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Holding my tender hip, I panted out, “Let go of her.” Roam held Anika’s chin firmly in his large hand but twisted back to look at me. Shit, my leg ached. I bit down the pain, hobbling forward, then stating, “I don’t know what you think you’re going to achieve by taking me, but if you really feel married to your task, I’ll go with you freely. Eagerly.” My eyes found Anika’s and turned sad. “But not if you hurt her.”
Roam’s grip on Anika’s chin loosened, and when his hand fell from her, she immediately put her hand to her jaw, massaging out the soreness with a grimace. When she spoke next, it came out a croak. “Nas, no.”
“It’s okay,” I said to Anika but held Roam with a stern stare. “He’s not going to hurt me. He knows better.”
Roam’s eyes narrowed on me before a sly smile stretched his lips ever so slowly. “Do I, now?”
My stomach clenched harshly.
I could only hope.
You are my daughter.
The faint whisper echoed through my mind, only instead of feelings of guilt and fear lighting deep inside my gut, a slow spread of impudence spanned from my chest outward.
I was a Leokov. Raised by wolves. Brought up with criminals, thugs, and murderers. Witnessed death firsthand. This man was just another obstacle. There was nothing he could do to me that I hadn’t already experienced. He may not know it at this moment, but he would learn.
I was an old oak standing tall in a storm. Strong and unyielding.
Logically, if he wanted to abduct me, there was little I could do about that. I was unarmed, outnumbered, and outmaneuvered. But I could do something. I could protect my friend by giving this man what he wanted. I could hold onto my dignity and grace and walk out of this house on my own two feet with my head held high. I could give the illusion of cooperation, thus keeping myself as safe as I could in this asshole’s grip. And that was exactly what I planned on doing.
All right, you fucker. Let’s do this.
My hand went to my stomach, and there it stayed. “I’m ready.”
Roam seemed pleased by my graceful surrender. Anika did not. She shook her head and closed her eyes in silent prayer. And just as Roam stood to move away from my friend, he stopped and held out his hand to her. She stared down at it in confusion until, finally, he stated, “I’m going to need your phone.”
She looked to be weighing her options, and my gut pitched when she blatantly lied, “I don’t have one.”
Roam snuffled out a laugh, but there was nothing funny about it. He jerked his chin toward the place where our bags had fallen, and one of his trusty goons went to it. Our skeletal friend threw the bag upside down, and the contents spilled out onto the floor. The knot in my stomach eased when I noticed there was no phone in sight.
Roam blinked down at the mess of receipts, gum, and tampons. And Anika swallowed hard before letting out a weak, “See?”
He wasn’t a stupid man though. So, when he put his hands to Anika’s waist and spun her unceremoniously, she tried to stop him with an indignant, “Hey!”
But Roam was bigger and stronger than her in every which way. The breath was almost knocked out of her when he put his hand to her back and pushed her the short distance into the wall. She hit it with a light thud. With her palms against the cool brick, Roam placed his hands onto her back and began the slow decent down, searching for the device. My anger ignited when those large hands stilled over her ass and squeezed hard enough to make her flinch. He swept over the rest of her body quickly before spinning her again, looking her dead in her anxious eyes, and put his hands to her shoulders.
“If you want to tell me something, now is the time.”
There was a warning somewhere in that hush, and when she didn’t respond, he took in a deep breath and started his examination. The moment he reached her breasts, he stilled, and a knowing look crossed his face while Anika lowered hers to his chest, unable to look into his eyes.
With a steadiness that begged her to protest, he reached under her shirt, and Anika’s eyes snapped shut. He didn’t dawdle this time. His hand appeared from under the hem of her blouse, and in it, Anika’s phone. Her shoulders slumped. She looked so defeated.
A slight smile pulled at Roam’s full lips as he openly mocked her.
“See, now this is why we would never have worked out, princess.” He shook her cell lightly in her face, and her jaw hardened in time with her gaze. Roam then leaned in to speak a slow and hostile, “No trust.”
