Chapter 2: Naughty Little Cat

“In your dreams!” My shout echoed through the empty church.

I shoved Maximilian's hand off my waist, my breath coming fast with both anger and fear.

Far from being offended, the man laughed.

His laugh was soft, deep, and low, as if I'd just told the most entertaining joke he'd ever heard. The faint curve of his lips did nothing to soften the coldness of the gaze that had been fixed on me the whole time.

My chest rose and fell as I held back my emotions.

Bastard.

I didn't know what else to do. Screaming wouldn't change anything, crying would only make me look weak, and hitting him would probably just break my own hand.

Without another word, I turned around.

If I couldn't fight him right now, at least I could still walk away from him. Before my foot could land its third step, Maximilian's voice stopped me.

“One more step away from me, and I can have someone put a bullet in your fiancé's head—ah, no. Your ex-fiancé's.”

My body froze. My feet felt nailed to the church's marble floor.

I knew he wasn't bluffing.

Ever since seeing the video of Owen tied to that chair, I'd understood one thing. Maximilian Blackridge never made a threat he wasn't capable of carrying out.

I clenched both fists.

Out of my four failed engagements, Owen was the only one who had truly made me believe love still existed.

Owen had never made an issue of my past, or asked why four other men had left me. He'd simply held my hand and told me that everyone deserved a chance at happiness.

I couldn't let myself be the reason a man that good lost his life. Slowly, I turned back around.

“Why me?” I asked quietly. “Why are you doing this to me and Owen? What did we do wrong?!”

Maximilian started walking toward me. He moved like a predator that knew its prey had no way left to escape.

I stepped back instinctively. But before I could take a second step, his large hand was already wrapped around my neck.

I gasped. His grip didn't choke me, but it was firm enough to catch my breath. My body was lifted slightly, drawn closer to him. Our faces were now only inches apart.

I could see my own reflection in his dark gray eyes.

“Because I want to,” Maximilian answered, each word deliberate.

I glared at him despite my heart hammering wildly.

“Just because you want to, you'll ruin someone's life? Do you know how important this wedding is to me?” I hissed.

Instead of responding, Maximilian lowered his face. His nose moved slowly along my cheek.

I held my breath.

Then, like a wild animal recognizing its prey, he breathed me in. A shiver ran down my spine.

“Naughty little cat,” he murmured softly. His nose trailed lower until it brushed the side of my neck. “Your life will fall apart even more without me.”

My body trembled. I squeezed my eyes shut as his warm breath swept across the skin of my neck.

Disgust. Fear. Anger.

Everything blurred together.

How was I supposed to fight a man like this?

Maximilian held Owen's life in his hands. He had men everywhere. And from everything I'd heard, it seemed the world always sided with a man named Maximilian Blackridge.

Without letting go of my hand, Maximilian pulled me out of the church. Sunlight blinded me the moment the church doors opened.

Rows of gleaming black cars stood parked neatly in the front courtyard. The man who had dragged me to the altar earlier was already waiting there. His hands were pulling something along.

I frowned.

A few seconds later, my eyes went wide.

“Is that ... my suitcase?”

The pink suitcase I'd left at the hotel was now in that man's hands.

I spun toward Maximilian.

“You went into my hotel room?!”

“No.” Maximilian looked utterly at ease. “I've been with you here the whole time.”

I let out a long breath.

Of course. If it wasn't him, it was his men. I wasn't even sure which was more terrifying.

Sighing in irritation, I walked quickly to the suitcase. I snatched the handle from the man's hand and pulled it to my side.

“Just let Lucas carry it.” Maximilian's voice came from behind me.

The man named Lucas immediately took the suitcase back from me. His movement was so quick I didn't even have a chance to hold on to it.

“Hey!”

Lucas only gave me a polite nod without saying a single word. Every one of Maximilian's orders was law, not to be questioned.

Maximilian approached me. “Starting today, you'll be staying in my room.”

I shook my head at once.

“No.” I looked him straight in the eye. “You're a stranger to me, Mr. Blackridge.”

Maximilian's eyes narrowed slightly. He glanced at the expensive watch on his wrist.

“Even with Owen already on the plane, I can still have it blown out of the sky if you don't cooperate with me, Emery,” Maximilian said flatly.

“Do you think everything will go according to your plan just because you threaten me?” I tilted my head.

This time it was Maximilian who fell silent. His gaze traced my face, trying to read what I was thinking.

That was the moment my eyes caught a nun pushing a food cart toward the building beside the church. On the metal tray sat some cutlery, and a kitchen knife.

Without thinking twice, I ran.

“Emery!” Maximilian's voice echoed behind me.

I was faster. My hand snatched the knife's handle before anyone could stop me. In one motion, I pressed the blade's edge against my own throat.

Everyone froze.

“Did you think …” My breath came in ragged gasps. “That you're the only one who gets to make threats here, Max?”

Maximilian's eyes widened. I could see the shift in expression finally break through on that ice-cold man's face.

My hand shook. Without meaning to, the sharp edge of the blade nicked the skin of my neck.

It stung. A single drop of blood trickled slowly down past my collarbone.

I winced.

This was the biggest gamble of my life. If Maximilian didn't take the bait, I'd die alone in a country that wasn't even my own.

Maximilian let out a slow breath.

“What do you want, naughty little cat?”

I blinked a few times. Maximilian had taken the bait?

I gripped the knife's handle tighter so my hand wouldn't look like it was shaking.

“At the very least, give me my phone. I need to call Owen and make sure he's safe,” I answered, stretching out my free hand toward him.

Maximilian shifted his gaze to Lucas. Without a word, he gave a short nod.

Lucas immediately pulled my phone from his jacket pocket and handed it back to me.

My hand moved quickly to unlock the screen, then searched for Owen's name in my contacts.

Just as my thumb was about to press the call button, Maximilian said, “You'll only be disappointed if he doesn't answer.”