The Harpax Project is a war crime…
What the hell is this nonsense?
I’m not playing this game. Not this time.
The man glances at someone over my shoulder, and in the next second, a pair of hands grabs my wrists and holds them together behind my back. Someone else aims a fist at my face. I try to duck out of the way, try to twist my head to the side, but with the arms restraining me, it’s futile.
Pain explodes where his fist connects with my cheekbone.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” The man from my nightmares is still maniacally smiling, an expression I wish I could scratch from his face with my fingernails.
A laugh bubbles in the back of my throat—dry and humorless, laced with grim understanding.
There’s no way out of this.
I’m stuck.
But I won’t be beaten.
“Fuck you,” I hiss.
Anger hardens the sharp line of his jaw, and it tics. “The hard way it is, then.”
I close my eyes and brace myself.
“Sit,” the guard holding my right arm grunts.
“No,” I grit out, my heart galloping in my chest.
I see the backhand coming and just barely manage to duck out of the way. Satisfaction thrums through my veins at avoiding the hit, but it quickly dissipates when someone grabs a fistful of my hair, pulling my head back. Pain reverberates through my scalp, and I cry out before I can stop myself. Tears burn my eyes.
The guard still clutching my hair drags me toward the stool and thrusts me onto it. When he steps away, he’s holding a chunk of my blonde curls. A pleased smile crooks up his lips before he smothers it.
“Asshole,” I hiss, trying to muster a bravado I no longer feel.
The fear is back.
Full force.
“You will read what’s on these cue cards, little Princess,” the ringleader growls, moving to the side of the camera.
The bulky man folds his arms over his chest and glares at me.
I only discovered Pedro’s name after I was rescued the first time around. I made the mistake of sifting through my parents’ files and found a picture of this despicable man, as well as a dossier of all his crimes.
Apparently he’s an assassin for hire. A mercenary. The black sheep of our neighboring kingdom who does the jobs everyone else refuses to do.
Including kidnapping me.
4
KYLIAN
My mate is…gone.
Kidnapped.
And who the fuck knows what else.
