Chapter 9

(**Irina’s POV**)

Sebastion held my hand as we rode in the elevator down to the grown floor. Neither of us spoke another word the entire ride down. The silence between us was thick with so many emotions on both sides. Doubt, fear, panic, and lust. Those are a few of the emotions that have been swirling through me all day. Yet as I spent time with Sebastion, another emotion crept in. One that I am not ready to admit I even want to feel.

I can feel myself begin to fall for him. Despite the dangers we will face, I can feel that there is an amazing man buried deep within Sebastion. I caught glimpses of that man today as he spoke about his son Jace. I know he shared some of his past with me today, but there is more to it than what he shares, I can feel it.

Small hesitations when he would tell me something. There is more darkness that he hasn’t shared, but I know that will come in time. I fear now that once we both lay all our cards on the table, we will not like what we see in each other. From everything he has told me so far, I can see that he has been a very careless and selfish man. One that is trying hard to change.

Is Sebastion using the rescue of my daughter and myself to distract himself from his inner demons? I am not at all sure I like that thought. I want, no, I need his help in getting Zasha free from Vicktor. The allies he has are more than I ever thought would be possible. There are so many that know about The Collectors, more than I had ever imagined. That alone gives me hope that one day soon my nightmare will be over.

I am pulled from my thoughts as the elevator doors open. I feel Sebastion squeeze my hand once before he lets go. I already miss the touch of his hand on mine. What is this man and the mate bond doing to me? I step out of the elevator then look up into his brown eyes. He is already looking down at me, the depths of emotions in his eyes makes me step away.

I have to put distance between us, or I will not want to leave the building.

“I will see you tomorrow, Mr. Drakos,” I say as I go to walk away.

Sebastion reaches out for my hand to pull me back to him. The kiss he gives me isn’t like the others before. This one is tender, with the whisper of something darker. The feeling of sadness that hits me when he pulls back tells me know all I need to. This man will be my undoing.

“When you get here tomorrow, come in like you did today. I will have Evans clear you in and take you to get your palm and retinal scans set up. Then come straight to my office,” Sebastion tells me. Then, with one last lingering look over my body, he walks away.

I am left to follow him into the front lobby to watch him sign up both out for the night. Then like this was the end of a business meeting. He gives me a nod as he holds the door open for me, letting me know that today has ended. I swallow back a lump of fear that clogs up my throat. I am afraid of what the rest of my night will hold for me.

I follow Sebastion out of the building, give him the same small nod he gave me, then I turn and walk away. I hail a cab to take me to meet with Vicktor. I am already in the cab before I remember the vampires that were supposed to following me to meet Vicktor. Will they be able to follow the cab? What if I lose them as we travel? They only gave us a taste of Nic’s abilities, but nothing of what the other three are capable of.

I will worry about all of that later. Now I am worried about Vicktor and this charade I must pull off. I have practiced lying to Vicktor for years now. Nothing big, just small little lies here and there. Small bits of information twisted just a little to throw him off track for a few hours or days. He always got what he wanted, so my little lies never made a difference. I know that my face has never given away that I have lied to him.

Only the beating of my heart may give my fear away. However, knowing Vicktor, he will just think I am afraid of him, he will enjoy watching me fidget as he grills me for information. I will tell him I got the job, not that there was much of a doubt I would get it. Vicktor ensured that I was the only applicant. I mean, sure Sebastion or his sister could have chosen not to hire me.

Given all the events of today, I am glad that there was no one else to compete with for the job.

The cab pulled up outside a small, well-kept house on the outskirts of a nice suburban neighborhood. Vicktor didn’t live here, but he kept a housekeeper and gardener on staff all year round. We would meet anytime I was on a mission for him. He offered me the house to live in, but I wouldn’t be able to bring Zasha here to live with me. I turned him down, preferring to stay in the small one-bedroom apartment he leases for me.

As I step out of the cab, I can see that Vicktor is already here. His black town car is parked in the driveway, right in the middle as always. A sudden chill creeps up my spine, making me shudder as I hand the cab driver his fare. I look around the area as the cab drives away, not sure what I will find. Did the vampires follow me?

I can’t take the time to find out, Vicktor is waiting for me inside, and I learned long ago not to keep him waiting. While walking up the driveway I get another chill up my spine. This time I ignore it and continue walking. My instincts are telling me that the vampires are out there watching me through the darkness of the surrounding trees.

When I reach the front door, it is opened before I can reach the handle. Vicktor smiles at me with that sadistic smirk of his that always lets me know that I will not have a good night. His eyes flick behind me briefly, then he steps back to let me into the little foyer. Did he see something behind me I didn’t see as I was walking up?

As if he knew what I was thinking, Vicktor let out a chuckle as he continues to walk deeper into the house. His study is at the back of the house. It is where he insists on having all of our meetings. He says it is more formal than the living room where guest would sit. That always made me laugh as there hadn’t been another person, other than the housekeeper and myself, in this house since he bought it. Yet the house was lavish and immaculately decorated.

“I had Eric follow you from the office,” Vicktor told me as he went to sit behind his desk.

This news pisses me off and I glare at Vicktor as I sit down on one of the chairs he has facing his desk. “Why did you have Eric follow me? When have I not followed through on a mission?”

“Never. I had him follow you because I heard a rumor in the business world that Drakos Enterprises just had a major staff flip. That made me curious. Why now, after having the same staff for years?” Vicktor said as he reached for a tumbler full of whiskey. It was his drink of choice for these meetings.

“They were changing staff because one of their employees was stealing information,” I tell him. It wasn’t exactly a lie. It was something that had happened in the past.

“A full staff overhaul for one person being a thief? Interesting. Now tell me how the job went today? Did you learn anything useful?” Vicktor asks me.

I dislike the look in his eye. It is like he knows something I don’t. Does he have another spy werewolf spy inside Drakos Enterprises? If so, why did he send me in? Is this another game he is playing with me?

“The files are a mess and I spent most of the day doing the job they hired me to do. I only talked to Sebastion Drakos briefly during the interview, then again on the way out of the building for the night. He walked me out. Arianna Drakos is a friendlier, but she was busy most of the day. They are both werewolves, other than that I am not sure what you want me to learn in just a day.” I tell him.

“You have learned more in less time before, but given the size of Drakos Enterprises and the number of employees, I am sure it will take more time to get close to your mark. Lets say,” Vicktor paused as he thought it over, “two months. Will that give you enough time to get close to Sebastion? Will that give you enough time to seduce him with that body of yours?”

A shudder went through me as I remembered the night Vicktor had an intimate knowledge of my body. I push that thought back, as now is not the time to have the particular flashback. My time with Vicktor has been hell.

“You want me to have sex with my mark?” I ask him.

“No, Irina, I want you to fuck his brains out. Leave him a pile of mush so he lets his guard down for you. Then when he is vulnerable, we will strike. Fuck Sebastion every day if you have to until he is putty in the palm of your hands, then serve him and his sister on a silver plater to me. I want them both in my collection soon.” Vicktor replied. The smile on his face made me want to puke.

If only Vicktor knew how easy his request would be now. I have to do everything in my power to prevent him from learning that information. That knowledge will doom Sebastion and Arianna. I opened my mouth to respond to Vicktor, but his phone rang before I could say anything. He held up his hand to silence me as he answered the call.

“Yes, Isacc, what can I do for you now? Isn’t there a phoenix out there that you should be looking for?” Vicktor listened for a few moments to what Isacc had to tell him. His face darkened with rage at whatever Isacc told him. “Well, you tell the security team to double their forces until I get there. Have the room ready for Zasha.”

What was going on? Where was he taking my daughter? Vicktor ended his call, then picked up his glass and threw it against the wall. Then those evil eyes of his turn to look at me. In the depths of those eyes I saw the promise of pain, I knew the night would end badly for me, only this time it wasn’t for something I did.

Whatever went wrong with Isacc’s mission should not be my fault, but because I happen to be here when Vicktor got the bad news, I will be the one punished instead. I can only hope that he cuts me in places that I can easily hide. I flinch when Vicktor stands from his desk to come stand beside me. His eyes are glittering with his rage, his hands are balled into tight fists, and an air of demonic intention swirls about him.

“I can see your eyes flashing with your fear, Irina, you know how that excites me. However, since I need that pretty face and fuckable body of yours to get Sebastion Drakos, I will spare you tonight.” Vicktor walked to the study door then looked back at me.

“Where are you taking Zasha?” I ask, my voice quivering with fear for my daughter.

“I am taking her with me while I deal with Isacc’s fuck up. That is to make sure you don’t get any ideas and try to rescue her while I am away,” He chucked as he reminded me of my last escape attempt.

“Did Isacc lose the phoenix you were after?” I ask him. I know I am making a mistake by not letting him leave, but I want to know all I can about where my daughter will be. Any information he gives me now, I can use to help free her later.

“Yes, he lost her. Now her mate will die. I will be out two phoenixes and money. Now I suggest you get the fuck out of here now, unless you like the pain I inflict on that little body of yours.” Victor took one step towards me as he said the word pain.

That was enough for me. I stood from the chair and rushed past him as fast as I could move. The last time he tortured me, I couldn’t walk or lay on my back for days. Then there were the lacerations to my chest, stomach, and inner thighs. I still have scars on my stomach from the silver knives he used there. He wanted to give me permanent reminders of what happens when I defy him.

I went against his orders to help track a Fae. When I found her, she was already dying from a wound something created that I had no knowledge of. Instead of helping capture her, I went the wrong direction, letting her get away. I used some lame excuse about now knowing what I was looking for. Vicktor didn’t believe me. He took me to the darkroom he uses to torture his pets, then spent the entire night making me wish I had gone the right direction.

I haven’t thought about going against Vicktor since that night. Until today, when Sebastion Drakos walked into that security room and tipped my world upside down. The minute his scent invaded my senses, nothing would ever be the same again. Now all I can hope for is stopping him from taking my daughter away, but I know that I can not stop Vicktor alone.

Maybe the vampires will find something tonight as they follow him from here. My hopes hinge on four vampires and my mate to help me free Zasha. How screwed am I?