But he never promised.
The image of Dmitri in my mind, the coldness, that look devoid of humanity, overlays the image of the charred apartment building. My heart doesn’t just ache, it shatters.
I don't have a moment to consider the implications. The door opens so suddenly it startles me, and I jump from the couch before I see who it is. I expect Dmitri or Pavel. But it's one of the guards who stands watch right outside the door.
“We need to go—now.”
I stare at him for a moment, trying to understand. My mind is too full to comprehend what the words mean.
“What?”
“You heard me. Let's go.” He waves impatiently for me to follow him.
“I'm not supposed to leave,” I tell him, as though he doesn't already know, as though that's not the entire reason he's been standing outside the door.
“Pakhansays you must come.”
“Come where?” I glance at my phone, but there is no message from Dmitri giving me instructions or a heads-up.
“He says to move you now.” The guard takes a step toward me, a menacing bull of a man with dark, hard eyes and tattoos climbing up his neck into his scalp. He keeps his weapons on full display.
I step back and consider my options, of which there are none. I don't know why Dmitri has ordered me to be moved, unless this place is compromised. I just wish he had told me, so I would have known before this big brute came in. But if the hoteliscompromised, I do need to go. Though I don't understand why what felt like a prison suddenly feels like a sanctuary that I'm loath to leave.
“You come. Now.”
It's the guard's last warning and probably his last nerve, and I snap into action. “Okay, I'm coming.”
The other guard at the door glances at me as we pass, and the two exchange a look between them, something I can't quite read, before the big bull escorts me to the private elevator and down to the parking garage. I realize I'm vibrating with tension as I slipinto thesedanwith the blacked-out windows. The guard slides in next to me without a word.
We drive for a while, but I can't tell where we're going, and I give up wondering. Instead, I glance out the window at the passing city, at the bright holiday lights that glow against the darkness.
We finally pull into an alley. Dumpsters overflow with trash on one side, and crates are stacked up around a side door to what smells like some sort of Asian restaurant.
“What is this place?” My stomach tightens as I glance out the window.
The guard gestures for me to exit the car, but I hesitate.
“I'm just going to try and call Dmitri again,” I tell him. “It's not that I don't trust you, but I want to hear it in his own words.”
I take my phone out of my purse and start scrolling. My finger is hovering over Dmitri's name when the guard yanks my phone out of my hand.
“Hey! Give that back.”
There's no response, his expression not changing from the frightening scowl he's worn since I walked into the hotel yesterday with Dmitri. Instead, he makes the exit gesture again and shoves me roughly toward the door.
“Okay, okay. You don't have to be so rude.” I tryto cover the fear that is suddenly taking over, making my heart beat so fast I'm afraid it's going to burst.
A shadow separates from the wall as soon as I step away from the sedan. For half a beat, I think the tall figure must be Dmitri oreven Pavel. But no, the figure is too heavy, too stocky to be either man. It takes me only a second to recognize who it is.
I take a breath to scream, to move, but two massive arms clamp down on me, one with a hand over my mouth, the other pinning my arms to my sides. From the corner of my eye, I see Dmitri's guard—the man who's supposed to be protecting me—drop my phone on the ground before smashing it under his heavy boot.
I fight, kicking backward, scratching wildly, but the man holding me is immense. He might as well be a mountain.
“Always so dramatic, Clara. Didn't I warn you something bad was going to happen if you stayed with thatbastard?”
The voice is smooth, cruel, and familiar, making my blood freeze in my veins.
Dean steps into the yellow light cast by the lamp hanging above the door. His eyes gleam and his smirk is predatory. His gaze is fixed solely on me, the possessive, cruel gaze I know all too well, but there's also a terrifying level of power.
