Page 41 of Manic

“Excuse me?” I snapped as Amelia blurted, “We don’t work here.”

“You do tonight,” Evan said, holding back a smirk.

My eyes pinged between them as they all chuckled. There had to be at least ten others. We were outnumbered.

The overtly large man—Dmitri—greeted us with a menacing smile, then nodded to the men at our backs. He met us in three long strides. Mingling with the hushed murmurs of conversation, the grunt of a man’s climax echoed behind him, followed by the scrape of a closing zipper. Disgusting.

I swallowed and reached for Amelia. “We were just leaving.”

“Leaving?” he drawled, then gripped my arm. “You do no such thing. Come. Entertain. I pay for time.”

“Fuck you,” I spat, yanking my arm free.

Amelia yelped as she was then shoved into the arms of another man, looking awfully similar to the one in front of me.

Were they related? Where did he come from?

Dmitri curled his lip as he leaned in, invading my fucking space. My attention swept past his shoulder, toward a blinking red dot, and the camera pivoted in our direction. For the briefest of seconds, my chest loosened. If luck was on my side, perhaps my admirer saw me, but I was too afraid to reach for my phone to check.

Maybe he’d finally show his face? If not, at least someone would know we were down here in case we went missing. Even though I hoped that wouldn’t be the case, the thought still soured my stomach.

I cried out when Dmitri wrapped his fingers around my arm again. Then he yanked me to his chest. I gritted my teeth and pinned him with a glare. That was definitely going to leave a bruise.

But as my words of protest tangled in my throat, I blinked and my vision blurred. Again. My breath shallowed, my pulse climbing higher and higher. I’d only had a couple of drinks, but…

My stomach plunged, a cold sweat breaking across my skin. Did those lawyers drug us?

“What is your name?” Dmitri asked.

I clamped my jaw shut, nostrils flaring.

“That one is Sutton Hale,” Val answered when I didn’t reply. He jerked his chin toward Amelia. “She’s a Belmonte.”

“Interesting,” Dmitri mumbled.

Then he fucking grinned and looked over his shoulder. He spoke to the others, something in Russian, and repeated our names once more. A sudden seriousness settled over the group, their brows lowering as they focused on us. A shudder wracked through me.

Dmitri faced me again, a cool smile on his lips. “Now would be good time for introduction, yes? Casino and lawyer daughter of Vancouver. I think we should play game.”

My stomach twisted, and Amelia’s mouth fell open, confusion written all over her face. Had they heard of us before? And why did I feel like he wasn't talking about poker?

Hushed, albeit confused, murmurs echoed around the room, and my pulse skyrocketed. Dmitri licked his bottom lip and dragged his eyes over me. Then the man holding Amelia said something foreign to Dmitri, and his attention shifted behind me. He released me with a grin and tucked his hands into his pockets as if someone important had just arrived.

The air changed, charged and heavy, and my neck pricked with awareness. I was afraid if I looked, Dmitri would take the distraction as an opportunity to use me however he wished.

Seconds later, warmth seeped into my back, and a large hand met the crook of my shoulder. My entire body shook before the familiar, heady cologne hit my nostrils. Thank fuck.

I quickly realized who stood behind me, and I’d never been more thankful for the asshole in my life.

“Ona ne prodayetsya,” Manic said, and his hand flexed along my skin.

Since when did Manic speak Russian? Honestly, if it meant he’d get us out of this situation, I didn’t care. Not one bit.

Grave appeared beside Amelia, forcing the other man back, and bent to whisper in her ear. She frantically shook her head, her face paling. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if she hurled all over his shoes out of sheer fright. Then her glazed, drunken eyes shot to me, panic etched into her features.

“Bred. Skol’ko?” Dmitri replied, tilting his head.

I had no idea what he was saying, but the way he studied me had my nerves burning with the sudden urge to flee. It was unfortunate that Manic’s hand was the only thing keeping me in place. Though I wasn’t entirely sure I’d make it two steps before tripping.