Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
I didn’t hold any of this against them… until they turned that cold calculation against Zoya.
They spoke about her like she was nothing.
Like she wasn’t the most incredible and strong woman I had ever met.
They talked like the same fire that forged them didn’t also create her.
“Look, I think the situation has resolved itself,” Artem said.
I could practically hear the way he was likely sitting back in his chair, a look of boredom and indifference on his face as he crossed his leg, bouncing one ankle on his knee, and tapped the ash from his cigar.
Asshole.
“I agree,” Gregor said. “I don’t really care why this girl was after our family if the threat has been neutralized. She tried to play with the big boys, and Los Infideles decided they didn’t want to throw in with her anymore. I say we let them have her. While they’re distracted, we can go in and do her job. We’ll clean house.”
Jackass.
“Roman killed at least a dozen tonight, and assuming they had the same numbers that I saw beforehand, it’s not even going to take a large team to go in and knock them all out,” Pavel, the traitorous bastard, added.
He may have had a legitimate claim for retribution, but it still pissed me off.
This was my mission, my problem, my woman.
And they were sitting around chatting about it like it was just another fucking Tuesday.
“I mean, it doesn’t seem very sporting. They’re all going to be distracted by the girl. But I’m up for an outing,” Damien’s arrogant voice added. “It’d be nice to practice my knife skills a little bit. Yelena has been keeping me busy at home getting ready for her next fashion show. I love the woman, but I’m fucking sick and tired of trying to figure out the difference between antique white, cream, and ivory. That shit’s way outside my skill set.”
They laughed. The sound grated through my skull like broken glass. Heat crawled up my spine, and my jaw locked so hard something popped. My fists clenched until my nails bit through my palms. Rage coiled in my chest, dark and primal. My ears rang, and for a second, their laughter disappeared, hidden beneath the pulse pounding in my head.
Every muscle in my body twitched, vibrating with rage. My jaw ached from clenching. Still, I locked everything down and forced my body to remain still. I couldn’t afford to flinch.
Mikhail was deliberate and quick with the needle, but if I started moving around, he was just going to rip more skin, and I wouldn’t be able to get Zoya out of this.
I needed my strength.
I also needed to make sure my family didn’t kill her before I had time to save her.
“Are you sure you want to be awake for this?” Mikhail asked again. “It’s a nasty fucking wound and your heart rate is crazy high. If you stroke out or something, I can’t fix you.”
“Yeah, man.” Gregor came over and stood next to me, his cigar and a cut crystal glass of whiskey in one hand.
He placed his other hand on my good shoulder. “You’ve done enough. Let us take it from here. It’s going to be a snap. You already did all the hard work. I doubt any of our men will get more than a paper cut.”
I gritted my teeth but said nothing.
“I mean, how many men could they have left here?” Damien asked.
“Twenty, tops. But most of them aren’t very well trained. It’s going to be like shooting fish in a barrel. They were distracted by the girl, but it wouldn’t matter.”
“I don’t know, seems a little mean,” Kostya added. “Should we give them a fighting chance? Like maybe only send in five men or give them a heads-up?”
“Nah, but we will give them a few hours alone with the bitch first, I think that will—” Gregor’s words were cut off as my one good hand shot up and grabbed him by the throat.
I didn’t remember standing. One heartbeat I was clenching my fists, the next I was on my feet, body screaming, blood soaking through the bandages.
My hand clamped around Gregor’s throat, I slammed him into the wall so hard a picture frame crashed to the floor.
His eyes widened, but not with fear—with surprise. As if he forgot what I was. Who I was.
“What the fuck?” Mikhail yelled. The needle was ripped from his hand, hanging from the thread dangling from my shoulder.
“Get off,” Gregor said in a low, threatening tone.
I didn’t back down.
“She is mine. Not yours to play with or allow others to harm.” I spoke through my teeth.
“Last warning,” Gregor said.
“If you kill her, I swear I’ll make you regret it. If she is harmed in any way, you will pay. I will hold you personally fucking responsible.”
Silence dropped in the room like a guillotine.