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I don’t know him at all anymore.
I guess I never did.
Luka brings a hand to the side of my face. “I love you, Natasha. No matter what happens, I need you to believe that.”
A sob rises in my chest, bubbling like lava ready to spew. But I choke it back. Crumbling like a stale cookie won’t help anyone — not Luka, not Boris, not my family. “I love you, too. No matter what happens.”
He grabs me by the back of my head and pulls me in for a kiss…maybe our last. I welcome his demanding lips, falling prey to his inner predator. I drink in his warmth and his desire, relishing in the unrelenting passion he breathes into my soul.
He’s the first man I’ve ever fallen in love with.
And I pray he will be the last.
Minutes later, my forehead presses against the beveled glass on the side of the heavy double doors after Luka, Taras, and Nikolai leave the house. I barely blink as the car zooms down the street and disappears around a corner.
My heart sinks further into my gut, knowing that each minute that they are gone brings them closer to Boris and whomever else is with him.
Please, please, let it be another enemy holding Boris captive. These people have enemies for years. Please don’t let it be Dad. Please, please, please!
My shoulders sag when I finally pull myself away from the door. I turn toward the kitchen, reaching for the stress knot at the base of my skull. I rub my hand over it a few times, not that my fingers can soothe it in the least.
The one person who can soothe me just walked out that front door, and deep down in the recesses of my mind, I know there’s a chance he’ll never come through it again.
“Listen, princess, if you’re going to be part of this family, you really need to pull on a pair of big girl panties,” Tori says with a roll of her eyes. She leans against the kitchen island, a bottle of Diet Coke in her hand.
“I’m not used to this kind of thing,” I mutter, collapsing into a chair. “I’ve been through a lot over the past few weeks, you know, being kidnapped, assaulted, and almost killed. I’m a little on edge right now. So cut me some damn slack, okay?”
Tori takes a long sip of her soda. “You aren’t the only one who has had her world turned inside out, Natasha. But the way you deal with it shows your strength…or lack thereof.”
I jump out of the chair, fury blazing in my chest. “I’m trying the best that I can to handle this. I’ve been yanked out of my life, sold off like a goddamn prize cow, and now I’m facing the potential reality that my own family is about to be destroyed because my father is just like yours!”
Tori slams the bottle on the counter and takes a few steps toward me, her blue eyes shooting white hot daggers at me from across the room. “Don’t you dare say a word about my father. You didn’t know him at all, you spoiled bitch.”
“I know he didn’t give a damn about Valentina.” My fists clench into tight balls at my sides, and I am more than ready to throw down with Tori. “And if he had the opportunity for more money and power, he’d have probably sold you off, too.”
Tori barrels toward me, grabbing me by the hair and yanking my head back before shoving me against a wall. “You shut your fucking mouth, or I will cut out your tongue.”
“Bring it, bitch.” I wince from the pain of her tight grip on my hair, but still punch and kick like my life depends on it. And judging from what I saw Tori do with that knife, it absolutely depends on it.
I claw at her neck and her chest, and she elbows me in the sternum. I double over, gasping for breath since she knocked the wind out of me. But before I can get more oxygen, she slaps me across the face, the stinging sensation left on my cheek shocking me into submission for a brief second.
I pull myself up and stagger toward her, shoving her backward into the island. She lunges for me again when a shout pierces the air.
“Tori!”
Tori jerks in the direction of the voice, and I hunch over to catch my breath before she can knock it out of me again. Irina rushes toward us and pulls Tori away from me.
“Leave her alone. She’s going to be your brother’s wife. Stop acting like an animal.”
Panting, I sway to my feet and flip Tori off when she turns a glare on me. “She’s a bitch and deserved that, and so much fucking more, for what she said!”
“Well, she’s going to be Dima’s wife, and you’ll need to get along.” Irina inches toward me, her eyes still glassy and her brain clearly still clouded by whatever the hell pills she’s popping.
“She’s not marrying Dima,” Tori yells. “He’s dead, Mom. So is Dad.”
Irina stares at me as the words settle in the air around her. She shakes her head, clutching a nearby chair. “No, no, no,” she murmurs. “He was just here with Taras and Nik.”
“No, that was Luka,” Tori says, her voice rising. “Dima and Dad are gone. You need to understand that, Mom. They are gone. Fucking dead, okay?” Tears slip from Tori’s eyes, her mouth twisted into a menacing grimace. “Accept that.”
