Chapter 4: Chapter Three

Love is evil. It will make you fall in love with a goat. —Russian Proverb

Maya

My breathing was erratic, out of control actually. I knew running would do nothing, plus I wasn't really that type—a runner.

My father had taught me that—the same father who had just sold me to the highest bidder. I paused, had there been an auction for my life? My body?

My stomach clenched as memories assaulted me—I knew what he did, what he involved himself in.

My father worked for the Russian mafia; it wasn't a secret in our family or something we tried to hide.

After all, he fought too hard to do things the right way, supported all the right universities, went to all the political parties. We were, from the outside, normal.

But there were always those times when I'd overheard conversations between my parents that I wondered… was my dad as good as he wanted people to believe or was it all a lie?

I got my answer when the very first boyfriend I had in high school lost his hand in a tragic accident.

The same hand that my dad had seen said boy place on my body just as I tried to shove him away.

I didn't think much of it at the time, until every time I complained about something, an accident would happen. It was why I kept people away, because when they got close, they got hurt.

It was also why I was a certifiable nerd, pouring everything I had into studying and getting away from my family's hold on me.

With a sigh, I pulled out my cell.

“I wouldn't.” Mr. Blazik had somehow made his way from the desk to the couch again and was holding my hand, keeping me from dialing. “I really wouldn't.”

“He's gone too far.” I jerked my hand away and dialed my father's number. It didn't ring.

Instead, a chipper voice informed me that the number I was currently dialing was no longer in service.

With shaking hands, I shoved the phone back into my purse and stared at the floor. “How much?”

“How much, what?” The couch dipped under pressure as Mr. Blazik sat down.

“Am I worth?” I whispered, voice hoarse.

He was quiet for a few seconds before answering in a hoarse voice. “For a man like me? Everything.”

My breath hitched in my chest.

Everything hurt, from the betrayal of my father, to the fact that I probably wouldn't be able to finish my education because somewhere along the way I'd turned into a pawn instead of a daughter.

“You're not crying,” Mr. Blazik observed. “I expected more… emotion.”

“Would that make you feel better about owning me?” I snapped. “Or are tears the only thing that get you off?”

“You'll be taken care of.” He ignored my rampage as he pulled out a new iPhone and placed it on the table.

Then he opened a black folder, laid a sheet of paper next to the phone, and handed me a pen that probably cost more than some people's cars. “Sign on the dotted line please.”

“Are you seriously asking me to sign my life away right now?”

“It's not yours in the first place…” His soft sigh was filled with resignation. “It's mine. I own you… but I'd rather you be a willing participant.”

“You're just as sick as he is,” I whispered, reaching for the pen and scribbling my name across the bottom of the contract without reading it.

“I hope you'll come to regret saying that.” He barely glanced at the paper now bearing my signature. “Now, let's discuss your… services.”

“I'm not servicing you.”

His eyebrows shot up to his forehead. “I'm sorry, did I ask you to?”

“N-no, but—”

He held up his hand. “You'll report to work every morning at eight a.m., you'll leave when I say you can leave, and everything you do for me is top secret.

“If any information is leaked to the public… well…”

Yeah, I knew that look. ~I'd~ be leaked to the public—in a very accidental way.

“So, I work for you?” I stood and crossed my arms. “For how long?”

His smile was wicked. “A year.” He reached out and tilted my chin toward his mouth. “Perhaps more… if I find you agreeable.”

“I'm not sleeping with you.”

“I don't recall asking you to.”

My eyes narrowed. “So that's it? You just need a glorified secretary?”

“Something like that…” He ran his hands through his hair and reached into his pocket, pulling out a key. “Shall we have lunch?”

“Wait.” I shook my head. “That's it? My evil father basically sells me to you, and now we're going to go to Wendy's?”

“I hate hamburgers.”

I clenched my teeth together.

“But if that's your preference…” He placed his hand on the small of my back and directed me toward the door. I moved to pick up my discarded phone. “Leave it, that's your old life, Maya.”

I hated that he not only knew my first name, but that the way he said it made me shiver.

“My old life?” I croaked. “And today is what? The first day of the rest of my life?”

His eyes darkened. “Let's just hope you live long enough to enjoy it, hmm?”