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I look down at the screen and see that the call is still connected. Slowly, I raise it to my ear. My entire body tenses when Mikhail’s voice cuts through the silence.
“So you have a choice,” Mikhail is saying to someone else. His voice is soft. He must not be holding the phone to his mouth anymore. “Come with me willingly and live…or come with me unwillingly and die.”
He isn’t stupid enough to kill Cora. Not after the threat I made.
But she doesn’t know that.
There’s a long pause. I hold my breath as the seconds pass, waiting to hear the fire in Cora’s voice. Ready to hear her tell Mikhail exactly where he should shove his threats.
Instead, she responds in a voice so shattered, it’s a wonder the phone is even able to catch the pulverized pieces. “Okay.”
“What?” Mikhail barks back. “I couldn’t hear you.”
He’s not going to be able to hear anything when I rupture his eardrums. The fucker. Kidnapping her, threatening her, and then demanding enthusiasm as she bends to his will… I file this away as yet another reason why I won’t offer him any mercy when the time comes. See how he likes begging with enthusiasm for a quick, painless end to his miserable life.
“I’ll come with you,” Cora rasps. “Willingly.”
There is no fire in Cora now. Only icy resignation.
She has to know I’m coming for her. That I’d do anything to get her back. But unless she’s putting on the performance of a lifetime, it doesn’t sound like she has any hope of that.
Cora has given up on me.
But I’ll never give up on her.
“Now,that’sa good girl,” Mikhail croons.
My entire body clenches against the false tenderness in his voice. I’m going to make him regret every threat. Every single word.
Voices are replaced with rustling and footsteps. They’re on the move. My standards are so low that I’m just glad Cora isn’t screaming.
“Things are finally going to work out the way they were always supposed to, Cordelia,” Mikhail says.
A car door closes and then Mikhail’s breath crackles through the phone’s cheap speaker. “Wouldn’t you agree, Ivan? Everything is happening just as it was supposed to.”
I freeze. It wasn’t an accident. He knew I was listening.
Motherfucker.
I hesitate. Maybe it would be better to make him think I never heard him. That his performance was for nothing.
In the end, I can’t bite my tongue. “Everything will happen exactly as it’s supposed to,” I confirm. “But it hasn’t happened yet. I’ll let you know when it’s time.”
He chuckles. “You’re right. It hasn’t happened. Because I haven’t tasted Cordelia yet.”
My chest tightens with pent-up rage.
“I’ve waited for so long.” Mikhail practically moans. “She’ll be so fucking sweet. I bet she moans pretty, doesn’t she? I bet she sounds delicious.”
“Her name is Cora,” I growl. “If you touch her, I’ll—”
“You’ll what? Tattle on me? Do you think Francia cares what I do to Cora? So long as she stays conscious, I’ve kept my word. Even then, Francia would be fine if I flayed her alive. She has a bit of a jealous streak. Be on the lookout for that.”
My hand is shaking. “Don’t fucking touch her.”
“Where shouldn’t I touch her? Specifically?” he asks, amusement dripping from every word. He wouldn’t be so amused if he was standing in front of me. If he could see the murderous look on my face. “Should I avoid her tits? What about her ass? Oh, I know: I bet you want me to keep my fingers away from that sweet little cunt between her legs. You want that all to yourself, I assume. You’ve always been territorial.”
I’ve endured physical torture less painful than this. But if I let myself crack now, I’ll never be able to piece myself together now. For the sake of this mission—for Cora—I have to keep it together.
