Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Gracie walked towards him, turning around so he could zip up the back of her dress. Wrinkling her nose, she said, “Horrible. Some nouveau riche shithead from Russia’s competing with my business here. The bastard’s trying to inch me out, getting the banks to call in my loans—”
“I can help you if you want.”
Gracie stilled. She had toyed with the idea of asking Helios Andreadis for a loan. Everyone knew he was loaded, after all. But in the end, she had vetoed the idea herself. She really didn’t know him that well, and she hated to be indebted to any stranger.
But after what happened earlier tonight...
Maybe he wasn’t a stranger at all. Maybe he was a kindred soul.
“What do you have in mind?”
Helios caressed one bare shoulder. “I was thinking...since we had the same tastes...you might be able to help me with something I’ve always wanted.”
Her breath caught at the heated look in his eyes. “What is it?”
“I was thinking...maybe you and I...we could look for someone to play around with. Someone we could do whatever we wanted to, and no one would care what happened to that person.”
He wanted someone they could kill, Gracie realized. That was one of the few taboos in the club, alongside never revealing the names of other members. Violating any of those rules meant death, which was why she had never spoken of her time there, not even to her father. Thankfully, since he was a member of a similar club back in Sicily, Manolito Chavez had never thought to ask her, either.
What Helios wanted was impossible in the club...but not in her father’s world. She licked her lips. “How much are we talking about?”
“How much do you need to keep your business out of trouble?” Helios returned silkily.
Holding her breath, she named an amount that was a lot more than what the banks were demanding from her.
“Done.” His eyes glittered. “And if you find me someone by tomorrow, I’ll double the amount.”
“Tomorrow?” She tried not to let Helios see how the demand flustered her. “That’s too soon—”
Helios’ fingers encircled her neck. “I can’t help it, cara. You make me want to kill. So. Badly.” His fingers tightened around her neck. “But I don’t want to risk hurting you. It’s so rare for me to find someone who matches my tastes. I want to keep you forever, bella mia, but I need to kill. You will help me with that, won’t you?”
He really was Thanato. Death. His name suited him very well indeed. In a fit of reckless desire, she whispered, “Yes.”
The lust glittering in Gracie’s eyes was disgusting, but he knew if he didn’t act on it, Gracie would begin to suspect him. He tore off her gown, making her gasp. She opened her mouth to snap at him, but he took her lips in another ravaging kiss, biting her lip and tongue so that they would both taste blood. She raked her nails over his back and he shuddered, knowing Gracie would mistake his revulsion for desire.
One more night, Helios thought grimly even as he methodically worked on arousing the woman in his arms. One more night and he would be able to save MJ from the hell she was in.
Chapter Nine
OLGA SAMARAS WANTED to run when she saw who her last visitors were for the day. But because she had her pride, she forced herself to stay still in her seat, raising her chin as she said, “You have no business here.”
Helios and the other officers ignored the petulant answer coming from the country’s deputy finance minister, instead crossing the vast office to sit close. At fifty-three, Olga appeared at least a decade younger, her dark hair unmarred by white strands and her face smooth and unlined. No one looking at her deceptively innocent visage would ever guess that under her cloak of public servitude hid a gruesomely sadistic streak, one that had earned her the nickname of Thanato.
“This will be our last time to visit you,” Yuri murmured.
“That was what you said the last time, too,” Olga said bitterly.
Kellion’s lips twisted as he perched himself on the edge of the minister’s desk. “Even if it was, you are not in any position to complain, are you?”
The implied threat was not lost on her. Somehow, these young men had discovered her greatest-kept secret, and they had used it to their advantage, threatening to expose her if she did not cooperate with them.
“I did everything you asked,” she flung back. “I made sure everyone thought you are really Thanato—”
“It’s not enough now, unfortunately,” Andreus slotted in in a hard voice. “Tomorrow, Helios has been invited to a private ball by Manolito Chavez—”
Her eyes widened. “The Sicilian human trafficker?” She shook her head. “That person is even worse than I am. I stay away from children, but that madman—”