Page 18 of Sold to My Ex's Brother
“You don’t have to disturb him,” I assure him. “Just... Just let me out of here, that’s all you need to do. Just for a while. I won’t even tell anyone you let me do it, nobody will find out, okay?”
He lets out a short laugh. “You think that’s how it works around here?” he replies, shaking his head. “Nothing goes outside of the Pakhan’s notice. Especially not when it contradicts direct orders he gave to me.”
I curse inwardly. This Anton man, whoever he is, he has these men under strict control, and it’s hard to believe that I’ll be able to do anything to change that. I run a hand through my hair, mustering up every bit of my charm, or at least what is left of it under these circumstances.
“I can make it worth your while,” I offer half-heartedly, though I’m sure he can see right through me and to the truth of this deal I’m laying out for him.
“Trust me, anything you can offer me,” he replies. “Isn’t worth half of what the Pakhan will do to me if he finds out I betrayed him.”
“He never has to find out?—”
“He will. He always does. Go back in your room.”
I press my lips together. I don’t like being spoken to like I’m some errant teenager, and I’m not going to stand aside and let this man tell me how it is going to be. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He eyes me for a moment, seemingly almost impressed by my defiance. I stand my ground, mustering as much courage as I can, though it feels downright impossible in this moment.
“I can go get him, if you want,” he replies. A cold shiver runs down my spine.
Shit, he is calling my bluff, that is the last thing I need right now. Anton might deny that he had anything to do with getting me into this mess in the first place, but that doesn’t mean I’m about to take him at his word.
“Fine,” I reply, tipping my head to the side. If he wants to take it there, then he can take it there, I’m not going to try and stop him. The sooner I get a feel for the power structure in this place, the better chance I have of getting out, and I willnotlet the thrumming anxiety in my chest dissuade me of that.
He stares back at me, a beat of silence playing out between the two of us as we wait for the other to respond. He knows as well as I do that I should be locked up in that room, at least if we are going to go by what his boss seems to have decided for me.
But there has to be something close to humanity in there, right? Some part of him that can see that this is not what he should be doing. Or is he so blinded by his loyalty that he can’t see that the man he calls the Pakhan has a woman locked away in his home, with no way out, no way to escape?
But before I can say another word, the door opens at the far end of the corridor, and we both look up in the same instant. And there he is, as though I have summoned him just by sheer force of will.
Anton.
“Pakhan,” the man greets him, bowing his head slightly. My lip curls up in distaste. They seem willing to run around and do just about anything if it means that they do not land on the wrong side of him, but where does it end? How much have they looked the other way on? And how much more will they be willing to ignore...?
“What are you doing out of your room?” Anton asks me coolly, his blue eyes sharp as they meet mine. I squeeze my hands into fists at my sides, trying to muster every bit of certainty that I can.
“I wasn’t feeling well?—”
“You look fine to me.”
He closes the distance between us, and glances to the guard who has been keeping watch on me.
“You can go, Ken.”
Ken looks like he wants to vanish on into himself. I don’t blame him. There is a certain level of confidence that Anton carries himself with, a power that echoes off every word he comes out with. And, as he locks eyes with me again, I can sense that I’m not going to get away with dodging them any longer.
He takes my arm and steers me back towards my room, and I try to pull myself loose, to little avail.
“Let go of me,” I insist. “I’m perfectly capable of walking to?—”
He pulls the door shut behind us, his eyes darkening now we are alone together. My heart pitter-patters in my chest.
God, the way he is looking at me right now, I can tell I’ve pissed him off. I thought that I was just getting a bit of fresh air, but the look on his face tells me that he is beyond pissed at me right now.
“I told you to stay here.” His voice is cool and calm and collected, but there’s something simmering just out of sight.
I stand my ground, staring up at him, daring him to say something else. “You don’t get to just lock me up like some princess in a fucking tower,” I retort sharply. “I don’t care how much money you paid to your brother to own me, I didn’t agree to it. I’m not just going to sit here waiting for you to tell me how this works...”
His gaze flickers slightly.
