Fredrick_Udele

The hottest man I’ve ever seen is now my new boss—
and I’m stuck in a house with him…
Until one of us cracks.

I’ve got debt—yeah, I know, so does everyone else on Planet Earth.
But the bills I’m paying keep my dad and my grandma alive.
So it’s pretty messed-up for Timofey Viktorov to use them as a threat to keep me under control.

Not that he cares.
As a billionaire CEO, he takes no prisoners in the boardroom.
And as the don of the Viktorov Bratva, he takes no prisoners in real life, either.

Which is why he has no qualms about extorting me into taking his deal.
Live in my mansion…
Care for my baby…
Or suffer the consequences.

But he’s not the only one with an agenda.
Timofey has skeletons in his closet—and I’m determined to dig them out.
He’s just as determined to keep me far away from the secrets of his past.

The longer I’m in his house, the tenser things get.
Every time we brush past each other in the hallway, something sparks.
Every time we cross paths in the night, the ice grows thinner.

Sooner or later, it’s going to crack.

Whiskey Poison

Akim is in the living room when I find him. He has a bowl of popcorn on his lap and the remote in his hand, furiously flipping through channels faster than the television can keep up.


"Counting how many channels Timofey subscribes to," he says, not slowing his clicking or looking in my direction.


"Channels aren't numbered the way they used to be, you know? 1, 2, 3, on and on. Now it's CineDine 1 and CineDine 2 or The Game Channel and The Game Channel Late Night. I just want a straight-up number. Why is that so hard?"


I sit on the far end of the couch and reach for his popcorn. "Why does it matter?"


"It doesn't," he says. "I just want to know how much money he's wasting. Cable is basically a scam. Only the boomers still have it. Plus, he never even watches television. What does he need 1,349 channels for?"


CHAPTER 65