Page 43 of Between Power and Passion

My head pounds as I slowly regain consciousness. A string of curses escapes my lips as I realize I'm sitting upright on the floor, my hands bound tightly behind me. I tug at the rope, testing its strength, but it's solid. The knot doesn't give an inch. My vision swims for a moment before I manage to focus.

"Dmitri!" Valentina's voice cuts through the haze, frantic and thick with tears. I look up and see her, eyes red and cheeks streaked with fresh tears. She's just a few feet away, but it feels like miles.

"Valentina," I rasp, trying to shake off the disorientation. "Are you okay?"

She nods quickly, though her body trembles. "I'm okay... they haven't done anything to me. I'm so sorry, Dmitri. This is all my fault." She starts repeating herself.

"I'm fine, Val. And none of these is your fault," I say firmly, though my head feels like it's being split open.

I lock eyes with her, trying to convey every ounce of determination I have left. "Listen to me," I say, my voice steadier now. "I will get you out of this. I promise."

Her sobs quiet, and for now, that's enough to keep me going.

The door creaks open, and Mikhail strides in with a grin. His laugh echoes off the walls, mocking and filled with dark amusement.

"A very rich promise from someone who won't see tomorrow," he sneers, his eyes cold and calculating as they flicker between Valentina and me.

My jaw clenches, every muscle in my body tensing as he saunters over to Valentina. She recoils slightly, her fear palpable. He tilts her chin up with a finger, forcing her to look at him. "You know," he says casually, "I could do so many things to her while you watch. Such... delightful things."

"Don't you fucking touch her!" I roar, my voice cracking with rage. I pull against the ropes binding me, the coarse fibers biting into my wrists. "If you lay a hand on her—if you so much as touch a strand of her hair—I'll fucking kill you!"

Mikhail's laugh grows louder, more deranged. He steps back from Valentina, but not before brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear, his eyes never leaving mine. "Ah, love," he muses, shaking his head in mock sympathy. "It really does make people do stupid things."

He turns away from Valentina and walks toward me slowly, his smile widening as he takes in my fury and helplessness. The satisfaction on his face is sickening.

"You see," he continues, leaning in close enough for me to smell the faint scent of cologne mixed with blood, "this is the beauty of it all. Your rage, your desperation is what I feed on. I need it. I crave it, and I'll do anything to make you beg."

Valentina whimpers softly behind him, and it takes every ounce of control I have not to lunge at him right then and there.

Mikhail straightens up and turns back to Valentina, his demeanor shifting from amused to predatory. He reaches out again as if to touch her cheek.

"Mikhail!" I scream, my voice raw with desperation. "I'll kill you! Do you hear me? I'll fucking kill you!"

Mikhail's grin widens as he steps closer to Valentina. "I wonder," he muses, his voice dripping with malice, "what you'd do if I flushed out your seed from inside her?"

The words hit me like a freight train. My mind goes blank for a split second before I look at Valentina, searching her eyes for some kind of denial, some assurance that this is just another one of Mikhail's sick games. But all I see are tears streaming down her face, her body trembling with fear.

"Valentina," I whisper, my voice breaking. "Are you... are you pregnant?"

She nods, biting her lip to stifle a sob. "Yes," she manages to say, her voice barely audible. "I was going to tell you when you came back."

My heart feels like it's about to burst out of my chest. Valentina is pregnant—carrying my child—my child. The realization leaves me breathless, and all of a sudden, my world narrows down to the woman I love and the life growing inside her.

"So," Mikhail says, his tone almost gleeful. "You didn't know. That makes this so much better." He takes a step back, his eyes alight with sadistic pleasure. "You shouldn't be too angry if I take the baby away then."

"You're a crazy bastard," I spit out, fury coursing through me like wildfire. "You'll be the one to fucking rot in hell at the end of this."

Mikhail's expression darkens instantly, the smug smile wiped off his face. He strides over to me and kicks me hard in the stomach. Pain explodes through my midsection as he continues his assault, each kick driving the air out of my lungs.

Valentina's cries echo around the room as Mikhail beats me mercilessly. I grit my teeth against the pain.

Right now, all I can do is endure.

And endure I will—until my last breath, if that's what it takes.

Valentina's sobs grow louder as Mikhail's kicks become more brutal. My vision blurs with pain, but I force myself to stay conscious, to stay present for her. For our child. I'm going to be a father.

Mikhail finally stops, his breathing heavy from exertion. He glares down at me, and I can see the barely contained fury in his eyes. "Stop getting on my nerves, Dmitri," he growls. "I hate losing control."

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