Page 50 of Malevolent King

“I’ll always find you wherever you go.”

I had no idea if that was a promise or a threat.

15

NIKOLAI

Now

Imight have slept or simply lost my grip on consciousness. When I woke, I jerked upright before remembering where I was. My wrists cut deeply into the new metal cuffs Silvio and his goons had put on me after they’d finished beating me. The chain was marginally longer, so at least my shoulders weren’t pulled as tight.

The pain in my head was unbelievable, and I might have had a few loose teeth; it was hard to tell with my swollen tongue.

A noise came from the hall. So, that was what had woken me. I missed the oblivion immediately. Unless… There was a tentative quality to the expectant air as I waited to see who would take a chunk out of me next. I blinked toward the dark doorway. My eyes had adjusted so well to the dark that the faint light from the sconces on the stone walls in the hall stung for a moment, and I couldn’t see. As my eyes adjusted, awareness prickled through me as I made out the diminutive figure. A silhouette I’d recognize in my sleep.

I swallowed the knot that formed in my throat.

Sofia.

The only one who could inflict wounds that wouldn’t heal.

Without her help we never would have found you. We weren’t even near the right place.

Antonio’s words played in my memory. My clever little prom queen. I was proud of her initiative.

She hesitated in the doorway, and I summoned my customary smirk for her, despite the aches and pains from Silvio’s beating. “Couldn’t stay away,lastochka? It’s okay. Don’t be embarrassed. I’ve missed you, too.”

She snorted softly, a perfectly elegant sound coming from her. Everything Sofia De Sanctis did was beautiful. The woman wasn’t of this world, and just the sight of her eased something in me. If I was going to die down here, something I doubted as it would be an affront to the Chernov bratva, at least I’d have looked upon true beauty once more before going.

“Good to know you’re taking this seriously,” Sofia muttered, coming into the room.

I watched her like a wolf watches the rabbit it wants to devour. She came toward me, a tray in her hands. My stomach growled at the smell of food, and I wondered how long I’d been down here. She crouched in front of me, bending her slender body in half, her dark-eyed gaze sliding over me. A pinch appeared between her brows, and something that looked like worry flickered in her gaze. She set the tray down and pressed a hand against her mouth.

“That bad?” My dry chuckle sent her shoulders down from under her ears. My girl was so tense.“Taking it seriously or not, it won’t change anything,” I told her, letting my eyes linger on her fine features. “Besides, your father can’t kill me. That wasn’t the deal. One day, I’ll be free, and every single De Sanctis who wronged me will pay for it.”

Why exactly I felt the need to comfort her when I was the one beaten and bound escaped me. I’d long since stopped trying to make sense of my fucked-up head.

Sofia studied me. “And I suppose that includes me, too?”

“I don’t know. Does it?”

She swallowed and dropped her eyes.

“It’s okay, prom queen. I know you helped them find me. I’d expect nothing less. Don’t worry, your punishment won’t be like theirs.”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “It won’t?”

“Theirs isn’t personal.”

That statement widened her eyes for a moment. She was good at looking composed. I’d give her that. She couldn’t hide the vein pounding in her neck, however. Her face was a sucker punch to the gut. I wanted to stare at her all day long.

She swallowed, and I wished I could hold her throat in my hand and feel the vital movement against my skin. I wished I could feel her pounding pulse point and know if she was as excited as I was to be in same room. Instead, I simply drank in the sight of her.

She shifted, casting a glance over her shoulder. Her bodyguard stood outside the door, watching us.

“What is it they say about revenge?La miglior vendetta 'e il perdono.”

Sofia’s voice speaking Italian was a thing of beauty. I raised an eyebrow and waited for her to translate.

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