As soon as they returned inside the house, Maksim walked ahead of her and moved with purpose, as if heading somewhere. Curious and with nothing left to do, Dani followed the dog as he led her down the long hallway past the foyer and to one of the rooms on the ground floor.

Maksim squeezed past a slightly open door. Dani was about to follow when she spotted Alexei inside the room, standing by the window with his back facing hers. He had a phone to his ear.

Past Alexei’s tall, suited stature, the window’s curtains were parted to show a view of the garden where she had just come from. She crept closer to the door, finding a handsomely decorated office inside. She hadn’t been inside this room before. How could she have missed it?

“You have five days left, Mr. De Luca.”

Dani’s spine went rigid.

“Now it’s not my style to be persistent, but I figured a little reminder can go a long way.” Alexei slipped a hand in his pocket. “Last I checked, there’s only a little over three million dollars that’s been deposited to our account. Should I be worried?”

Dani’s ears began to ring. She couldn’t have heard him right. That didn’t even cover half of what was needed.

It was impossible to hear what her father must be saying on the other line, but she tried to inch closer to the door anyway.

“I know it’s difficult, and I do sympathize.” Alexei sounded almost genuine. “Now I’m a man of my word when I say we won’t harm your daughter, but my promise is only as good as your ability to meet our demands.”

Dani no longer felt herself breathing. She eyed Alexei’s back long and hard as her pulse began to throb wildly in her temples.

“Should I send a little gift from your daughter? How about one of her fingers?”

Dani bolted from the door and ran as fast as her legs could take her. Maksim barked from inside Alexei’s office, but she didn’t care even as her shoes thudded loudly against the carpet. She ran upstairs to her room and slammed the door behind her. She collapsed to the foot of her bed, breathing hard.

Tears stung the corners of her eyes, but all the anger and frustration kept them at bay. She didn’t know whether to hate Alexei’s despicable cruelty or her own pathetic incompetence for not being able to do a single thing. There were five days to go. Alexei was demanding too much, too soon. This wasn’t fair at all.

In her outrage, Dani had forgotten to lock her door. Alexei pushed her door open and stepped inside her room. He still had his phone in his hand.

Dani immediately stood up. “Stay the hell away from me.”

Alexei raised both hands. “I’m sorry you had to hear that. I mean you no harm.”

“You fucking liar,” she snarled. “You were just planning to chop off my finger!”

“Yes well, unfortunately it looks like your father needs a little bit of pushing.”

“Oh, and what? Will you keep hacking off bits and pieces of me until you get your ten million dollars?!”

“Don’t be unreasonable.”

Alexei eyed her with such calm, it made her want to scream. She wanted to drive a chainsaw through him.

“Relax, Dani. It’s an empty threat. You get to keep all your fingers to yourself.”

She gaped at him in disbelief. An amused smile formed on his lips.

“You think this is funny?!” she exclaimed.

Alexei leaned a shoulder against her doorway. “Believe it or not, I take no pleasure in any form of torture, hypothetical or otherwise.”

She shook her head. “You’re a fucking psycho.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He leaned away from the door. “Come along now. We have an errand to run.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Alexei slipped his phone in his suit pocket. “We’re heading out. Unless you’d like to spend another minute in this house?”

Dani was about to hurl another insult at him, but the idea of actually being able to leave the estate was just too good of an opportunity to pass. “Where are we going?”

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out.” Alexei left her room as his voice echoed down the hallway. “Hurry on then, Miss De Luca. Daylight’s burning.”

Dani got into a car with Alexei, escorted by a driver and one of his lackeys in the passenger seat up front. It was her first time seeing the outside of Alexei’s estate in broad daylight, and it was both depressing and distressing to find that the scenery did not change at all.

Even after twenty minutes of driving, the same long stretch of road and snow-covered forests surrounded her. Occasionally, a small house in the distance would pop up every few minutes, and even passing cars were just as sparse. All of the signages were in a language she couldn’t read. At this rate, there was literally no way of escaping without being lost on her own or eventually found by Alexei’s men.

Dani morosely looked out the window. “Is there really nothing out here but snow?”

“In this part of town and at this time of the year, I’m afraid so.” Alexei placed an elbow on the armrest. “I can see how this looks poorly on the tourism, but we do have lovely countrysides in the spring.”

“I doubt I’ll be sticking around long enough to see that anyway.”

Alexei crossed his legs. “Oh, you never know.”

Her ears pricked at his response, but she let his comment slide. One way or another, she was definitely getting out of here.

She cast him a sideways glance. “You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”

“Patience, little one. We’ll arrive in about half an hour.”

A scowl left her lips. “I’m five-foot-seven, if you must know.”

“Still little to me.”

Dani curbed her tongue, not wanting to sound any more childish than she seemed. She darted her gaze back to the window and assessed her current situation.

For two other men to join them instead of Alexei driving himself… this ‘errand’ had to pose some degree of danger, unless Alexei was simply being thorough. She would’ve had a better chance of outrunning him had it just been the two of them. Clearly, today was not going to be the day of her escape.

Dani balled a hand to a fist. She was getting out of this place one way or another, or die trying.

They arrived into town twenty minutes later, which was Dani’s first glimpse of civilization in this country. Still, there were only a handful of old-looking buildings, and there were more closed stores than there were open. The few people out on the streets were all older people, with virtually no one appearing to be around her age.

The car turned left towards a large, grey building. A guard halted them as Alexei lowered his window. The guard took one look at Alexei’s face before signaling for the gates to be opened.

The car proceeded forward, passing by an old man in a wheelchair being pushed by a nurse. Were they in a hospital?

Their vehicle drove past the main entrance and to the back of the building. There were only a handful of cars in the parking lot where they stopped.

“Let’s go, Miss De Luca,” Alexei said, getting out of the vehicle.

As she followed him towards the building, she turned to find one of Alexei’s men walking behind her. She tried to scan possible exits or other means of escape, but she was only met with a long, narrow hallway. The sound of Alexei’s heels bounced off the walls in this old and dingy-looking building, and the smell of disinfectant made her face scrunch.

A man in a lab coat stood at the end of the hallway. He exchanged nods with Alexei before fishing out a ring of keys from his pocket and unlocked a set of metal double doors.

The dark room was considerably colder when she followed Alexei inside. The lights flickered on, revealing empty steel tables and medical equipment. Rows of compartmentalized, metal doors lined the walls.

Dani could feel her face blanching. “Are we in a morgue?”

“That we are,” Alexei replied.

Alexei’s man stood guard outside with his back against the door. Her legs turned to lead, even as every inch of her body screamed to get out of here.

“Are you going to kill me here…?” Her eyes darted to the metal doors on the wall. “I still have five days!”

“Kill you?” Alexei shook his head with a chuckle. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’re here to get a finger.”

Confusion briefly abated the spreading terror in her veins. “What? A finger?”

“A little present we’ll be sending your father, remember?” He raised his eyebrows. “Give me your hand, Miss De Luca.”

She hid her arms behind her back. “No fucking way. You said it was an empty threat!”

Alexei sighed and removed the leather glove from his left hand. “It’s not your finger we’re taking. We just need it for comparison.”

The man in the lab coat moved to the cold chambers with a clipboard in hand, sifting through papers. Realization dawned on Dani, and relief flooded through her so fast it nearly sent her knees weakening.

Alexei moved towards her. This close she realized how tall he really was. He had to be at least six-foot-three, and she had to tilt her head up to look at his face. His ice blue eyes were bright against the fluorescent light, mesmerizing her.

His hand reached for her arm behind her back. His fingers were surprisingly warm on her skin as he brought her hand forward and studied it. Her palms remained cold and clammy, and she was unable to control her fingers from shaking.

He clasped his hand with hers, steadying them. His large hand effortlessly took hers, and it felt strong and strangely comforting. Oddly, for a man who was well-dressed all the time, Alexei had the rough hands of a worker.

“There now. That wasn’t so hard, was it?” he murmured, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before letting go.

She watched his back as he walked to the man in the lab coat, who opened one of the metal doors and pulled out a zipped body from the chamber. Something cold began forming in the pit of her stomach.

“Over here, Miss De Luca.”

A whimper nearly left her lips, but she mustered the courage to approach the men anyway. She stopped an arm’s breadth behind Alexei.

“I take it this is your first time seeing a body,” he mused.

“My father’s a launderer, not a killer.”

Alexei tilted his head and gave her a curious look. “Is he now?”

Her forehead creased. What was that supposed to mean?

The man in the lab coat unzipped the body bag. Dani meant to look away, but it was too late.

Inside was a blonde-haired woman who looked to be around her age. The woman’s skin was just the slightest tinge of blue, and while Dani was expecting something gruesome, the young woman looked quite peaceful, as if she were just sleeping. Still, she couldn’t stare at her face for too long, half-expecting the woman to suddenly open her eyes.

With a gloved hand, the medical examiner lifted the woman’s right arm out of the bag. Her hand had long fingers and clean, unpolished nails like Dani’s. Alexei nodded to the examiner before the bag was zipped close again.

“Are we seriously taking her finger?” Dani asked in disbelief. “Won’t her family notice?”

Alexei shrugged. “Not if the rest of her body’s inside a casket.”

She audibly swallowed. “How did she die?”

“Suicide.” Alexei slipped his leather glove back on. “Something about her parents refusing to let her move to the city.”

“How do you even know about that?”

“This is a small town. Everyone knows everybody.”

Dani stared at the body bag. “The only person my age in this place and she’s dead.”

“There’s nothing left for young people in this area. Most move to the nearest city, like she wanted. I suppose her parents were just being overprotective.”

Alexei spoke a few words in Russian to the medical examiner. The man nodded before leaving. Alexei headed for the door, and they were back out in the hallway again.

“Did you grow up here?” Dani asked.

“No, but since my estate is here I’ve grown to become familiar with the town and its people.”

“Why would you even choose to buy a house in such a remote area?”

“I like my peace and quiet.” A grin formed on his lips. “And it comes in handy when I have to abduct American girls like you.”

She meant to take offense, but Alexei’s arresting smile seemed to nullify it. She could only roll her eyes in response as they began heading out. Alexei opened the door for her.

“I hope this can be our little secret, Miss De Luca,” he said. “Let’s hope your finger will be enough to send you home.”

She paused halfway out the door. “Why are you doing this?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Would you rather it was a dead woman’s finger or yours?”

The cold breeze harshly whipped against her face. “No, I mean you could’ve just easily chopped off my finger instead of going through all this trouble.”

“Consider it a reward for good behavior.” He winked. “Do we have a deal?”

Dani shook her head. “You’re fucking crazy.”

Alexei laughed behind her as they walked back to the car.