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So here I am in the middle of a mall right before an impending snowstorm, with three security guards all holding bags with presents for the kids, wondering where to go next. I spent entirely too much time in the baby store admiring all the cute little girl outfits. They’re always more alluring than the boy ones. Probably because of all the pink. I might have even bought a sweet little romper that saidDaddy’s precious bundle, in case we wind up having one of our own.
“Miss?” one of my guards says—Ando, I think is his name—wondering what I’m doing just standing in the middle of the mall. I’m curious myself.
There’s something forcing me to hold still right here, and I’m not sure what it is or why. A sixth sense or intuition, maybe. Growing up with my father, I learned to trust my instincts. “The others can take the bags to the car,” I tell him, my eyes roving around the crowded space. He mutters into his earpiece but doesn’t leave my side. “I think I’m hungry,” I say, walking in the direction of a pretzel stand, where I order a soft pretzel and cold drink to-go.
I still need to make a stop at the stationary store for supplies for when my tutoring starts next week. I don’t need much, but I’ve never been allowed to choose before. It’s an odd thing to be upset about, but I always wanted colored pens and fun notebooks like some of the other girls in my classes. It’s silly to think about, frivolous, really, but now that I have the freedom, I find myself becoming more and more resentful towards my father.
Entering the supply store, my pretzel a distant memory, I sip at my drink as I wander the aisles. Ando keeps his distance, but he’s visible with every turn, so when I go down an aisle and he doesn’t follow seconds later, I know that feeling in my gut earlier was correct. Today is not as good of a day as I had wanted it to be. It’s only confirmed a moment later when my father’s right-hand man, Yosyp, comes around the corner, wiping blood off his hands. Someone’s high-pitched scream lights up his face. There is nothing he enjoys more than terrifying people, women especially. Me, most assuredly. But right now, I refuse to show that fear.
“Liliya, you’ve been a very bad girl,” he tsks, shaking a stumped finger at me. Placing the pack of colored pens back on the shelf, I inhale deeply, fighting off the impending panic attack.
Dez will come; I know he will. I’ve spent a lot of time this past week not just witnessing his obsession with me but feeling it. The way he feels for me is unmatched by anything I’ve ever encountered in my life, and I know with every broken piece of me that he’ll find me.
And Yosyp will pay the price.
So when he holds out a hand for me, I don’t take it, but I don’t resist, either. I walk in front of him, doing my best not to look for Ando. He was a nice man, seemed to genuinely like me in the brief time we were acquainted. It’s hard to miss the spattering of blood on the shelf that ends with Ando’s lifeless eyes staring up from a gaping throat. The man never stood a chance.
Security comes rushing in, stunned to find the scene before them. I don’t know what makes them try to take a stand against Yosyp, if it’s me or their sense of duty, but I shake them off. There’s no point, they will only die. I really don’t want any more lives on my conscience; I couldn’t stand it.
“Smart girl,” Yosyp preens like an ugly peacock.
“Stupid man,” I smart off and earn a backhand to the face that splits my lip and knocks me to the ground. Grinding my teeth, I take a second for the throbbing in my lip and jaw to calm down before getting back to my feet. Ignoring the offered hand, again.
“You’d be smarter to keep your mouth shut.”
I seem to have found my backbone, nonetheless. “You’d be smarter to let me go before my husband finds out what you’ve done.” Yosyp is easily three times the size of Dez, but he doesn’t carry the same ruthless need to protect those he loves. Yosyp hurts people because he’s cruel. Dez does it because it makes the world a better place. Yes, I’m sure there’s enjoyment in it for him. He’s got all the markers of a psychopath, so there’s no way he doesn’t find pleasure in the act.
Yosyp’s bark of laughter draws attention as we exit the mall. I notice my other guards returning from the car, hands empty and ready to reach for their weapons. I make a signal with my hand for them to stand down. Someone has to tell Dez, and thankfully, they listen. Instead, one pulls out his phone to call, assumedly Dez, while the other withdraws his to take photos. Both are far more discreet than I imagined because Yosyp doesn’t catch on as he shoves me into the back seat of a car and follows me in.
His meaty hand grips my thigh with bruising force. I bite my tongue so I don’t say what I’d like about him touching me and just endure it for now. It won’t last long. Dez won’t allow it. I know with my whole body that this won’t last long, and once my husband comes, no one will live out the night.
“What does my father want?” I finally ask. Dez wiped out his debts in exchange for me, so I don’t know what he thinks he’ll likely gain from this.
“That depends…” His hand squeezes my leg until I wince and try to pull away. He only drags me closer.
“On what?”
“Whether you’re still a virgin or not.” The cackle that follows sends chills down my spine. I know what he’s referencing because it was something I was told over and over my entire life.
I must remain pure so my father can get top dollar for me.
Admitting I’m not will be torturous both physically and emotionally.
“And if I’m not?” I raise a brow.
Cupping my cheek with one hand, Yosyp is much gentler than I thought he ever could be. Until his fingers dig into my jaw, dragging my face forward until our noses touch. “Then I get you.” My eyes widen with shock, and I gulp, wrenching my face away only because he allows me to. I know what belonging to Yosyp will mean.
Death. I’ll die because I won’t let him touch me.
SEVENTEEN
DEZ
An erratic calmness washes over me as I stare down at Ando’s lifeless body. When I received the call from Alec that my wife had been taken, and she’d waved them off, the rage was blinding. I swore her protection and chose her guard detail myself because Vasyl and I had ruthlessly trained them. As soon as I’d been sent the picture of my Liliya being escorted from the shopping center, I’d known immediately who her abductor was.
Yosyp Valenchka.
A cruel man.
