ess. Leaning against the marble wall of his penthouse, arms crossed, dark eyes on him, unreadable. Unmovable. Cold but not indifferent. No, there was heat there. A simmering intensity

nt me dead?" Viktor walked closer, the clack of his shoes against the marble floor making Noah tense. "Because someone wanted to send me a message." Noah's brows furrowed. "Me? What do I have to do with you?" Viktor knelt in front of him, close enough that Noah could feel the raw power rolling off him like heat from a fire. He reached out and gently took Noah's chin in his fingers. Noah's breath caught. "You have everything to do with me,solnyshko," he said

ands that had held a gun like they were part of his body. And yet he hadn't hurt him. Not even once. There was food in the kitchen the next morning, and a note written in perfe

rom the moment he stepped out of the car. Viktor guided him through it like he owned it. "Why are we here?" Noah whispered. "To show you something." They entered a back room where a man was tied to a chair. Bloodied. Beaten. Barely conscious. Noah froze. "Wh-what is this?" Viktor didn't even hesitate. He walked up to the man and whispered something in Russian. The man started crying. Literally sobbing. "Who is he?" Noah asked. "Someone who touched what's mine," Viktor said simply, then pulled out a gun and shot him in the head. Noah screamed. Fell back against the wall. Viktor walked to him calmly, crouched again like he had last night, and gripped Noah's face. "You want to survive in my world? Then know what it looks like. I protect what's mine, Noah. That includes you

ot turning around. "Sorry if I'm not adjusting fast enough for your liking." Viktor was silent for a moment. Then he stepped closer, placing a hand on the railing beside Noah's. "I didn't bring you there to scare you." "You failed" Noah muttered. "I brought you because I need you to understand what my life is. What you're walking into." His voice dropped. "Because once you're in, there's no going back." Noah finally turned to look at him. "Why me, Viktor? Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?" Their eyes locked in the dim light. There was heat there. And something elsesomething haunted. "I wa