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I thought I couldn’t breathe a minute ago, but that was heaven compared to this. Compared to the vise-like grip of despair wrapping around my ribs and squeezing me with a crushing force.
I won’t survive this. I won’t. I can’t.
“Is he still alive?” Edgar asks.
The guard nods. “Unconscious, but breathing.”
A mixture between a sob and a laugh tears out of me, and I lean forward, pressing my palms into my knees and focusing on the floor between my feet. I have a bad case of emotional whiplash, and I feel like I could hurl. I take slow, deep breaths through my nose and out of my mouth, trying to stabilize my jagged heartbeat.
Edgar turns to me. “You hear that, Eve? Your husband is alive. Good news, yes?”
I don’t look up. I’m focusing on keeping my wits about me.
“Make sure he stays alive,” Edgar says to the guard. “There are plenty of people who would pay good money to torture and kill the leader of the Volkov Bratva. Or use him as a slave. Hell, I myself would pay good money for that.”
All at once, I understand why Luka came to the Crooked Tree Inn to save me. I was angry with him for not going after Milaya, but now I get it. Thinking about him being sold to someone and tortured and used, possibly even killed—it is too much. Too horrific.
If the roles had been reversed, I would have gone after him.
He didn’t know where Milaya was. Neither of us did. So, he did what he could. He used the information he had and tried to save me, and now more than ever, I wish I could kiss him. I wish I could apologize and tell him that I understand.
When the guard leaves, Edgar turns back to me, arms crossed over his chest. “So, now that your identities are out in the open, you might as well tell me your plan.”
I shake my head. “We didn’t have a plan.”
His hand burns across my face before I realize it is coming, and the blow sends me slipping off the chair and falling to the floor.
My knee cracks against the concrete, and I wince. But there isn’t time to recover. Edgar is moving towards me again. I try to scoot back across the floor, but he kicks my feet out from under me and then presses his foot against my chest until I’m flat on the cold floor.
“Does anyone else know you are here?” he asks.
“No.”
He presses harder until all I’m capable of are tiny, shallow breaths. “Tell me.”
“I am!” I cry, tears rolling down my cheeks. “I didn’t even know Luka was coming for me until he showed up. He didn’t want to anger the Cartel, so he came alone.”
Edgar shakes his head. “The leader of a Bratva wouldn’t go anywhere alone.”
“Luka would,” I assure him. “If he did bring someone, don’t you think they would have stepped forward to help when he was being attacked by guards?”
The thought seems to ring true, and Edgar contemplates it for a moment before he presses down harder on my chest until I’m sure my ribs will crack under his heel. “I was surprised he came for you at all, honestly. Men like Luka? They always have mistresses. Plenty of women they can turn to whenever the desire to get their dick wet strikes. And while you are sexy, you hardly seem worth all of this trouble.”
I want to grab his foot and knock him on his back for questioning Luka and insulting me, but my body is tired. The Cartel takes great care of their guests, but they keep their slaves weak on purpose. Dinner has been the only substantial meal we’ve had all week, and even then it was bland and seasonless.
Lying there on the floor beneath Edgar’s foot, all I can think about is baked macaroni and cheese. I make it with breadcrumbs on top and three different kinds of cheeses. It was one of Luka’s favorite meals, especially when I added grilled chicken.
Edgar lifts his foot, allowing me a breath, and then kicks me in the ribs.
Pain explodes in my side, but I think about dinner with my family. I can see Luka in the kitchen, eating from the pan before the meal is finished, Milaya tucked in his arms.
Edgar kicks me again, but this time, I smile.
* * *
I’m barely paying attention when Edgar finally has me dragged from the room and taken to another.
The only way I could endure the torture was to focus on my family. To focus on Luka getting better and saving Milaya.
