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It has nothing in common with the slick modern penthouse I just escaped, and I conclude that this must be a different unit.
Perfect. Maybe the owner leaves the terrace door unlocked,I think.I’ll just find my way in, take an elevator down, and then try to find Mercy.I spare a quick look at my bare feet. It’s going to be tough walking through New York City without shoes, but that’s the least of my concerns right now.
I crawl toward a stone bench and catch my breath, suddenly aware of the pain in my knee. Looking down, I inspect my bruised knee. I must’ve scraped it climbing up here, but I’ll live. It could’ve been a lot worse.
The sky looks different up here, framed by ornate towers, placing it on display. The roof terrace has a tiled mosaic floor and places to sit built into the brick walls. Sighing, I lean back until my head hits something, then sit upright with a start. A gargoyle? I run my fingers over the grotesque face, letting my fingers slide in between its bizarre stone teeth.
Weird.
I slump against the gargoyle, taking in deep gulps of air as I try to steady my heartbeat and take in my surroundings more closely. In the distance, the tops of large windows peek along the floor, and I spot what looks like handrails for a set of stairs coming up the terrace. That must be where the door is.
I’m safe for now. I will my body to relax.Just a few more seconds, I think. And then I can try the terrace door.
A light blinks on, drawing my attention to its searching gaze. Someone is coming. I quickly get up on my feet, wondering what I can say that will get them to help me.
Will they even help? Or have I only gotten myself into something worse?
But there’s no time to think about that anymore. The sound of a door opening at the bottom of the stairs reaches my ears, and I hear the footsteps of the owner of this terrace approaching. Unease rises in my throat. Something’s not right. Whoever is coming isn’t moving like they’re investigating an intruder on their terrace.
They’re moving slowly, almost as if with purpose.
Staring in the direction I came from, my heart races as I see the top of his head rising above the parapet. Slowly, a face emerges from below, and blazing eyes lock on mine.
Panic seizes my throat when I realize who it is. Dread swirls inside my stomach, and I scramble to my feet.
No …
“Hello, Eden.” Nikolai’s handsome face swims into view, the same dark, knowing smile from earlier curling on his lips.
NO! NO! NO!
11
EDEN
I raceto the far end of the terrace and grab hold of a tower. Gripping a gargoyle, I hoist myself up and balance on the rampart, not daring to look down.
“I won’t marry you!” I shout as I climb higher. The harsh wind whips my dress around me, and trembling, I refuse to climb down. “I’ll jump! I swear!”
“No, you won’t,” Nikolai says, a flicker of concern crossing his face before he masks it with a scowl. “Don’t be stupid.”
“Please,” I shout, fighting to keep myself from sobbing. “Just let me go.”
Nikolai’s expression tightens as if struggling to hold onto his sanity. “No,” he says evenly as he walks toward me. The wind caresses his hair, and those piercing eyes stare hard as if his gaze is all he needs to make me obey his wishes.
His suit jacket is gone, and his dress shirt is unbuttoned all the way down to his belly button, revealing rippling bands of muscles across his chest and abs. Tattoos decorate the harshlandscape of his body, and his sharp features are accentuated by the soft light pouring out from behind him.
In any other circumstances, I’d say he looks like an angel sent from heaven.
But right now, he looks like the devil rising from hell.
My heart hammers in my chest as I edge away. I dare to spare a single glance down into the darkness below me. There’s nowhere to go. The strong wind feels like it will snatch me away as I teeter on the edge.
“I won’t do it,” I shout. “I won’t! Stay back!”
“Eden,” Nikolai says, his rich voice caressing each syllable and letter of my voice like a lover tracing the curves of his beloved. “Step down now.”
Another set of footsteps join his, and the man he called Rurik earlier emerges from the cupola above us, hurrying down a short ladder of steel steps. They’re going to circle around me as best they can and drag me back. But Nikolai holds up a hand, and Rurik stops in his tracks.
