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CORA
The moment the silhouette appears in the doorway at the top of the stairs, my heart sinks.
“Don’t look so fucking grim,” Mikhail scolds as he saunters down into the room. “Your fiancé has come to claim you at last. You’re going home.”
I don’t know where Mikhail plans to take me, but it won’t behome.And he sure as fuck isn’t my fiancé.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I spit with as much venom as I can muster. But it’s hard to sound tough when your hands are still bound to a chair. “Where did Francia go?”
She left as soon as Mikhail showed up without so much as a goodbye. I wonder what could be more important than keeping two women prisoner in this dank, depressing basement.
His eyebrows spring upward. “You’d prefer to be down here with that crazy bitch over me?”
“You’re the one working with her.”
“Means to an end, darling,” he drawls. “Francia is simply a means to an end.”
I’m the “end” he’s talking about. But whatever Mikhail is hoping will happen here today, he’s mistaken. I refuse to let Mikhail fucking Sokolov be the end of my story.
I scan the dungeon again. There are two doors: the main one Mikhail just came through and the locked side door where Francia dragged Jorden’s unconscious body through earlier. Aside from those, there’s no way out. Not unless I can kill Mikhail and use his dead body like a battering ram. Which, hello—hands still bound in chains here.
“If Francia is a means to an end, what is Jorden?” I ask. “You haven’t checked on her in a while. She should be awake by now.”
At least, Ihopeshe’s awake by now. If she isn’t, I’m not sure what that means for her survival. Can people die from chloroform or whatever the hell they used to knock us out?
His eyes dart to the door and his jaw flexes. “Gone.”
My entire body goes cold. “… Gone? What does that mean? She isn’t gone. She’s—”
“Aliveand gone,” he corrects wearily, as if feigning human emotion is exhausting for him. Poor guy. No one ever has enough pity for sociopaths. “She isn’t useful, so we pawned her off. The going rate on pretty women with no family to search for them isn’t bad. You should remember that. If I get bored with you, you’ll end up in the same place.”
She’s alive.I should be relieved, but it’s cold comfort if the rest of what Mikhail is saying is true.
Jorden, my best friend, trafficked to some sicko who thinks they can own a human being. Jorden, the life of the party who just wanted to be taken care of and loved, sold off to God only knows who. The horror of it is too much to process. Like so much else about this experience, I bottle it up and shove it down deep.
Ivan will come for me. When he does, he’ll save Jorden, too.
As if he can read my thoughts, Mikhail shifts closer to me. He kneels down, his bony arms on his knees, his skin so pale it practically glows in the gloom.
“Is thathopeI see in your eyes?” Mikhail twists his face to the side. “Unbelievable. After everything, you still think Ivan Pushkin will come save you.”
“Iknowhe will.” I lift my chin, refusing to sink to Mikhail’s games. He wants to drag me down, but I can’t let him.
Mikhail studies me for a moment longer. Then he laughs.
The sound of it sends goosebumps shivering across my skin. It’s repulsive. I can’t believe I ever spent a single second by his side. That I tucked my arm through his and let him lead me through dinner parties. That we stood in a jewelry store and chose a fuckingwedding ring.
“You’ve always been delusional, Cordelia. Your expectations for your life are childish. Like you think you live in some fairytale.”
“If you think you’re the Prince Charming, you’re out of your fucking mind.”
He bares his teeth and his fist clenches. For a second, I think he’s going to hit me. Then Mikhail relaxes. He eases back and smiles. “You also overestimate your value. Most women know when they’re being more trouble than they’re worth. You have never been a good judge of that.”
“If I’m so much trouble, why are you here?” I rasp. “Why not let me go?”
“Because I don’t mind working for what I deserve. You’re like a wild horse. You need to be broken before you can be put to your proper use.”
