Chapter 8

• As soon as they returned inside the house, Maksim walked ahead of her and with purpose, as if heading somewhere. Curious and with nothing left to do, Dani followed the dog as he led her down the long hallway past the foyer and to a room on the ground floor.
• Maksim squeezed past a slightly open door. Dani was about to follow when she spotted Alexei inside the room, standing by the window with his back facing hers. He had a phone to his ear.
• Past Alexei’s tall, suited stature, the window’s curtains were parted to show a view of the garden where she had just come from. She crept closer to the door, finding a handsomely decorated office inside. She hadn’t been inside this room before. How could she have missed it?
• “You have five days left, Mr. De Luca.”
• Dani’s spine went rigid.
• “Now it’s not my style to be persistent, but I figured a little reminder can go a long way.” Alexei slipped a hand in his pocket. “Last I checked, there’s only a little over three million dollars deposited into our account. Should I worry?”
• Dani’s ears began to ring. She couldn’t have heard him right. That didn’t even cover half of what was needed.
• It was impossible to hear what her father was saying on the other line, but she tried to inch closer to the door anyway.
• “I know it’s difficult, and I do sympathize.” Alexei sounded almost genuine. “Now I’m a man of my word when I say we won’t harm your daughter, but my promise is only as good as your ability to meet our demands.”
• Dani no longer felt herself breathing. She eyed Alexei’s back long and hard as her pulse throbbed wildly in her temples.
• “Should I send a little gift from your daughter? How about one of her fingers?”
• Dani bolted from the door and ran as fast as her legs could take her. Maksim barked from inside Alexei’s office, but she didn’t care even as her shoes thudded loudly against the carpet. She ran upstairs to her room and slammed the door behind her. She collapsed to the foot of her bed, breathing hard.
• Tears stung the corners of her eyes, but all the anger and frustration kept them at bay. She didn’t know whether to hate Alexei’s despicable cruelty or her own pathetic incompetence for not being able to do a single thing. There were five days to go. Alexei was demanding too much, too soon. This wasn’t fair at all.
• In her outrage, Dani had forgotten to lock her door. Alexei pushed her door open and stepped inside her room. He still had his phone in his hand.
• Dani immediately stood up. “Stay the hell away from me.”
• Alexei raised both hands. “I’m sorry you had to hear that. I mean you no harm.”
• “You fucking liar,” she snarled. “You were just planning to chop off my finger!”
• “Yes, well, unfortunately it looks like your father needs a bit of pushing.”
• “Oh, and what? Will you keep hacking off bits and pieces of me until you get your ten million dollars?!”
• “Don’t be unreasonable.”
• Alexei eyed her with such calm, it made her want to scream. She wanted to drive a chainsaw through him.
• “Relax, Dani. It’s an empty threat. You get to keep all your fingers to yourself.”
• She gaped at him in disbelief. An amused smile formed on his lips.
• “You think this is funny?!” she exclaimed.
• Alexei leaned a shoulder against her doorway. “Believe it or not, I take no pleasure in any form of torture, hypothetical or otherwise.”
• She shook her head. “You’re a fucking psycho.”
• “I’ll take that as a compliment.” He leaned away from the door. “Come along now. We have an errand to run.”
• “What the hell are you talking about?”
• Alexei slipped his phone into his suit pocket. “We’re heading out. Unless you’d like to spend another minute in this house?”
• Dani was about to hurl another insult at him, but the idea of actually being able to leave the estate was just too good of an opportunity to pass. “Where are we going?”
• “That’s for me to know and for you to find out.” Alexei left her room as his voice echoed down the hallway. “Hurry on then, Miss De Luca. Daylight’s burning.”
• Dani got into a car with Alexei, escorted by a driver and one of his lackeys in the passenger seat up front. It was her first time seeing the outside of Alexei’s estate in broad daylight, and it was both depressing and distressing to find that the scenery did not change at all.
• Even after twenty minutes of driving, the same long stretch of road and snow-covered forests surrounded her. Occasionally, a small house in the distance would pop up every few minutes, and even passing cars were just as sparse. All the signages were in a language she couldn’t read. At this rate, there was literally no way of escaping without being lost on her own or eventually found by Alexei’s men.
• Dani looked out the window with a sigh. “Is there nothing out here but snow?”
• “In this part of town and at this time of the year, I’m afraid so.” Alexei placed an elbow on the armrest. “I can see how this looks poorly on the tourism, but we do have lovely countrysides in the spring.”
• “I doubt I’ll be sticking around long enough to see that anyway.”
• Alexei crossed his legs. “Oh, you never know.”
• Her ears pricked at his response, but she let his comment slide. One way or another, she was definitely getting out of here.
• She cast him a sideways glance. “You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”
• “Patience, little one. We’ll arrive in about half an hour.”
• A scowl left her lips. “I’m five-foot-seven, if you must know.”
• “Still little to me.”
• Dani curbed her tongue, not wanting to sound any more childish than she seemed. She darted her gaze back to the window and assessed her current situation.
• For two other men to join them instead of Alexei driving himself… this ‘errand’ had to pose some danger, unless Alexei was simply being thorough. She would’ve had a better chance of outrunning him had it just been the two of them. Clearly, today would not be the day of her escape.
• Dani balled a hand to a fist. She was getting out of this place, or die trying.