Page 24 of Claimed By the Pakhan

The last fucking thing I want to do is stalk and kidnap her. Fia kept the resentment close to her chest for years. She only properly forgave me six months ago. But I have no other choice. Her safety comes first above her feelings, and mine, because if the Kuzmins get their hands on her a second time, theywillkill her.

8

FIA

He murderedsomeone and all I can think about is how good he looked. I was pleasantly surprised to see him in my hotel room, desire clouding over everything else.

Until I realized the extent of his actions. Not only did he kill an innocent concierge, he did it in my fucking hotel room. I’m a witness to murder, which basically makes me responsible.

I have to say something, report Emil to the police. According to Chloe, I was looking over my shoulder like a maniac before the amnesia. That means I was running away from Emil, trying my best to hide from him. And by the sounds of it, I was doing a terrible job, checking into the same hotel every time, basically waiting for him to come and grab me again.

How many times did I run away from this man? How many times did he stalk and catch me?

I stare outside of the passenger door window, watching lightning turn the sky white. It zigzags over the city skyline, thunder bellowing through the atmosphere a few seconds later, like thefootsteps of a giant, disturbing everyone else’s peace so that he can find his.

I stare at Emil when he’s concentrating on the road, fear filling my bones. With that, comes uncontrollable desire, causing me to sit on my hands before I do something stupid and touch his chest. I restrained myself from doing that in the bathroom when he gave me his shirt.

Wearing his clothes is not doing me any favors. His cologne wraps around me like an enchanted smell, blurring right from wrong, making the fog sit heavier in my mind. I could drown myself in the sharp notes of his cologne. Emil smells so masculine, his scent matching the sheer power he commands in a room.

A single spot of blood is painted on his cheek, easily missed if you’re not looking. But since Iamvery much looking, I see it, along with the black stubble that contours his cheekbones, giving him a terrifying edge. The deep-set eyes, black like the darkest part of night, have a quality about them that I can’t shake. Like everything else about this man, my body recognizes him.

And it shouldn’t.

He’s a cold-blooded murderer, Fia.

Like this is such a surprise. People who treat money like it grows on trees are always breaking the law. I wish Emil broke the law in other ways, like robbing a bank, stealing; crimes that are more forgiving, so I could forgivemyselffor still wanting him.

Darkness spreads through the forest, crawling up every tree, every branch. Lightning flashes in the sky, deriving fromsomewhere far away. The distant rumbling of thunder tells me we’re away from the storm, the rain coming down more gently.

I shake Emil off as he goes to snake his hand around my lower back, hating the way my skin shivers.

“Let’s hope this is the final time I have to run after you.”

“Why are you doing this?” I say, stepping into the voice.

“Like I said before, sweetheart,” says Emil, his dark voice ringing through the hallway. “My enemies will find you.”

“Perhaps you should be more careful,” I suggest. “People have enemies for a reason.”

“Is that so?”

“You have to piss them off first.”

“And what about your father? Did your mother ever do anything wrong to piss him off?”

I freeze in the middle of the hallway. “I told you about…?”

“We’re married, sweetheart. You may not think so, but there was a time you trusted me.”

“I would never trust you.” I fold my arms over my chest, Emil’s cologne filling my nostrils.

“You remember your childhood,” states Emil, taking a step toward me. “That’s a start in the right direction.”

“Being able to recall all the times my father abused my mother is a step in the right direction?” I scoff at how fucked in the head this man is. “You sure gain a lot from making others miserable.”

“I gain nothing,” says Emil, stepping through the dark shadows to face me. His eyes are black, and somehow, they’re the brightest thing in this room, blinding me like the lightning strikes. “I’m trying to make a point. Not all enemies act within reason.”

“You certainly don’t, murdering a man because he apparently ‘knew too much.’” I bite my lip, staring up at him. “I was naïve, a complete utter fool, foreveragreeing to marry you.”