Did he just say he was going to cut my tongue out? Holy shit, he really was crazy! Did the medical journals know this? Society? People of earth? How did he hide this side of him? I was full on panicking at that moment.

Instead of bossing me around like I figured he’d do, he clapped his hands twice, powder flying off his gloves, more violin music began to come through an unseen sound system.

To be completely honest it was creepy.

Not soothing. Kind of like the music they play in the elevator in hopes to make you forget that you could plummet to your death at any point.

I leaned against the wall and watched him pull out metal instruments. Two scalpels, which made me think surgery. It killed me not asking, and when he pulled out a respirator and grabbed an IV bag, my hands began to shake against my body.

What exactly where we doing? Performing surgery? And in what world was I even close to being adequately capable of doing anything like that? I was studying diseases, but not in the literal sense where I cut up bodies and peered inside—that was a different major, a different type of person.

Books. I liked books.

Hands on experience? No, thank you.

“You will only aid me for a few minutes at a time. When I ask you to leave, you will walk out the door. Shut it behind you and don’t look back. You don’t ask questions. When the phone rings again, answer it and let him know my projected finish time in order to bring in the new patient. You’ll know my projected finish time because I’ll text it to the phone I gave you earlier this afternoon.”

Blood roared in my ears. So much information yet none of it connected or made sense.

“Maya!” he snapped. “Pay attention.”

I swallowed and nodded my head. “Shut the door, don’t look back, don’t ask questions, answer phone, answer your text. Got it?”

His shoulders sagged a bit.

“What if I don’t get your text?”

“Now that…” He smirked. “… is a good question.”

“I’m full of them, just let me ask.”

“I’m sure you are.” His eyebrows drew up in amusement. “If I don’t text, you wait for me. If after two hours you receive nothing. You find the black box located underneath the receptionist desk and follow the instructions. It’s important that you do exactly what those instructions say.”

“Or else?”

“Not the right question.” A muscle flexed in his jaw as he looked away and clenched his fists. “Do you think you can handle all of this?”

“No.”

Nikolai tilted his head and took two steps toward me. Licking his full lips he leaned in and whispered so close to my mouth I could almost taste him. “Lie.”

Afraid to breathe, I answered with a stiff nod and stepped back.

“Now, answer the door.”

“But there’s no—”

A loud knock sounded somewhere in the building.

“End of the hall, open the door, lead our patient in. Again, no questions.”

With more confidence than I felt, since my legs were like rubber as I made my way out of the office, I slowly walked to the end of the hall and opened the door.

I don’t know what I was expecting.

The boogie monster?

ET?

A friggin’ zombie from Walking Dead?

But a girl about my age stood on the other side of the door. She was wearing the shortest skirt I’d ever seen in my entire life. It was black and wrapped so tightly around her thighs it looked painted on. Her heels were tall and red, matching her bright red lipstick and bright red nails.

Blond hair was piled high on her head.

She assessed me just like I was assessing her.

Her eyes narrowed.

A man about six foot seven towered behind her. He had dark sunglasses on and was wearing all black just like me. The unmarked Lexus behind them was still running.

“Um…” I found my voice. “Just this way.”

“How long?” The man asked with a thick Russian accent.

“I’m not sure, I’ll just have—”

He held up his hand and sneered, then rubbed his bald head with that same hand. “Never mind.”

I opened the door wider and let the girl through.

She smelled like bubble gum. And she looked like a stripper, walked like a stripper, if I didn’t know any better I’d think Nikolai had some sort of… agreement with his patients or they weren’t patients at all. A sickening feeling started churning in my gut as I led her to the room and opened the door.

“Hey, Doc.” She winked and sat on the table. “This can’t take long because I have like, a few clients I need to get to tonight, big money.”

“Ah, big money?” Nikolai repeated then nodded to me.

I shut the door and waited, my back leaning against the furthest wall just in case he did something that meant I needed to run away—as fast as possible.

Not that there would be anywhere I could disappear to where he or my mafia boss father wouldn’t find me.

Dead if I went.

Tortured if I stayed?

I shook the thought away and watched as he engaged the girl as if she was the cutest thing on the planet.

He smiled, freaking smiled at her, flirted with her, and touched her. I wasn’t jealous, just… irritated, whatever, I was tired and still freaked out.

“So, Natalia,” he purred. “How has business been going? Any complaints?”

“I never get complaints.” She giggled behind her hand then leaned forward, her breasts practically toppling out of her low cut sparkly white shirt. “You should know that by now…”

Gross.

“Of course I do,” he said in a smooth as sin voice. “Open up for me just a bit.”

She opened her mouth while he looked inside and frowned. “How long have the sores been back?”

Sores?

“A few days.” She shrugged. “But you know they always go away when you give me medicine.”

“Like all good doctors.” He flashed another grin. “Alright… Maya.”

My head jerked to attention. “Yes?”

“Across the hall is the storage closet. Can you please get me a small vial of JR 88?”

“Sure.” With a gulp, I quickly went across the hall to get the vial. The storage closet was more of a drug addict’s paradise. There were enough pills to get a person high for eons—on top of that he had vials of things I couldn’t even pronounce. I finally located the right one and hurried back into the room.

Just in time to see Nikolai tuck the scalpel into the lapel of his jacket and pull out a needle.

I handed over the vial and waited.

With precision, he dipped the needle into the bottle then pulled a small amount, maybe the size of a pea, into the syringe. “Now, I know you hate needles.”

“Ah but your poking always makes me feel better, doc.” She winked.

And I again fought the urge to puke all over his perfect floors.

“All the girls do.” He winked right back.

Was I the only one not winking? Not flirting?

He licked his lips, stabbing her arm with the needle and slowly injecting whatever the hell he’d told me to grab. He quickly pulled the needle out once the medicine was gone.

She slumped back, her legs and mouth falling open as if she’d just lost the desire to rein it in. Her eyes rolled up and back, and with a snort or maybe a laugh ,she lay back.

Nikolai placed the vial onto the table, pulled out an IV and inserted it into her wrist, taping it in place.

I was still trying to figure out what he was doing when his head snapped up. “What are you still doing here?”

“I—”

“Leave.” He dismissed me with a wave of his hand.

With one final look at the drugged girl, I put my hand on the door knob and twisted.

He told me never to look back.

But I was too curious not to make that attempt.

And my curiosity was only made worse when I saw the reflection of the scalpel in his hand through the window of the door.

“Maya.” His tone was gruff. “Do your job.”

I didn’t look back but the music, the same violin music that had driven me insane, got louder, as if he needed the noise to block out whatever he was doing.