Page 16 of Paved in Venom

Her body stiffens in my lap. I look at Ernst. “Not necessary.”

“If she escapes, there is no refund.”

“She won’t escape,” I tell him, knowing there’s no way in fuck I’m going to let him inject her with something that will allow them to know her whereabouts at all times. No fucking way.

I ignore Ernst’s pissed-off face and look up at the man who’s been escorting me around. “Are we free to leave?”

“Yes, sir,” he says.

I grab her hips and help her up, and then I keep an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close to me. She may not appreciate it, but I need to keep her safe, and there’s no way any of these fuckers are ever going to touch her again.

“I’m very happy with my purchase tonight,” I tell him. “I’d like to extend my thanks to whoever’s in charge of all this.” I smile and gesture around. “This is a pretty impressive set up.”

The man smiles but shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Mr. Melnikov, but no one is allowed to meet the man in charge.”

I act like I’m not upset in the slightest. “Well, please pass on my thanks.” I look down at the woman in my arms. “She’s exceeded my expectations.”

He smiles and opens the door for us. “I will, sir, and it’s been a pleasure doing business with you.”

We follow him further down the hall. I keep my arm around her while she fists my suit jacket, keeping it pulled tightly around her still shaking body. She doesn’t try to push my arm off, but I think that’s more out of fear and exhaustion than anything else.

Instead of leading us back up to the main entrance I came in at, he brings us to an underground parking garage. The only people here are valets, and my Aston Martin is just being brought around when we arrive. I slip the valet a tip and open the door for the woman I just bought. She gets in, being careful to avoid looking at me, and when I shut the door, I see her press up against it, presumably to get as far away from where I’m going to be sitting as possible.

I get in, and as soon as my door is shut, I drive us the fuck out of here. Glancing over at her, I see her hand gripping the door handle and her eyes straining to see out the car window, probably trying to place exactly where she is.

“I know you’re scared,” I tell her in Russian, “but I promise I’m not going to hurt you.”

She looks over at me, brows scrunched in confusion. “Why do you keep speaking to me in that language?”

I’m so shocked that it takes me a second to switch to English and ask. “You’re American?”

“Yes, and you’re apparently just like them. Will it do me any good to beg for my freedom, or should I just bide my time until I can kill you and make a break for it?”

“I’m not going to hurt you,’ I tell her. She lets out a harsh laugh, but I keep going. “I know it’s hard for you to believe right now, but I’m not.”

“You make a habit of buying kidnapped women, Mr. Melnikov?”

“You’re my first, and you can call me Danil.”

I sigh and call Roman, telling him in Russian what’s happened and that we’re on our way. When I hang up, I look over at her, knowing that nothing I can say right now is going to make her feel better. She doesn’t trust a word out of my mouth, and I don’t blame her. Why would she? My only hope is that when she meets everyone else, she’ll realize we’re telling her the truth. She rubs at her wrist, wincing when her fingers touch the raw skin.

“I’m sorry you had to get that. It was unavoidable. I’ll put some medicine on it when we get home.”

“Whatever,” she mumbles. “It’s not like it matters.”

“It does to me.” I pull into the parking garage of our building, and when I’ve parked, I turn to look at her. “What’s your name?”

“Simona.”

“That’s a beautiful name.”

She rolls her eyes at me.

“Look, I know you don’t trust me, and that’s fine, for now anyway, but I need you to at least trust me enough to hear me out when we get inside. Will you give me that?”

She studies me in the dim light, trying to get a read on me, and after several tense seconds, she nods. “Fine. It’s not like I have a choice anyway.”

I don’t argue because she doesn’t have a choice. If she fought me on it, I’d pin her against me until she wore herself out and then I’d tell her everything she needs to hear. This way is just a lot easier. We get out of the car, and I motion to the private elevator in the corner.

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