Page 21 of Debt to the Mafia King
Last night, he had taken charge, but not in a way that made me want to punch him in the eye. Last night it had been hot. In the cold light of day, the dominating, overbearing Viktor was annoying as fuck.
“See,” Viktor’s voice filled the silent car. “You’re even pouting like a child.” Reaching out, he ran the pad of his thumb across the seam of my mouth.
I turned my head away. “I thought you told me to be quiet?” I hissed through gritted teeth, moving out of his reach.
Anger bubbled off of him, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Arguing with him was dangerous, but he kept changing the goal posts, and I was tired of it. Since he had turned up in my life, I had lost all control over it. He didn’t ask, he told, and I didn’t have a say. He gave me no chance to give anything because he was already taking it.
It was driving me insane, and I wasn’t about to pretend otherwise. Sure, we had sexual chemistry, last night had proven that, but I didn’t like him.
Not one little bit.
“Hey,” my eyes widened as I took in my surroundings. Trees lined the road, thick with pine needles, and beyond that, I could glimpse fields. Bare, now that winter was almost here.
“Where are you taking me?”
How the hell hadn’t I noticed? We had left the city. Hell, we weren’t even in the suburbs anymore. This was the countryside. And it looked like there was nothing but trees and asphalt for miles around us.
My heart slammed into my chest, beating erratically.
“Viktor?” I asked even louder. “Where are you taking me?” My voice shook with sudden fear. “Why are we leaving the city?”
“I’ve decided I don’t want to do this in the city. Too many prying eyes and listening ears.” He didn’t even look at me
My heart was galloping now. There was a lump in my throat that I couldn’t swallow.
“You don’t want to do what?” My voice shook.
But it kind of all made sense now. The sudden change of plan. Him coming last night and then turning back up this morning. Even the bundling me out of my house and leaving my stuff behind on the curb.
It all made sense. He was taking me out of the city to kill me. Viktor had bedded me and found out that he wasn’t that interested in me paying off the debt with my body, and now he was driving me to my death.
“Be quiet now, Leah.” Viktor’s voice was clipped, his face stony as he slowed to take a corner, and for a second, his attention didn’t seem to be directly on me.
Heart pounding, I surveyed my surroundings and made a decision. It wasn’t much of a chance, but it was the only one I was going to get.
As quietly as I could, I unclipped my seatbelt. The metallic sound was loud in the quiet, and I risked a glance at Viktor to see if he had heard. He just continued to stare stonily ahead.
I lunged for the door handle, the door swung open, and I felt the whoosh of cool air blowing against my face and whipping my hair back for a split second before Viktor’s hand closed around my wrist and yanked my hand back. “I don’t fucking think so, Leah.”
The yank closed the door with a bang.
He swerved to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes so hard that it was only his hand wrapped around my arm that stopped me from smashing forward into the dashboard.
“Leah, Leah, Leah.” Killing the engine, he undid his own belt and turned to me. His grip on my arm tightened.
Panicked, I lifted my eyes to him. And the anger I saw in them floored me. My heart felt like it was in my throat. This was it, my end. He looked murderous.
“What the hell was that, Printsessa?” he asked, and his voice wasclipped and icy. “Did you really just try and throw yourself out of a moving car?”
“Yes.” Bully for me that my voice didn’t shake. Maybe it was the knowledge that I was about to die that made me brave. Some kind of acceptance. But one thing I knew was that I would face death bravely.
“And did you have a plan for after you fell onto the road?” He cocked his head to the side and studied me like I was some kind of wild exotic animal that he had never seen before. “I mean, if you didn’t break half of your bones, that is.”
“Run.”
His eyebrows quivered upwards, and a smile spread across his full lips. “Run?” He parroted back. “And how far do you think you would get before I caught you?”
I frowned. I hadn’t actually thought that far ahead. All I had thought about was getting out of this car.
