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“I can’t believe they’re all having babies.”
“I know. It still surprises me when I see them with their wives sometimes. The other day I caught Vitaly reading a pregnancy book, and he had the biggest grin on his face while he was doing it. Can you imagine him doing that a few years ago?”
Alina smiles and shakes her head. “God no. He always said putting a woman’s number in his phone was too much of a commitment.”
I laugh, remembering all the times he’s told me that over the years.Alina watches the movie for several minutes before whispering, “Can I ask you about what happened while you were gone?”
“You can ask me anything you want, baby.”
“How are they?”
I sigh and run my fingers through her hair. “When I left they were both hanging from a chain in their garage. They’re being given just enough food and water to keep them alive, and they don’t have as many fingers as they did when they woke up this morning.”
“Do you think they regret any of it?”
There’s no way in hell I’m going to lie to her, so I don’t. “They regret it but only because they’re paying for it now. There’s no true remorse, and I doubt there ever will be. I knew that when I started this. They’re not capable of it, but I can make them hurt, and that’s enough for me. True regret and remorse wouldn’t change anything anyway. There’s no changing what’s happened. There’s no way to make it better, but I can make them feel pain. I can give them a glimpse of what you felt, and I can make sure their last days on earth are filled with constant suffering.”
She’s quiet for so long that I start to worry that I’ve upset her, but then she rests her hand on my chest and whispers, “Thank you, Matvey.”
“You don’t need to thank me,malishka. I can’t take back what they did to you. I wish I could, but I can’t. Making them hurt is the very least I can do.”
I stroke her hair and gently rock us as we watch the movie. She’s asleep long before it’s over, but there’s no way I’m letting her go, so I fall asleep in the chair with her, not waking until I feel her body shaking and the heat of her silent screams hitting my neck.
Chapter 7
Alina
Konstantin’s face looks down at me before he pulls back his hand and hits me again. Pain floods my head, darkening my vision as I try to curl up into a ball to protect myself from the next hit.
“You think you get to say no to me, pet?”
His angry words send a shiver of ice-cold fear down my spine. Every part of me is tense, bracing for what I know is coming, but knowing it isn’t enough to prepare me for the kick that hits my ribs with a force that has bile rising to the back of my throat. I suck in air, crying out at the piercing pain, but he doesn’t stop. He kicks me again and again until I’m crying and hyperventilating and finally vomiting all over myself and the floor.
“Fucking disgusting,” he snarls, fisting my hair and shoving my face in the mess I’ve made. He pins the side of my head to the floor, coating my face in vomit as he leans closer. “When I say to spread your legs, you fucking spread them. Because you fought me, I’m going to fuck you just like this.” He smacks my side, pulling a whimper from me. “I’m pretty sure you have at least one cracked rib. Every breath you take is going to be agony, not to mention you’re caked in your own filth. Allthis could’ve been avoided, pet, but you had to be a bitch about it. Let’s see if you think it was worth it.”
It wasn’t. Each thrust pulls a scream from my throat, and the smell of my own vomit has my body threatening to do it all over again.
“Alina!”
Matvey’s voice cuts through my nightmare, slowly pulling me from Konstantin’s brutal touch. The furious look in his blue eyes is replaced with dark eyes that are filled with worry and love, and the abusive, angry assault on my body changes to a pair of strong arms, embracing me like I’m the most precious thing in the world.
With a ragged breath, I exhale and force myself to relax. My body shakes as Matvey rocks me and strokes my back. I should be embarrassed to be babied to such a degree by him. I can only eat if he feeds me, and now I’m being comforted like I’m a small child, but I can’t bring myself to stand up and leave the safety of his embrace. It feels nice, and I just want to feel safe.
“I’ve got you, baby,” he murmurs against my skin, kissing my forehead and surrounding me with his warmth.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“No,malishka. I told you before. No apologies. I will always be here when you need me. I just want to take care of you.”
The sun is just now starting to rise, and as Matvey rocks me, I rest against him, so fucking grateful to have him.
“There’s nothing wrong with letting someone comfort you,” he reminds me. “It doesn’t make you weak. You’re the strongest person I know, Alina. I’m in complete awe of you, baby.”
I clutch his shirt, not trusting myself to speak without crying. He rocks me back to sleep, and I don’t open my eyes until I hear a loud knock at the door and Vitaly hollering at us.
“You guys have to see this!” He laughs before adding, “Roman’s on his way back, you’re going to want to see his reaction when he gets here.”
“I guess this is what he and Katya have been up to,” Matvey says, stretching his legs out and rolling the kinks out of his neck.
