Unveiling the Truth

KAIA

I wiped my cheeks, trying to keep my emotions in check. I didn’t want to seem vulnerable. Aleksandr struck me as a man who had no patience for weakness, and I needed him on my side.

I chose to tell him a version of the truth, fearing he might be good at detecting lies. I had more than one motive for seeking him out, but he didn’t need to know that.

“I need your help,” I said quietly.

His head tilted slightly as he continued to scrutinize me with his piercing blue eyes. I felt like a specimen under a microscope, examined bit by bit.

But his gaze didn’t make my skin crawl like Cristo’s did. Instead, it felt like a gentle touch.

Being alone with him made me hyperaware of him, not just as the man who held my fate in his hands, but as a ~man~.

I hadn’t had time for dating in recent years. I suffered from social anxiety, preferred solitude, and found comfort behind my computer screen.

Irina was the social butterfly, and I was glad she had friends to give her a semblance of normalcy.

I had to do this for her.

“I know you might not believe me, but I’m telling the truth,” I continued. “I found Cristo on the dark web when I responded to an ad to find a missing girl for him. A girl named Lia. After speaking to him, I changed my mind. He got angry and kidnapped me a few days later. He took my sister Irina and said he’d only release her after I found the girl. He never told me where she was. I’ve been searching for her ever since.”

A shadow passed over his eyes, sending a chill down my spine. I had to remember that Aleksandr, despite his calm demeanor, was known for his volatile temper. I’d read about his brutal killings, using nothing but his bare hands. I had to tread carefully.

“Cristo ran the largest human trafficking ring in Central America,” Aleksandr said icily. “But he never kept any of the girls for himself. He was very private. Besides you and Lia, there were no other girls in the house or on the grounds.”

He paused.

“I had the entire estate searched, then burned to the ground.”

My mouth fell open. That was why my presence had surprised him. No one expected me to be there.

“Everything is gone? His men killed?”

Aleksandr nodded.

I jumped off the cot, running my hands through my hair as my mind raced with worst-case scenarios.

Aleksandr’s voice softened, almost apologetically. “I’m sorry, Kaia. But Cristo’s men probably killed your sister as soon as they found out he was gone. She’s likely dead.”

I spun around to face him, tears streaming down my face.

Grief hit me like a freight train, causing me to push him away angrily. I didn’t care if it provoked him.

“Don’t say that! Don’t you dare…” My voice broke as sobs shook my body, and I collapsed on the floor.

I didn’t want to think about it. I couldn’t bear the thought until Aleksandr’s emotionless words brought the harsh reality crashing down on me.

~Irina. My baby sister. No. I couldn’t accept it. Not until I had proof.~

Strong hands lifted me, placing me gently on the bed. He tucked loose strands of hair behind my ear before standing up.

I could feel his gaze on me as he looked down.

“Niko will show you to one of my guest rooms. Have a shower and meet me in the dining room for breakfast,” he said.

He didn’t wait for a response and left the room.

***

I figured the guy who had snatched me, brought me here, and now strolled in barely ten minutes after the pakhan departed, was Niko. I’d overheard some of the men refer to him as Nikolai when they shifted me from the car to the cell, thinking I was still out cold.

Judging by how he was always around Aleksandr, I guessed he was his right-hand man. He definitely had an air of authority about him.

Like most of Aleksandr’s crew, he was dressed to the nines in tailored gray pants and a snug white shirt that highlighted every contour and angle of his chest, biceps, and abs. His strength and masculinity were blatant, whereas Aleksandr’s were more understated.

I’d managed to stop crying, but I couldn’t stop trembling when Niko approached me and gestured toward the open door.

“Let’s go,” he said.

I stood up, clenching my fists at my sides, and defiantly raised my chin at him.

“I want out,” I said.

Niko merely raised his thick eyebrow at my tone.

“You have no reason to keep me here,” I retorted. “I want out. ~Now~.”

I could’ve sworn I saw his lips twitch, as if he found my demand amusing.

He gestured toward the door again, this time more insistently. “Let’s ~move~.”

I exhaled heavily and strode toward the door, gasping as I stepped into the dimly lit hallway lined with similar steel doors—it was like a prison.

“Straight ahead,” Niko instructed from behind me. I looked forward to see a large elevator.

As the doors closed and the elevator ascended, I reiterated, “I’m not staying, Niko. I need to get out.”

He looked at me, intrigued.

“Why?”

I scowled.

“Why? You have no grounds to keep me here!” I was yelling now.

Niko shrugged his broad shoulders.

“If the pakhan says you stay, you stay.”

I stared at him, my heart pounding in my chest. I’d rather die than become someone’s captive.

“For how long?”

Niko looked straight ahead again as the doors opened onto a plush hallway lined with doors leading to what I assumed were bedrooms.

“As long as he deems necessary,” he responded nonchalantly. “Go on. First door on your right.”

I noticed he didn’t attempt to touch me, which I found intriguing. He seemed to prefer controlling me with his words. It made me wonder if he’d let me go if I tried to resist.

Niko’s voice turned deadly serious. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be, Kaia.”

I blinked at the shift in his demeanor. I couldn’t forget that these were dangerous men.

Niko opened the door and moved in close behind me, leaving me no choice but to step inside.

“You’ll find toiletries in the bathroom and clothes in the closet. Freshen up and get dressed—I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”

I spun around to confront him.

“Whose room is this?”

It couldn’t possibly belong to the pakhan’s late wife. Maybe his sister. I’d heard he had one. Stasya, I think her name was.

“Yours,” Niko replied, reverting to his previous bored expression before turning around and closing the door.

I heard the lock click into place and his footsteps fade away. The all-too-familiar feeling of entrapment washed over me again.