<b>Chapter </b><b>224 </b>
<b>Russell </b>stared at her, his expression unreadable.
Aria hesitated for a second, then stepped in, her eyes licking to the lit button for the neenth floor before she pressed eighteen herself. The elevator <b>doors </b><b>slid </b>shut.
They each stood on opposite sides of the car
“We’ve met before, haven’t we?” Russell’s voice <b>was </b>low and deep.
Aria hadn’t expected him to recognize her so quickly.
After all, <b>back </b>then, she’d looked like <b>a </bpletely different person,
She replied calmly, “I don’t think so. I don’t <b>know </b>you.”
“Is that so?” Russell let <b>out </b>a cold, humorlessugh, dropping his gaze. “You remind me of someone who broke my rules, Ms. Saxon.”
Five years ago, Aria had taken a job protecting a certain politician–<b>turing </b>out a killer by posing as his lover at the Baron casino.
The n worked, cha
chaos broke <b>out</b><b>, </b>and the casino was forced to <b>shut </b>down for a while,
Aria <b>had </b>left a generous payoff behind and vanished without a trace.
Clearly, Russell was talking about that night.
Just as she was about to speak<b>, </b><b>a </b>surge of danger prickled her nerves.
She moved on instinct, dodging the sudden attack his hand <b>shing </b>through the <b>air</b>, a test as much as a killing blow
If she’d been any ordinary person, her throat would have been crushed by now.
In the cramped space, fists whistled through the air. He struck<b>, </b>she parried.
Russelshed out with a vicious kick
in such a narrow elevator, a missed kick could easily <b>you </b>away–or break your own bones
Aria twisted out
of the way, then took advantage of the opening to drive her knee toward his gut.
He absorbed it without flinching, grabbing for her shoulders with both hands.
it
She dodged, twisted, then drove her hand for his neck–mming Russell’s back <b>into </b>the elevator wall
The doors slid open at the eighteenth floor
Russell made no move to counterattack, only stared her down, eyes sharp and calcting. “Not bad. No wonder you managed to tear my casino apart.”
Aria’s grip on him didn’t <b>loosen, </b>her brow furrowed. “Didn’t I already pay you? Wasn’t fiteen million dors enough”
Russell replied, “Did I ever saygreed to your terms?”
He raised his lett hand, enclosing hers where was locked around his neck. “That’s not how I settle debts.”
His palm <b>was </b>hot—almost feverish, Ana let go, her voice t. Tine. What do you want, then?”
The doors slid shut
started moving down.
13:04 Tue <b>10 </b>Jun
“I’m not interested in money<b>,</b>” Russell said quietly
He leaned in, gaze burning, not bothering to hide the hunger in his eyes. “You’ve got a beautiful body, you know.”
His hand moved, about to touch her face, but Aria slipped aside, her eyes turning cold. “<b>So</b><b>?</b><b>” </b>
Russell’s lips curled. “Why don’t you spend <b>a </b>month with me?”
The suggestion was shameless. Aria’s expression darkened. <b>She </b>looked up, her voice icy “You nning to kill me?”
There was humiliation in her words, but underneath, the threat was all too real.
Shutting down his business for one night wasn’t enough for him to want her dead–he had other motives.
Russell’sugh was low and chilling as he twirled a loose strand of her <b>hair </b>around his finger. “No. I want to make you a living specimen. Something to admine every day”
She’d heard plenty of rumors about Russell,
A ver
blood</b>.
*Aria pressed a hand to his shoulder, pinning him against the elevator wall. Russell nced up at the security camera, his tone mocking “Ms. Saxon, there
are cameras in here. Maybe we should take this elsewhere?”
Under the lights, her face looked almost translucent, an almost angelic beauty<b>–</b>so pure on the surface, so dark beneath. He found it maddening.