Page 92 of Gilded Shackles
"Such a disappointment. I expected better negotiation skills from Viktor's right hand."
I'm already turning toward her neighborhood.
"You'll get your answer in person."
I hang up. Toss the phone. Floor it.
All alone. No backup. Just rage.
Not the safest play. But the only one my blood will allow.
The doorman doesn't stopme. The elevator crawls upward, numbers ticking, and I force my breathing to slow.
Every nerve screams to get to Elle.
The logical part of me, the one that usually keeps me alive, whispers that this is a mistake.
I ignore it.
When the doors open, I see Gayle's men immediately. All armed. Professional. These aren't rent-a-cops. She's made sure I'm walking into her world on her terms.
For the first time tonight, the stupidity of this hits me. No backup. No plan. One gun against a dozen. If I'd brought my team, maybe I'd have a chance.
Now I'm just a man walking into a trap because he loves his wife too much to think straight.
"Arms out. Slowly."
I comply. They take my gun, the knife in my boot, the garrote wire in my belt. Strip me of everything lethal.
Gayle's on her white sofa, legs crossed, wine in hand, like she's celebrating.
"Well, look who decided to join us. Did you bring my ten million?"
"You think I'd walk in with a bag of cash?"
"I thought you might be desperate enough." She sips. "You've always struck me as the impulsive type."
"You won't get your money. Viktor won't approve that payout for someone he's known three months."
"Oh, I don't want Viktor's money." She sets her glass down. "I want Viktor's life."
My heartbeat pounds in my ears. "You want me to kill my uncle."
"With Viktor gone, his organization fractures. Egor has been waiting for exactly that opening, and I've already secured his protection. By the time Viktor's men figure out what happened, I'll be untouchable and halfway across the Atlantic." She says it calmly. Rehearsed. Like she's been building this chess move for months. "I'm giving you the opportunity to prove your loyalty. To your wife, your child, your future."
"You've lost your mind."
"Kill Viktor Ivanov, and you get your wife back. Refuse, and I sell her to Egor by the end of the week."
"How do I even know she's alive?"
"Proof of life. Fair enough."
She snaps her fingers. Two men drag Elle from a side room.
My heart stops.
She's barefoot. Wrists bound. A bruise on her temple. When they force her to her knees in front of Gayle, she lets out a small cry that tears through me like a blade.
