Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“Hello?” I say groggily, wondering if this is a dream, my body tingling as I imagine it’s him. Pray it’s him.
“It’s me,” a small, scared voice says. “Mila.”
Mila? Dimitri’s bride-to-be? I push down the flutter of frustration that tries to grip me.
“Um, how can I help?” I ask.
“I need to talk to you, please.”
She sounds so desperate. I get out of bed and pull the bathrobe around me. She’s got her hair tied up, wearing sneakers and a hoodie, looking ready for an excursion.
“What’s up?” I say.
“I need your help, please.” Desperation enters her voice. “My little brother wants to come and stay with us, but Dimitri says it’s too dangerous.”
My head swims. I can’t imagine Dimitri saying that. “Is your brother safe?”
“With my dad? Hell no.” She wraps her arms around herself, making herself look smaller and more vulnerable. “One soldier managed to sneak him out. He’s waiting for me in the desert. I’ve got a way out, but I don’t want to go alone.”
I shift from foot to foot, thinking about what Dimitri would say if he were here. I know he wouldn’t want me to put myself at risk.
“How old is he?” I ask.
“Ten. My dad, he… he’s not a good man. He hurts him. He—”
“What’s taking so long?” a voice grunts from the dark.
Mila flinches. Over her shoulder, I see something glint in the darkness. When I look closer, I realize what it is. My heart flutters almost into my throat.
“The door!” the voice roars as I try closing it in Mila’s face.
I’m not fast enough. She darts into the bedroom, but I throw it closed behind her and turn the lock. Mila watches me with tears in her eyes, her mouth hanging open.
“Do you even have a brother?” I yell as the man starts pounding on the door. This is the second time some big bad wolf has tried to huff and puff and blow my life out.
“I’m sorry,” Mila says. “Oh, God. I’m so sorry.”
CHAPTER 15
DIMITRI
He used a silencer, but they’re not as quiet as people commonly think. Lights have switched on, causing Artyom to kneel next to me and put the gun against my head. That’s a rookie mistake, placing the barrel so close. It’s not needed. He could easily crouch on the other side of the courtyard with the pistol aimed at me and achieve the same effect.
Finally, the light switches off. “Bulletproof vest, clever,” Artyom whispers.
My chest is finally starting to feel normal again, though I know there will most likely be some bruising.
“You don’t seem too keen on finishing the job,” I point out.
“Just waiting for the right time,” he grunts.
“What did you mean about Mila?” I snap.
“Isn’t it obvious? Your father, Dimitri, her father… They’re willing or were willing to do things that made it impossible to deny they were really in charge, but you’re not willing to cross that line. A man like Nikolai can make his daughter do anything he wants.”
“Maybe,” I say, “but you’re forgetting something very important.”
“I am?”
My hand slowly closes over the hilt of my knife. With the gun pressed against me, I’ll have to be fast, but I’ve got all the motivation a man could need. Nobody is going to hurt Lia. Ever.
“I’ll never let anybody hurt her.”
“Who, the girl?”
“Her name is Lia. I’m going to marry her one day.”
“Our surveillance tells us you only just met her.”
“That’s all it takes sometimes,” I growl, then spring into action.
CHAPTER 16
DAHLIA
“Mila, open the door,” the man grunts from the other side. He’s stopped hitting it, probably because it’s thick and sturdy, and he’s making too much noise. “Mila.”
She sits on the bed, her shoulders slumped, fighting off tears. It’s annoying me how badly she wants to cry when she was the one who was going to help kidnap me. Ruin my life. Betray me.
“Mila, I need you on my team,” I hiss. “I know you’re not a bad person.”
She turns to me, her eyes red. “I do have a brother,” she says. “My dad is threatening him, but he hasn’t escaped. He’ll never escape. Nobody can escape my dad.”
“Mila?” the man groans. “I can hear whispering.”
“Who is that?” I say, making my voice even quieter.
“A man loyal to my dad.”
“Just one man?”
“The Sokolovs respect Dimitri. My dad was complaining about that before he sent me here. He wants the rest of the world to be as miserable and depressing as he is.”
“Mila?” the man continues.
“So no other men are loyal to him—all to Dimitri and Mikhail?”
When I say Dimitri’s brother’s name, Mila flinches, making me wonder if she has a crush on him. Or is that just wishful thinking?
“I think so,” she says.
“Right.”
I quickly rush to the window, ignoring Mila when she asks me what I’m doing. I can’t and won’t think about the repercussions of this. If her dad is as evil as she says, then bringing me to him isn’t exactly going to make him go easier on Mila’s kid brother.