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“Clean this mess up,” the bald man barks to his colleagues as he escorts me to a large black SUV parked on the side of the road.
I make one last attempt to pull away from him, but his grip is so tight it feels like an iron band around my arm. He doesn’t even look at me, ignoring my struggle like it’s nothing to him as he opens the rear door to the SUV and pulls me inside.
The smell of old leather and cheap cologne is stifling as the door is slammed shut behind me. The bald man is kind enough to strap me in with a seatbelt, but I suspect it’s only so there’s more time to catch me if I try to escape.
But I’m not crazy enough to jump out of a moving vehicle while pregnant.
“Valerie Castor Morgan,” the bald man says as he looks me over from the seat beside me.
“Nope, I’m afraid you have the wrong damsel in distress,” I reply.
He chuckles. “Nice try, honeybun, but we’ve been tracking you down for a while. Anatoly is going to be pleased to see you.”
“Ah, that’s what I thought this was about. Any chance you could drop me off at Pasha’s house first? Need to grab a few things.”
“You won’t be making jokes once you’re with Anatoly. He’s not much of a joker. Dead serious guy, and he beats women who piss him off. I’m saying this to help you, honestly. Wouldn’t want you to get your pretty face smashed in.”
The way he says it makes me know it’s the truth. He’s so casual about it, like he explains it to women all the time.
Which makes me wonder how many women this has already happened to. Surely, Anatoly doesn’t decide to kidnap a new woman every week. He only wants me because I belong to his brother.
Greedy bastard. Wait until he finds out that I’m already pregnant with Pasha’s baby. He’s really going to blow a fuse.
But it’s probably better not to tell him. He might try to kill me to get some kind of sick revenge on Pasha, if that’s not already what his plan is.
God, I’m so screwed.
I sigh, looking at the bald man and smiling. “Any chance you knowwhyAnatoly wants me so badly? There are a lot of other girls out there in the world.”
He frowns like he’s never considered Anatoly’s intentions before. Surely, being a jealous prick would only make Anatoly look weak.
“Ah, you see,” I say, holding up my pointer finger. “Anatoly has no good reason to take a spoken for woman, so he should probably choose someone else.”
“He chose you,” the bald man snaps, grabbing my thigh and squeezing it. His fingers are like daggers in my skin. “So, you’d better not stir up trouble.”
“Ow, okay!” I cry, prying his hand off my leg. “Just… just tell me this. How much is Anatoly paying you to do this crap? I’m sure Pasha would be willing to give you more to turn me over to him.”
He chuckles, which turns into a smoker’s cough. He pounds his chest with a meaty fist, shaking his head. “Not a wise choice. My loyalty lies with Anatoly.”
As I’ve learned, loyalty is a big deal in the Bratva. I guess that doesn’t change in Anatoly’s ranks, even if he is the weaker party compared to his brother. The sides have been picked, anddefecting is basically a death sentence. I learned that when I took a blood oath in Italy.
All of that still feels like a dream. We’re so far away from that beautiful paradise now. Nothing mattered there but Pasha’s lips against mine and the crash of the waves on the sunny shore.
Now, I’m cramped in a smelly car with a bunch of meatheads who work for the most despicable man in the city.
I just want Pasha back. I want to rewind time and convince him to stay in Italy forever with me. We’d never have to go back. All the money in the world isn’t worth what’s happening.
The horrible truth of what’s happening sinks in like an iron weight in the ocean. It drops down in my stomach, pulling my entire body into the old leather seat. I feel cold and lifeless as dread threatens to consume me.
Nothing feels real anymore. I look down at my hands and I feel like I’m standing inside of my own head, looking through my eyes like windows. I curl my fingers, rediscovering that I have power over my own body.
But it still doesn’t feel real. I’m just an actress in a world that’s so scripted it feels like a bad movie. Any moment now, it will all fall apart, dissolving into our true reality where I’m not about to face the man from my nightmares.
I used to think Pasha was the bad guy.
Now, I know he’s my hero.
But how will he come to save me when he’s been arrested? How will he stop Anatoly from destroying me forever?
