Taking advantage of the situation, I jab two fingers into his gushing wound. I scissor them, mimicking the movements Justine’s legs do any time she catches my heated gaze. His pained wails are the equivalent of angels serenading me, his fall to the ground the icing on the cake.
With Sansi double my size, it will take everything I have to snap his neck, but I give it my all, my anger not even half-depleted. As the beast inside me rises from the ashes he was buried in twelve month ago, I feel the cervical vertebrae in Sansi’s neck compressing, dangerously close to slicing the spinal cord they’re there to protect. He is moments from death, yet my punishment is only beginning.
If he has harmed my baby, his death will be a blessing. Every man in this room will feel my wrath for years to come before my focus switches to their families. I won’t hurt them or make them cry. I’ll only kill them with the silent pain currently ripping through my heart. Hell hath no fury like a man scorned.
Even in a room full of noise, I hear Sansi’s final breath leave his body. . . but I somehow miss the bullet fired to kill me.
15
A buzzing sensationdrones through my ears, waking me from my restless sleep. It is the hum you get after a rock concert, when you’ve sacrificed your hearing to watch the latest music icon strut their stuff on stage.
The last time my hearing buzzed with this much static was the night Brax invited me to see a revival of a band we loved in our teen days. It was a disappointing show, but some good came from their pathetic attempt at a resurrection. That night was the first time I had been seen in public since I was mauled by a dog. It was awkward and highly emotional, but a necessary step in my rehabilitation.
It was also the night I decided to change my major to pre-law. Brax wasn’t convinced I was making the right decision, but he respected me enough not to say anything. I transferred to my new “law-focused” university the following week, meaning our first “official” date was also our last.
Last week was the first time I’ve seen Brax in years, but neither of us have any regrets. He’s madly, deeply in love with a woman he swears is way out of his league, and I’m head over heels in love with a man I know deserves better than me.
I’m not surprised Brax finally found his Achilles heel. He’s a brutish, rough, filthy-mouthed man, but he has a massive heart. The contrast between his outside appearance and his super shiny insides reminds me a lot of Nikolai.
If Nikolai could look beyond our past, I’m confident he and Brax could become friends.
Or hell could freeze over.
I’m drawn from my slumbering state when my breathless chuckle sends pain skating across my stomach. It’s a sharp, intense pain that makes me crave a hot water bottle and a long soak in a tub. . .and perhaps a trip to the drugstore for womanly supplies.
Groaning, I roll onto my side. I’ve barely stuffed a pillow between my aching legs when a distinct voice calls my name. It’s not the deep Russian timbre I’m praying for, but Trey’s British twang is welcomed after a week of silence.
When I slowly flutter open my eyes, he smiles. “Hey.” His greeting rolls off his tongue slowly, as if he is worried it will pierce my ears more painfully than the hammers pounding my head.
The reason behind his panic comes to light when I attempt to rise to a half-seated position. My ears aren’t just throbbing, they’re bleeding.
“W-w-what happened?” I wiggle my tongue around my bone-dry mouth before articulating my question for the second time, this one missing the immature stutter.
“You don’t remember?” This question isn’t from Trey. It is from Maddox, whose backside is propped on a couch that looks oddly similar to the one I used to have in my apartment.
What the hell?
I shake my head. Bad move. Bile scorches my throat mere seconds before the dinner Blaire slaved over for hours sees daylight in the most horrific way.
Maddox catches my slop-laced vomit in a bucket leaning at his side before shifting his eyes to Trey. “Where was she found again?”
“By Interstate 95. One of our couriers thought he was seeing things.” His words are as violent as my body’s heaves.
When the entirety of Trey’s statement smacks into me, I hold my hand over my mouth to conceal my ghastly breath. “Hold on. I was found along a highway?”
Trey nods. “You were a few miles from the private airstrip you used last week. We figured that was the location Nikolai told you to use in case of an emergency.”
His reply makes sense. Nikolai has strict protocol I must follow when traveling interstate, but the rest of Trey’s statement is confusing.
“Why was I on Interstate 95? Blaire and Rico’s apartment is miles from there.”
“Blaire and Rico?” Trey sounds as confused as I feel. “What do they have to do with anything?”
My brows stitch. “We had dinner with them last night. You know this because Nikolai called you on our way.” My words lose confidence with each one I speak. Both Maddox and Trey appear utterly flabbergasted.
Undeterred by a bucket filled with sickly smelling vomit, Maddox fills the seat next to me before clasping my hands in his. “You had dinner with Rico and Blaire three nights ago. You’ve been missing ever since.”
I want to call him out as a liar, but his honest eyes stop me. He’s being one hundred percent serious.
