“Alek had no reason to be in that neighbourhood, Leah. It’s known for, well, it’s not exactly the posh end of town.”
“We aren’t exactly in the affluent part either,” I reminded him.
“No, but that area is bad. There are rumors.” His voice dropped to a whisper, and my heart sped up.
“What kind of rumors?”
“That he got in with a seriously bad crowd. That he wasrunning drugs for them.”
My sigh was loud. That sounded like Alek. Always looking for an easy way to make money. I hated to speak ill of the dead, but Alek was a complete nightmare. Not even dying seemed to have changed that.
“That sounds about right.”
“Rumor is he stole some—”
I fell back against the cushions and pinched the bridge of my nose. And there it was. The reason for the debt. My darling of an ex boyfriend had stolen drugs from the Bratva, and now they were knocking on my door for the money.
“I want you to be careful, Leah. Don’t go anywhere alone and lock your doors, ok?”
“Ok,” I said in a small voice. “But I don’t think—”
Again, he cut me off. “I’m probably being paranoid, but I love you like a sister, and I don’t want anything to happen to you. I’ll come right over after work.”
How could I tell him that it was already too late. Alek’s stupidity had already brought danger to my door in the shape of a tall, older man with a growly voice and the kind of touch that no woman should want, but I did?
How did I tell my best friend that it was already too late for me?
“Chinese food?”
His question took me by surprise, and I blinked rapidly. “It’s my turn to cook or order.”
“My treat,” Dion said smoothly. “Saves you going out again today. I have to go, a delivery just arrived. I’ll see you about six, ok? Love you.”
“Love you, too,” I whispered, but the line was already dead. Tossing the phone back onto the table, I sighed.
Dion was worried about me going out alone, when he didn’t really need to be. Danger wasn’t waiting for me out on the streets. It had been waiting for me right here in my own home.
“Damn you, Alek,” I muttered into the suddenly quiet room. “Damn you to fucking hell for getting yourself killed.” My eyes closed. “If you weren’t already dead, I would kill you.”
Standing, I flipped down onto the threadbare sofa and pulled thethrow over myself. I let my thoughts drift. I was tired, exhausted, and wrung out, and I didn’t know how much more I could take without sleep.
It came quickly, but it wasn’t Alek’s face I saw when I drifted off. It wasn’t even everything I had just been though. There was only one thing on my mind when I slipped into unconsciousness.
And that was Viktor.
More specifically, how he would feel when he slipped between my thighs and pushed into me for the first time? What kind of woman did that make me? A fucked up one, that was what.
My core clenched, a tight knot deep in my body. Would he be a gentle lover? No, that didn’t seem like Viktor at all. There was nothing gentle about him. He was all power, all the time, and part of me knew that he would be like that in the bedroom, masculine, demanding, fucking dominating.
Half asleep, I gave a whimper. Would he even care if I came? Or would he be all about his own pleasure and forget mine? Would he take my body and give me nothing but freedom from my ex’s debt?
I didn’t know, but I knew I didn’t have long to find out.
In three days time Viktor would be back to claim me, and I would find out then just what kind of lover he was.
Chapter Four
Viktor