Hidden Monsters (Volkov Bratva #4)(93)

He wasn’t frowning at her. There wasn’t any anger in his gaze. In fact, he merely looked…curious, like she was some kind of experiment that he was trying to figure out. She didn’t recognize him, and from what she could see, he lacked the markings that would let her know if he was one of them.

He was, however, dressed in a suit, the jacket gone, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows. Whoever he was, Alex didn’t think this was a random occurrence.

Seeing that he held her attention, his mouth turned up at the corners. His smile grew, and what confused her more was the fact that it was genuine. He brushed more dirt away, giving her a clearer view of the…was that the roof? From what she could tell, she was looking up through the floor, to a hole in another level, until she was squinting, trying to see if she was correct in her thinking.

“Glad to see that you’re finally awake. I feared I might have killed you.”

She was too confused and scared to formulate a response, but he filled the silence.

“I will say that you’re much prettier than the last one.”

She didn’t bother to ask why she was there—she’d heard on more than one occasion what happened to those in families like hers—the only question was what he sought.

“Is this about money? My brother—”

He shook his head before she could finish. “Why do people always assume it’s about the money? Some of us—me, in particular—enjoy the finer things in life. Anguish provides me with far more joy than currency.” His gaze dropped to her face again, his fingers stroking the glass top as if touching her skin.

Disgusted by the way he was looking at her, she asked, “Who are you?”

“Fatos, but I doubt you heard of me as I do no business with Russians.”

Fatos…that name sounded oddly familiar, but she couldn’t place why she knew it. Who was he, and why was she here?

“Then why am I here? What do you want?”

Alex didn’t know why she was so calm, not freaked out by the fact that she was literally in a glass box with a madman kneeling above her.

No, she was afraid, but it had yet to overwhelm her.

“Tell me. How much do you think your life is worth?”

“Please,” Alex said, “just tell me what you want.”

He sighed, rising to his feet as he lifted himself back out of the hole. “You know what I would like? To hear you beg. So, go on. Let’s hear it.”

Just out of sight, he reached for a tool on the ground, and when he returned, she saw that he was holding a shovel. As the first layer of dirt crumbled down above her, Alex jumped.

Once, Mishca had told her never to give in to anyone, but at that moment, the only thing she wanted was to get out of that hole.

She didn’t realize her hands were shaking until she brought them up against the glass, trying to lift it even as she spoke. “Please.”

“Sorry?” He cupped a hand to his ear, leaning down. “I couldn’t hear you.”

Desperation seized her, making her frantic as she balled her hands into fists, pounding them against her glass prison though the top didn’t move an inch.

“Please! I can get you whatever you want! Just let me out!”

Tears stung her eyes…

Her heart raced…

Her breaths came in sharp bursts…

But as quickly as her panic set in, she drew in a breath, clamping her mouth shut. She ignored the pain that bloomed to life as she bit down on her bottom lip, stopping herself from uttering another word.

Making him an offer wasn’t working, nor was begging for her life. If anything, the sound of her begging only seemed to excite him.

Whatever his true purpose, it wasn’t for her to know.

Helpless to do anything more, she watched as the dirt rained down above her, until darkness surrounded her. With each shovelful, she flinched once more.

She was going to die here

____

“Have you talked to Alex?”

Niklaus Volkov, or Klaus if you wanted to live, frowned though the person on the other end of the phone couldn’t see it. He’d been busy polishing the barrel of a new semi-automatic he had acquired for the job he’d been putting off for months now.

With the Kingmaker—his new handler who refused to give his name to anyone—breathing down his neck to get it done, he was out of time…and out of excuses. Even if the job didn’t sit well with him, which was rare in itself, he’d already accepted the contract.

“Hate to tell you this, but I’m not her keeper,” he mumbled, more focused on his task than Luka. “I’d expect you to know since you’re together.”

They didn’t have to admit it for Klaus to know. It was easy enough to read whenever they were in the same room together.

“I’ve called her and she didn’t pick up.”

“Still not sure what you want me to do about that.”

It was clear Luka was getting frustrated with him. “You know someone who can.”

That was true enough. Klaus had friends everywhere, but those friends came at a price. “You’re already dragging your feet in paying one debt. Why would you want another? Shit, why would I accept another?”

Klaus didn’t understand blind loyalty. He couldn’t understand how Luka still protected the bastards who had nearly killed them both. If he were in the Albanian’s shoes, he would have handed Fatos over in a heartbeat, if only to protect his own interests.