Page 53 of Malevolent King

I leaned forward, bringing my face as close to hers as possible, given the reach of my bound arms. “Meaning, Sofia De Sanctis, I will never let you fall, no matter the cost.”

She stared at me, holding her breath as if even the sound of an inhale would break the spell between us.

“Why?” she whispered.

“Because you’re mine, and you always have been.”

* * *

I slept fitfully.The food in my belly was like a dead weight. My head was blurry, and my brain was unable to focus. Despite all of that, when someone touched me, I reacted. Exploding forward, I kicked my legs out and hit my attacker’s shins, taking them down quickly. Shifting my body, I wrapped my legs around the fallen man’s neck.

I squeezed hard and blinked through the darkness at the man I’d trapped.“Angelo?” It took me a moment to remember Sofia’s bodyguard’s name.

The large guy grunted and tapped my leg.“Let me up. I’m not here to hurt you,” he said in a strained voice.

“You mean you’re not here to try,” I ground out, and debated the wisdom of letting him go. I couldn’t hold him like this forever, so it seemed hearing him out was the better option. If he wasn’t here to hurt me, did that mean Sofia had sent him for another reason? The hope that sprouted in my chest was a virulent weed, pushing through dried-up, blackened cracks.“Did she send you?”

Angelo shook his head. “Your brother. I’m here because of Kirill.”

That made even less sense.“Kirill?” I repeated, and released Angelo from my legs.

He rolled away, coughing. “Shit, man. That hurt.”

A bitter chuckle left me. “Forgive me if I don’t give a fuck, considering.”

Angelo’s gaze traced over my damaged face, and he flinched. That couldn’t be good.

“What does my brother want? Here to see if they finished me for him?”

Angelo shook his head, peering over his shoulder. “The opposite. He wants you out of here.”

“Why would he send you? Who are you?”

Angelo swallowed. “A man who needs to leave the De Sanctis family soon.”

“Why?”

“Why does it matter?” Angelo countered.

“I don’t trust rats or traitors. I’ll pass on the help, thanks,” I told him flatly.

He crouched near me, looking worried. “You can’t pass. I need this. Your brother said he’d pay me enough to disappear and start a new life somewhere else. Me and someone else.”

His last words caught my interest. “You aren’t trying to make a quick buck off my brother? Who are you doing it for? A kid? A woman?”

Angelo swallowed and nodded shallowly. I considered his words, but I could taste the truth in them. It was one of my less violent talents, being able to sniff out the truth.

“Let me guess, Sofia’s little jailbait friend, the one she went to school with? She’s off-limits to a guy like you?”

Before I’d been sent away to Russia, only a month after I’d first met Sofia, I’d watched her closely. I’d seen her bodyguard’s growing interest in her little sidekick. The rebellious one. Before I could push myself further into Sofia’s life, I’d been sent to Russia by Viktor, and a couple of months after that, I’d started my first prison stay in a prison outside of Moscow. I’d lost four years to that hellhole. It certainly put places like this basement room in New Jersey into perspective.

Angelo nodded. Sharing that little tidbit of vulnerability won me over enough to hear him out.

“Fine, what’s Kirill’s grand plan? I don’t see Antonio or his nephew letting me walk out of here anytime soon.”

Angelo looked around, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a handcuff key. “No, not yet. I need to work out the best time to remove you. I just wanted to make contact and let you know your brother is working on it. He’s thinking of you.”

“Aw, Angelo, how sweet. Maybe you can write for daytime TV specials when you run from the De Sanctis family.”

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