“Nic, what do we do when someone is late on their payment, huh?” Oskar says.
The hulking henchman pounds a fist into his palm and grumbles in a tone that sounds almost bored, “We charge interest.”
“And if they can’t pay interest… what do we do then?”
“Find an alternative method of payment,” Konrad breaks in, shattering a second votive.
“For example, if you don’t have cash, sometimes we’ll take an equitable amount of flesh or blood instead. And let me tell you, sooka, the exchange rate is not so good,” Oskar hisses, cracking his knuckles as he approaches me. I wince as Konrad picks up a chair and throws it across the room, sending it clattering across the dance floor and smashing against a wall.
“What do you want?” I ask, holding my head high.
Oskar cackles and puts his hands on his hips, eyeing me up and down. “Well, this debt is quite a sticky one. I think we might have to split the payment between both flesh and blood, wouldn’t you agree, Konrad?”
“I’ll take the flesh if you want to stake a claim on the blood, Nicolas!” Konrad calls out over his shoulder. Nic nods and starts lumbering toward me, arms poised at his sides and his muscles rippling with every heavy step. I feel my throat close up with terror.
“And what do I get?” Oskar says, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. “Ahh yes, I get the pleasure of watching and the satisfaction of another business transaction carried out successfully. What more can a man ask for these days?”
He steps up to me and I freeze up as he lifts a hand to gently caress my cheek. Then he pats it a couple times and says, “Nicolas, Konrad, come.”
The henchmen rush to my side and each grab one of my arms, wresting them behind my back as Oskar continues to survey me with beady, mean eyes. He steps back a few feet and clucks his tongue as though weighing his options. Then he claps his hands together.
“Okay, boys. You can have your playtime with Miss Foss. Then it’s back to business.”
“No,” I murmur under my breath.
“Oh yes,” Konrad purrs darkly, his breath hot and rancid on my neck. I shiver and try to jerk away from him but he only tightens his vice grip on my arm and yanks me closer. Nic stands utterly still and expressionless, stoic as always.
I gasp at the sensation of a long-fingered hand clutching my ass, sliding down the slope of my thigh and between them, his fingers rubbing at my crotch outside my jeans. I cry out in disgust and clamp my legs together more tightly, trying to fling my head back to hit Konrad. But he dodges the move easily, bringing his hand up around my neck.
“You little bitch,” he rasps, laughing. “You don’t have the money, and you don’t want to honor our deal? You can’t get out of this. You have to pay.”
“I refuse to pay with my dignity,” I manage to choke out. I kick backward and strike Konrad in the shin. He lets out a bellow of anguish and twists my arm, causing me to wince, tears forming in my eyes.
“You’ve got none of that left,” he replies.
As his fingers curl around my throat, Oskar interrupts.
“Well, if our client doesn’t want to play nice then we will simply have to skip to the next portion of our transaction. Nic, do your work.”
I struggle as hard as I can trying to break free, my body tensing up in anticipation of the pain I’m about to endure. Nic squares up and winds his arm back to pummel me in the stomach. As he lands the first blow, I cry out in agony and buckle inward, my chest heaving as I try to suck air into my shocked lungs.
He pulls back to hit me again, with Konrad twisting my arms more tightly behind my back, bruising my flesh and laughing low and evil in my ear. I fold in on myself, wondering if I might actually die here, right now, in the middle of my father’s club.
“Don’t you dare.”
The words come from a deep voice across the room, a new voice. We all look over in surprise to see Ivan standing there, a big black gun raised and pointed in our direction. My stomach drops, as I have no idea whether he’s there to save me or to finish me off.
He is wearing all black, his pressed button-up shirt half-tucked, his jacket and shoes obviously more expensive than my rent. There’s dark stubble shadowing his jaw and his thick brows are furrowed in anger. His full lips are set in a hard line and I can see his finger positioned on the trigger of his gun.
“Make one more move and all three of you will be dead before you can even harm a hair on her head.”
With one desperate, pleading look toward Oskar, Konrad releases me, shoving me away. Nic raises his massive arms over his head in surrender and backs off a few feet. I stumble and fall to my knees, pain radiating up and down my legs.