Page 117 of Bound By Hate (Born in Blood)

“No.” I throw his phone to the ground, smashing it under my heel. Leo stalks forward and backhands me across the face. I stumble against the wall.

“Vik,” Mila shouts.

I stare at my sweet, innocent baby sister. This is the third time she’s been kidnapped, and yet she has managed to retain her innocence. I’m no longer innocent. I’ve been through too much.

Sofiya had to kill Boris when she and Mila were kidnapped last year by him. She knows what it’s like to fight. I can’t disappoint her by giving up now.

I need to fight back. I need to do this for my sisters. I need to do this for me.

What Gleb has done to me has haunted me for the past month. I’m tired of it. I’m over it. I fucking hate it.

I turn to Gleb, ignoring the stinging pain in my face. “You’re not getting any money from anyone.” With a snarl, I lunge for him. I manage to get a good swipe in at his face before Leo grabs me around the waist and throws me to the ground. My still-healing rib screams in pain.

“Vik,” Sofiya says, rushing toward me.

“You call your husband, then,” Gleb tells her. He grabs Leo’s phone out of his pocket and tosses Sofiya the phone. “Call Mikhail. Have him send me the money.”

“No,” I say right before Leo brings his foot down onto my stomach, knocking the wind out of me.

Sofiya doesn’t hesitate to grab the phone. “I’ll call Mikhail.”

“No!” I scream. “We can’t give Gleb what he wants. He doesn’t deserve it.” Leo kicks me in the side. The pain is barely anything anymore. All my focus is on my sisters. “Please, Sofiya. Don’t.”

“I have to. I can’t let him hurt you.”

Mila nods in encouragement. That’s the thing with my younger sisters. They’ll do anything they can to save each other, including me. I love them for it.

But I can’t let them get hurt because of me. I can’t let Sofiya call Mikhail and have him give Gleb money. I’d rather die than see Gleb get what he wants.

Sofiya dials Mikhail’s number. “I’m ok,” she says after he answers. “Gleb took us. He wants money. You need to give him the money at this address.” She rattles it off. “Ok. Please hurry.”

Gleb rips the phone from her hand and tosses it to Leo. “Good. Now, you girls will wait here with Leo while I go collect the money owed to me.”

I know that if Gleb leaves, I’ll never get the chance to hurt him. Maybe Mikhail or Aleksander will kill him. That would be justice.

But it wouldn’t bring me contentment. I need to be the one to do it. If I’m ever going to get over the pain Gleb caused me, I need to find my strength again.

Leo is distracted by putting his phone back in his pocket, and I use it to my advantage. I grab his ankle and tug. He stumbles back but doesn’t fall over. His eyes narrow as he rushes at me,but before I can defend myself, Sofiya throws herself on top of Leo. He struggles with her, giving me the chance to stand up.

I run for Leo and grab the gun that’s sticking out of his pants. I whirl around and point it at Gleb.

Except … he has Mila in his arms with his gun pointed at her head.

I hesitate.

“Drop the gun,” Gleb orders. “Or I’ll shoot sweet Mila’s fucking brains out.”

“I thought you liked her,” I say.

“I did. When she was useful to me. She no longer is.”

“If you want to shoot someone, then shoot me,” I say. “It’s me you hate. It’s me you can’t stand. So, just do it. Fucking shoot me.”

“What are you saying, Vik?” Sofiya asks. “Don’t ask him that.” By now, Leo has shrugged her off him. He stands behind me, looking confused, like he couldn’t believe a woman could overpower him. And one woman couldn’t. But there’s three of us. Sofiya, Mila, and me.

If we work together, we can get through this.

Without waiting, I whirl around and fire at Leo. The bullet lands in his stomach, making him drop to his back with a groan.

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