so I could untie them. It was no use. The rough hemp cut into my skin, and I couldn’t find the knot.

They were tied so tightly my fingers tingled with the loss of circulation… or maybe it was because I still hadn’t replaced all the blood I lost.

“See, no class. No respect.” Mateo clicked his tongue like he was disciplining a small child. “Here’s how this is going to go. I suggest you listen.”

I clenched my teeth together and said nothing.

Waiting for whatever bullshit was going to come out of his mouth. If I knew what the fuck he was thinking, maybe I could find a way out of this.

Mateo grabbed a small card table and set it up in front of me. On top of it, he put my laptop, the one that was thrown to the floor when Roman abducted me.

He opened the screen, and even though there was a large crack splitting it down the middle, I could see the home screen of my bank, all ready for me to log in.

Fuck.

“So you are going to log in to your account. Then you’re going to transfer all of your money to me. Every red Russian cent of your husband’s money, and your father’s money. Absolutely every dollar to your name will be transferred to me and then I will let you walk out of here.”

“Hard pass,” I said, glaring at him. I had built this empire myself.

It took years.

I had taken the money my husband left me, and the money from my family now that my father was indisposed, and through ruthless ambition and sheer determination, built something new from the ashes of my father’s empire and what was left ofLos Infideles.

Something that was mine.

The only thing left to avenge was the Ivanovs’ actions.

They had been the ones to burnLos Infidelesto the ground; they had been the ones to topple my father’s empire by assassinating my brothers.

They had also been the ones to destroy my family’s name and reputation. As soon as I killed them, I would have righted that wrong and the world would be mine.

I had come too far, bled too much, to let it all be taken now by some misogynistic, tiny-dicked drug addict on a power trip.

“You will transfer the money,” he growled.

It sounded weak and pathetic.

“And if I don’t?” I asked, still meeting his gaze, still daring him with every fucking word.

“If you don’t,” he laughed and stepped over to me, his hand petting my breast through the thin cotton T-shirt I wore that still carried his scent, “then I will hurt you. I will hurt you until pain means nothing to you anymore. Then I will give you to the men. I will make sure they know their friends and family members who lost their lives to that Ivanov dog did so because of you.”

I scoffed, not wanting him to see how much his words scared me.

“I will tell them how those men gave their lives thinking that you were being hurt, were being held against your will, just to find out that instead of being a prisoner, you were that Ivanov devil’s slut. How many men do you think will want to fuck the Ivanovs’ newest whore?”

“Fuck you,” I seethed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be going first. In fact, I might just take you before I break you. Make sure you can still feel every single inch.”

“Every single inch? You mean both of them?” I asked, blinking up at him.

“Whore,” he said and hit me again. My ears rang and my headache was getting more intense by the moment.

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