Page 69 of Devil's Bride

“Isn’t that what you want?”

He prowls closer and grabs my chin. A finger on his other hand trails a line between my breasts. “You don’t seem to understand the situation, girl. Your life depends on me now, and I can take whatever I want from you, even your body.”

Bile climbs up my throat. I’m so disgusted by Paulo’s touch that when my throat unclenches, I vomit.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Alexei

Irina.

I smell disinfectant, drugs, and death. There are low rumbles in the background, and the first thing I see when I open my eyes is Dimitri’s face towering above mine.

Worry creases his already wrinkled forehead as he blinks at me. He’s saying something, but I can’t make sense of it.

“Irina,” I mutter. That is the only thing that makes sense to me. I remember my wife being carried away, and there was nothing I could do to help her.

Another face—Mikhail’s face—comes in view. He has the same worried expression as Dimitri. “Brother, do you know where you are?”

I regain the remainder of my senses and slowly take in my environment. The background is so white that if I weren’t such a monster, I would assume I’m in the afterlife. But I’ve never believed in religion, and I doubt God would let a sinner like me into paradise if he truly existed.

I’m left with only one conclusion; I’m in a hospital.

“Get your faces away from me,” I say dryly. There’s only one face I want to see right now, and it’s Irina’s.

“Looks like he’s fine,” Nikolai drawls beside me.

I try to prop myself on my left elbow, but it collapses under me, sending shards of stabbing pain up my shoulder. My arms are covered in bruises, but luckily, I don’t think I have any injuries on my face or anywhere else.

Mikhail rushes to my side to help me sit up.

“Where’s Irina?” I ask, my gaze bouncing between their faces.

Nikolai scratches his head and looks away.

Mikhail lowers his gaze.

Dimitri’s shoulders sag. “They took her.”

“By they, you mean Paulo?” I know that already because I saw them take her, but I’m in denial. I don’t want to believe those monsters have my wife, and I don’t want to imagine all the horrific things she must be going through and how frightened she is right now.

I clench my fists and my teeth. There’s a tornado building inside me, one that is blind and raging. “How long have I been out?”

“Two days,” Mikhail answers. “We tried to track her, but we couldn’t get anything.”

Pain tunnels through my chest. It’s too hard to breathe. “Paulo planned everything, he wouldn’t have been able to if there was no other traitor. Who was it?”

“Igor,” Nikolai answers sharply, his eyes stormy with rage. “Dammit, you should have killed that bastard months ago.”

“I should have, and I’ll regret not killing him for the rest of my life.” I pull the drips from my veins and stand. Dizziness and pain surges through me with each movement, but I don’t care. I can’t lie here like a fucking idiot when my wife is in the hands of my enemy.

Dimitri stands in front of me just as I’m about to walk out of the room. “What are you doing?”

“Going to find my wife. Get out of my way.”

“No, you’re injured,” he argues. “I know you’re angry, but we’ll do everything we can to find her.”

“You’ve had two days to find her and you don’t know where she is.” I lean toward him, barely restraining myself from punching him. “And now what? You’ll find her?” A mirthless laugh rumbles from my throat. “Get out of the way before I take out my rage on you.”

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