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When the first bump to the back of the car came, I felt the seat belt catch. Lana somehow kept the car between the lines and in one lane.
“Elia,” she warned, not letting go of the gas pedal. “Whatever you’re about to do, do it faster!”
I raised the gun, only for Aleksey to slam into us one more time, harder than the last. Lana cried out as she tried to steer into a curve. I took aim and squeezed the trigger.
Nothing happened.
Looking down at the gun, I realized that I’d forgotten to disengage the safety. Aleksey slammed into us one final time. Lana screamed and overcorrected, sending us careening into the guardrail.
At the last minute, she grabbed the wheel and my side took the brunt of the impact, the screech of metal grating loudly in my ears as she brought the car to a stop.
“Are you all right?” she asked, her face pale.
“I’m fine,” I said, tugging on my seat belt until it came loose. “We have to get out of here.”
Before Lana could react, her door was pulled open. A bulky figure reached in, undoing her seat belt in a practiced motion, and dragged her out of her seat.
I was scrambling across the seat when something hard gripped my hair and yanked. I shrieked in pain, struggling against my captor. The seat belt was yanked off me without effort, and I found myself hoisted up in the air as I kicked and screamed.
When my feet found the pavement, I leveled the gun at the man shielding himself with Lana. His face betrayed no emotion, daring me to pull the trigger and shoot. That was when I sawhisgun pressed against my friend’s head.
“I’d drop that if I were you, Elia,” Aleksey said in a deadly calm voice behind me. “Or we’ll see who has a faster trigger finger.”
I couldn’t let my friend die. I lowered the gun, not even attempting to fight as he snatched it away from me and threw it over the guardrail into the brush on the other side.
My back slammed against the car and I heaved out a sharp wheeze, winded.
Aleksey towered over me, dressed in a tux but with the bowtie hanging in two narrow strips around his throat. His hair was stuck up like he’d run his hands through it multiple times. What made things worse wasn’t how disheveled he looked but the violently cold look he leveled at me, like I was no better than the scum beneath his shoe.
“Get off me! Get off me!!” Lana screamed behind me. “Don’t you fucking hurt her!”
“Lana!” I tried to rush out to reach her, but Aleksey slammed his arms to my side, trapping me before him. Anger and adrenaline pumped through me, and I desperately wished that I hadn’t obeyed his command.
“Fuck you!” I screamed in frustration before I felt rough fingers cover my mouth and shove me against the car.
He gripped my chin and forced me to look up at him. I whined against the force of his hand on my throat.
“I have to admit, Tarallo, you almost got away with it,” he said. The casualness of his words, like it was nothing but another day to him, frightened me. Was this what he looked like before he killed Luca? Was I about to meet the same fate?
I became dimly aware of how close we were. I couldn’t even kick at him if I wanted to.
“Not many people have managed to go as far as you have inpissing me off,” he snarled. “What did you think was going to happen? Did you think I would justlet youdisappear?”
I tried to push him away, but another firm shake of his hand kept me pliant. Tears of pain and frustration burned down my cheeks. I was powerless in front of him, and I hated it.
“I will let you off with a simple warning, Elia,” Aleksey said, his dark eyes hard like a knife eager to bite into me. “Out of respect for the contract that both our families have signed. But you will apologize to me. Properly.”
“Fuck you.” I spat the words out into his hand. I did my best to meet his gaze with a glare of my own. Angry and defiant.
“Let’s try again.” He motioned, and I heard Lana scream. My stomach tightened with fear as I imagined what that other brute might be doing to her. “Apologize to me properly. We will go back, get through this farce of a wedding. And if you behave for the rest of the day, then maybe. Just maybe, I might entertain the possibility of being gentle tonight.”
I refused to comply and continued to glare at him. Lana screamed again, and I clenched my eyes shut.I hate him. I hate him so fucking much I could die.
“Look at me, Elia,” he ordered, and I obeyed. “If you don’t apologize, then I will have to take out my anger on our mutual friend from the DA. And Ireallywant to, Elia. So if you have even a shred of respect for your friend’s life, then you will give me the apology I demand.”
I realized that there was no other choice. I nodded, and he let go of my mouth. I took a shuddering breath and forced out the words. “I’m sorry.”
He huffed in dark amusement, and it took me a second before I saw that his free hand was working on unclasping his belt.
