Chapter 6

STEPH's POV

But what did he mean about me being his? Oh god, did he mean...

I couldn’t, could I?

The guy behind me says something in Russian, something I couldn’t understand, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Was he convincing Alexi to kill me? I had always thought that if I was caught, that would be my fate. But he wanted me to be his? Why?

Is this some new way to torture information out of me?

I stare, my eyes wide. “Why would I agree to be yours?” I snap, angry.

He lifts my gun, pressing it against my forehead as I jump, trying to struggle against the guy that held me. Fuck, fuck. I didn’t want to die.

“Is that your answer then, Malyshka?” He asks, lifting an eyebrow, “you choose death?”

I shake my head, tears sliding down my cheeks, “I’ll be yours.”

My words came out as a mere whisper, my shoulders dropping. I was prepared to die, but now knowing a choice, I had to choose life, not just for myself, but for the possibility that I could escape and get to Sarah. She was all alone without me.

I just hoped that Jack would care for her whilst I was gone.

“jione, put her in the car.” He commands, smirking triumphantly.

Jione release me for a split second to stand, and I take the chance I climb to my feet and run past Alexi, trying to make it back into the alleyway. But I wasn’t fast enough. Not this time.

A gun shot rang out, pain exploding through my left leg as I screamed, crashing into the floor, my head bouncing off the concrete. Black spots filled my vision as I tried my best to get back up, my body trembling in protest.

Alexi kneels beside me as tears slide down my cheeks, my sobs loud as I curl up in pain. He once again taps the gun on his leg, speaking Russian to the other two men who hadn’t moved, the larger one called jione. I realise they never gave chase because they knew the Mafia boss would shoot me, he wouldn’t let me just run away.

Ugh. I was so stupid.

Why did I ever think I could run when he was armed?

“That was stupid, Malyshka. Now you must be punished.” He says, smiling cruelly.

I was about to ask what he meant when he shoved his fingers into the bullet wound in my leg, my screams filling the air as he searches around inside me for the Bullet.

“STOP. Stop it hurts.” I cry, tears pouring out of my eyes as I tried to crawl away from him, but even that small movement was too painful.

I had never felt such pain before. It hurt so much as he pulled the bullet out, finally finding it after minutes of torture.

Maybe I should have chosen death after all.

“You better think twice before trying to run from me, Stephanie.” He says coldly, “next time I won’t be as nice.”

He calls this nice? I dreaded to think what could possibly be worse.

I flinch when he reaches for me, lifting me off the ground and throwing me over his shoulder as a cry and scream, hoping that someone would help me. But I should know better, the people in this city knew better than to mess with Alexi and his gang.

I should have known better as well.

But it was too late, now I had awoken the beast, and he would not show me mercy if i defied him.

I had just become his prey and my life would never be the same again.

ALEXI's POV

I couldn’t help it, the moment I laid eyes on her innocent face I wanted her to be mine. I had been searching for someone to be my new toy for a long time, and whilst I had a list of women falling over themselves to be mine, I found myself not wanting any of them.

But I did want little Stephanie.

She was perfect.

I could see the fire in her eyes, and I couldn’t wait to break her down until that fire died out, she was mine now, and she would stay that way until I was done with her.

Jione, Misha and Nikolai all looked at me like I was insane as I carried her to the SUV, they had never seen me show mercy before, and whilst the girl didn’t see it that way, I only shot her in the leg. I could have done so much worse.

I still can, if she defies me.

I place her into the trunk, her wide blue eyes staring up at me in terror. Good. I wanted her to be afraid of me. I liked my toys to be feisty, and she certainly was that. She was brave too, maybe stupid. I hadn’t quite decided which.

“Are you sure about this boss?” Misha asked me, eyebrows raised as he watched the girl with scepticism as I shut the boot of the car.

There was a glass screen separating the boot from the other parts of the car, so I knew she couldn’t get away. Not unless she came back out of the trunk. Which was impossible as I had locked it from the outside.

“I am.” I say, walking past him and getting into the driver's seat. “I want her. She is mine.”

I hear Nikolai laugh, but I could hear no humour in his tone. “You’ve never wanted anyone before, let alone someone you were going to kill.”

“She is mine.” I snap, growing enraged. “End of discussion.”

“Out of curiosity sir, what are you going to do with her?” asked Jione, climbing into the seat beside me.

Misha and Nikolai got into the other car, revving the engine to let me know that they were ready to go, pull the SUV out of the alley and set off down the road, setting the satnav to take us to my secluded mansion.

It was the perfect place to train my new Malyshka.

“She is going to be my new toy, I’m going to train her to be mine.” I tell him, eyes on the road.

Mine. It gave me pride to say that. I would make sure she obeyed me, even if she didn’t want to. But first, I needed to tend to her leg, it would need plenty of stitches after what I did.

But it was her own fault, she shouldn’t have tried to run.

It was stupid of her, and I suspected she knew that.

“Ah. You have wanted someone new for a while. But why chose her when you could have someone who is willing?” jione asks, and I suppose it was a good point.

I could have chosen someone willing. But I wanted Stephanie.

She was different.

“What’s the fun in that?” I smirk, winking at him.

He laughs, shaking his head in amusement. “I see. Well, you are certainly going to have your hands full with that one. She’s got fire.”

“She has.” I say, and I couldn’t agree more.

The drive to the mansion was silent, none of my men dared to question me any further, and it was good that they didn’t. If I thought for one moment any of them were trying to talk me out of taking her, they would be the ones to swallow a lead bullet. I would make sure of that.

They weren’t the only loyal men I had, and I could replace them in the blink of an eye, even if I didn’t want to. They were like brothers to me, after all, we had been through hell together.

But no one questioned my actions. No one.

I parked in the garage behind the estate, ensuring that all the guards that had proven I could trust them were rotated to patrol the grounds. They all had a picture sent to them of Stephanie, they weren’t to seriously harm her, but if they spotted her trying to escape, they were to bring her back to the mansion and lock her in the downstairs room.

I opened the boot, ready for a fight, but she wasn’t in any state to even try. My little Malyshka was in shock, shaking and shivering in the boot of the car. I probably should have seen to her wound sooner, but I wanted her to suffer, and she wasn’t dead. So, I had succeeded.

I carefully lift her out, watching her eyes flutter open, her forehead creased. She tries to say something, but it comes out fainter than a whisper, so I don’t hear it.

Not that I really care.

I carry her into the mansion, taking her to the medical room so I can stitch and pot her leg, the bone in her thigh was clearly broken, it probably happened when I shot her. She was brittle, like a doll.

She would need to toughen up though, if she wanted to survive.

It didn’t take me long to sort her out, she was bandaged and ready to go in less than 30 minutes, I even gave her an injection to avoid infection. Smart of me really, especially since I had shoved my hand in to get the bullet out.

I took her to the underground room I had set up years before, I could match it to her style at a later date, but for now it would do. I locked the door, staring at her still form through the one-sided glass for a minute or two.

I had finally chosen someone to keep, and she would never be able to escape me, if she tried, I would send her picture to all my colleagues. It wouldn’t be long before she was found and brought back.

She belonged to me now.

The sooner she accepted that, the easier it would be for her.