Page 155 of Sinful Lord

He’s finally caught me.

“Get away!” I hear myself screech.

But he just shakes his broken head.

“No. There’s no one left to stop me, princess. You’re mine now.”

28

Tytus

When I come to, it’s with a pounding headache and a heart full of dread.

Behind my shut eyelids, I can see those rusted walls, deep underground, covered in mutilated photos. Beneath all of that hate and violence was Melina. She doesn’t deserve any of this.

Yet she’s the target.

“Fuck,” I grunt, trying to push away the pain. But my hands are tied behind my back, and my ankles are restrained to the legs of a cold chair. Even the slightest movement drags me into a whole new realm of agony—it also reminds me of what happened just before my world went dark.

Maksim.

Why?

“Sounds like he’s awake.”

The old man’s voice is so much colder than I remember.

“That’s too bad,” someone replies. “I was looking forward to waking him up myself.”

Somewhere nearby, a heavy metal object is set down. The threat reverberates behind my shut eyelids. My chin sways against my chest.

“Don’t do anything foolish now, Rian,” Maksim warns.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

My eyes stay clamped shut as someone takes a handful of my hair and yanks. A knife is quickly placed against my newly exposed throat.

“Open up, Tytus,” Maksim orders.

I feel his palm tap against my cheek. When I refuse to play along, the tap turn into a hard slap.

Despite the pain, I pry my eyes open.

“You idiots,” I grumble. My vision is so blurry that I can hardly make out the old Russian standing before me. “Why are you wasting time playing games with me? Melina—”

Before I can finish, the knife slashes across my throat. But it’s just a warning, and the cut is only deep enough to start me bleeding.

“We. Are. Not. Playing. Games,” Rian growls.

Wiping his bloody blade off on my shoulder, he steps around my chair to join his uncle. A glitzy hotel room sways behind them… or maybe it’s just my head that’s swaying…

“Wake up,” Maksim back hands me.

The sting does its job. A short breath flares my nostrils as I fight off the nausea.

“I’m fucking awake,” I grunt, snarling. “But you two must be dreaming if you think this is a good use of your time. Krol is out there! He’s going to use her to punish me…”

But the effort is too much for my addled body.