Chapter 92

Alexi

Fate was a word I didn't believe in, just as I didn't believe the girl who bumped into me last night had done so accidentally. Anger surged through me; this insignificant person had planned our encounter, and I'd been a fool to think it accidental.

When I stepped closer, she visibly trembled, gasping audibly. Her fear aroused me—a sick, twisted arousal. Pressing the gun against her forehead, my erection strained against my pants as she whimpered. The possibilities thrilled me.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow your brains out right now," I threatened.

She gulped, the horror deepening the grey in her eyes. "I I am innocent," she pleaded.

That voice. I wondered what it would sound like moaning my name. No, when she moans my name.

"Innocent people don't run, cupcake."

Her lips quivered. "I—I was walking back from the bathroom and paused, hearing your voice. I didn't—I didn't hear anything."

"Huh." I retracted the gun, pocketing it. "You didn't hear anything?"

"N-No"

"Are you lying, cupcake?"

She shook her head. Once. Twice. Thrice.

"Hm." I feigned belief, stepping closer. "What's that?" I eyed the phone in her hands.

"N-Nothing." Her eyes twitched; the phone was clutched tightly behind her back.

"Nothing?"

I bent to her level, our faces inches apart. I noticed the tears glistening in her eyes, but she gasped again when my knuckles lightly traced her arm. She seemed to flinch as if burned. I could see her heart pounding in her neck.

"Do you know how easily I could accidentally sever the artery in your neck?" I asked. The distraction worked; she shuddered. I knew she was imagining it, and believed my threat, because her grip on her phone loosened, allowing me to take it.

"Ah, locked," I commented, stepping back. "Open it for me."

"N-No." Her lips quivered, but she straightened, trying to appear unfazed.

"I don't usually ask nicely, cupcake."

"You never asked," she retorted.

"Sir," Dominic called, and I realized he'd followed me from Bakshi's office. I half-turned, acknowledging him.

"If you wish, you can return to Bakshi. I'll handle this and 'crack her open' before you're done." The very thought, the image, ignited a furious anger within me. I clenched my jaw, fighting the urge to snarl. "I have time."

I focused on the terrified girl. "Are you going to open it for me?"

She shuddered but shook her head.

"Okay then."

She didn't know what hit her when I swiftly grabbed her hair, using it to tilt her head and place the phone before her face. The unlocking sound signaled my release.

"You—you're a monster!" she sobbed, tears streaming down her face.

"I've been called worse," I said, before searching her phone. There it was—the audio recording. I played it, amused by her drained expression.

"Looks like you're a liar, cupcake," I commented.

"Pl—please," she begged, sniffing. "I was just being nosy. I'll—I'll delete it, I promise. You can delete it. Just—please let me go."

"Let you go," I repeated, my voice almost psychotic. "Dom?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"What is the Bratva's punishment for liars?"

"Death, Sir."

"Ah." I clicked my tongue, turning to the completely broken girl.

"I—I can't die," she pleaded. "I have to stay alive." Tears usually meant nothing to me. But her crying, her near-panic attack, stirred something unfamiliar. Mercy.

"I'm not going to kill you," I said softly. "Why don't we start with your name?"

"M—Mia," she sobbed. "Mia Carson."

Mia Carson. Interesting.

"And why were you recording my conversation?"

Her breathing steadied, but no sound escaped her.

"Bakshi, cupcake?"

"Did you want to threaten the Bratva for ransom? Did someone send you to spy on me? Or perhaps you had something to do with the fire we discussed, that you recorded?"

Again, silence. She stared with venomous eyes, as if I had devoured the stars in her night sky.

"Let's try this again, cupcake." I tried to control my anger at the thought of someone sending her to spy on me. "Either you give me an answer voluntarily, or I'll use methods you won't like."

She gulped. "I—I overheard a little when I was leaving the bathroom. I—I recorded it to ask for money later. Nobody sent me. I—I just got greedy."

She was lying.

"Hm." I feigned belief. "That's a punishable offense."

"N—no, please." She begged.

"Dom?"

"Sir?"

"Grab her," I ordered, then looked away, wondering why I felt the urge to smash Dominic's head against a wall when I saw his hands on her.