Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 15192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 76(@200wpm)___ 61(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 76(@200wpm)___ 61(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
Why is it that when he’s not beside me, I think too much to the point where I’m triggering my own panic attack, but when he’s near, my thoughts go quiet?
To think he’s the main cause of my distress.
Behind me, I hear my sisters snicker, but I pay them no mind. I loop my arm through Nikolai’s and leave with as much dignity as I can muster, even though every single guest knows this is nothing more than a business transaction for both parties.
A weird sensation settles in my gut. In this room full of predators and opportunists, the one I will gravitate to if shit goes sideways is Nikolai. I met him just over two hours ago, but I will choose him over my own family. I know, deep down, the safest place is with him.
Yes, he’s a monster, and yes, he probably did most of those things I heard him do. Then again, it’s not like Father doesn’t have blood on his hands either. In our world, it’s kill or be killed.
Nikolai just happens to be the alpha predator.
We head to his vehicle, and while I expect him to let me figure out how to climb the truck in my heels, he surprises me yet again when he lifts me in his arms and deposits me on the seat as though I weigh nothing. He doesn’t do so much as grunt.
As my seatbelt clicks into place, I cast a sidelong glance at Nikolai. He’s looking straight ahead, and in this view, I can see his nose was once broken. A few days of stubble darkens his jaw, and a muscle ticks as he clenches it.
The truck’s interior is quiet, except for the low hum of the engine and the soft rustle of the air conditioning, as he drives away. The space between us feels dense and charged, and the tension is palpable—a thick fog of something I can’t identify.
“I meant what I said back there, Nina.” Nikolai’s voice almost makes me jump in my seat, but he keeps his gaze fixed firmly on the road ahead. “The last person you need to fear is me. That assurance isn’t enough, I know, especially given all the stories everyone probably fed you, but in the next few days, you’ll realize I’m a man of my word.”
Before she died five years ago, Mom said I had a good pulse on people, and I needed to listen to it. My gut instinct will tell me who to avoid, what to believe, and when to run away. So far, my gut hasn’t failed me yet. Hopefully, now won’t be the first time.
It’s just words, but I’m already half-convinced Nikolai is telling the truth. “I know.”
“No, you don’t. Not yet, but you will.”
We’re on the outskirts of the city, and the darkness is broken only by the occasional street light flickering past. My gaze drifts to the window, and I watch his faint reflection. He’s ruggedly handsome in an unconventional way. He cuts a sharp profile, for sure.
Feeling a sudden urge to talk, I shift in my seat, leaning my back against the window so I’m half-facing him. “Tell me something you’ve never told anyone.”
His huge hands are clenched tightly around the steering wheel. I expect him to say no, say something to put me in my place, and continue driving. Instead, the corners of his lips lift slightly. “Are you going to use that against me one day?”
This is a side of him I did not imagine, and it eases the knot in my stomach. “Maybe.”
His eyebrows lift. “Honesty. That’s good. There’s not enough of that to go around.”
“No deflecting my question.”
The fleeting, almost imperceptible expression of amusement is there again, and he uses one hand to scrub across his jaw—a gesture I find … sexy. “You know how I got my scar?”
I shift in my seat again, a bit uncomfortable with his chosen topic, as I rack my brain. “Kidnappers, I think. They wanted to send a message to your father.”
“Not really. They wanted me to cry. Since I refused, they said they’d help me smile instead.” He heaves a sigh. “It hurt like a motherfucker. I was sure they slashed my whole mouth.”
My stomach churns, and a cold sweat breaks across my forehead despite the air conditioner. “Oh God.”
He looks apologetic as he says, “You wanted to know something no one else did.”
“No one else knows that?”
“My family did. The thing no one knew was that the night I came back home, I spent five hours curled on my bed, crying like a baby. I was seventeen at the time, and I wanted to die.”
“God, I’m sorry, Nikolai.”
He waves a hand as if he didn’t just reveal the most gut-wrenching story I’ve heard. “Believe the stories, Nina. I am a monster, but I protect what’s mine … even if it’s from myself.”