Page 195 of Barinov

He slams his comms. “Knox now!”

My legs give out. He catches me, hauling me up and forcing my legs to wrap around him as the lightning continues to flare through my body.

“I’ve got you,” Laing murmurs.

He doesn’t let me go. His grip stays firm no matter how hard I scream or shake in his arms.

“Knox hurry the fuck up!” he roars into his comms.

“IZZY!” Luca’s voice sounds from the top of the stairs. His footsteps pound, growing louder with each step as he nears the bottom.

Laing clamps his hands over my lips again to muffle my cries.

“Shh,” he whispers, his dark eyes blazing into mine. “I know it hurts, Iz. But you have to be quiet.”

I manage a shaky nod through the tears.

The band on my wrist vibrates twice and the pulses begin to dull.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

CLICK.

My breath nearly stops as the lock disengages. Laing’s too. He grips the collar and yanks it off my throat. I gasp, the phantom sting of the metal still lingering as the cool air hits my neck.

“Lex, he’s almost—” Laing starts but he’s cut off by a crash.

I flinch in his arms as the sound of a body slamming into the wall echoes throughout the house. Laing gently sets me down, steadying me as my legs finally stop trembling. He wraps his arm around my waist and guides me around the corner.

Lex is seething at Luca. He’s got him shoved up against the wall, his chest heaving and eyes blaring. One hand gripped around his throat, the other reared back and ready to bash Luca’s brains in.

Luca’s gaze shifts to me. “I-Izzy,” he chokes out. “Don’t let him hurt me, my love.”

Lex yanks Luca’s head forward and then slams it back into the wall. Drywall cracks under the impact, sending a puff of white into the air between them.

“Don’t you fucking talk to her!”

I try to step out of Laing’s grip, but he pulls me back in.

“Don’t,” Laing warns. “He needs this.”

I don’t fight him.

Laing glances up and nods toward Lex. “Let him have it.”

Lex slams his fist into Luca’s cheek.

Again.

And again.

A few more vicious punches and Luca’s face is practically unrecognizable. His left eye is swollen shut, cheek bone split, and blood is pouring out of his shattered nose.

“Lex,” I whisper.

Lex stops seething long enough to look over his shoulder at me. The air is ripped out of my lungs when his icy-blues I’ve missed more than anything find mine and widen.

“Malyshka,” he breathes.