Page 23 of Bound By Longing

“You ask a lot of questions, don’t you, little bitch?”

I flinch again. My father treated me so carefully growing up that I was never spoken to like this by anyone before. Not until my father died and Boris entered my life. Then Gleb, then Vladimir.

And now, Lev.

I will never be safe in this city. I won’t even be safe if I go back to New York. I belong to the Bratva, and it has a way of closing its claws in around me.

“I just want to go home,” I whisper.

“You just want to go home,” Lev mocks in a higher-pitched voice, which makes his men laugh. The sound of their laughter is grating and terrifying. It reminds me I have no power here.

Lev shakes me. “You’re not going home, little bitch. I want you to entertain me. Come on.” He shoves me toward his men, who pick me up and carry me to a car. I try struggling, but it’s no use. I’m no match for all these men.

They throw me into the trunk of the car. “Wait!” My scream is muffled as they shut the trunk door on me. I listen to them get into the car and turn it off. I can feel it when the car begins to move.

But I can’t see anything. And if I don’t stop panicking, I’ll quickly be out of air.

I lie on the floor of the trunk and take steady breaths. This is not good. This is worse than good because no one will find me. Maybe, by some miracle, Mikhail will find Vladimir, who will tell him about Damien, but no one knows I was taken by Lev. Damien didn’t care enough to make sure I got home safely.

Despite his handsome looks, he’s not a prince charming. He told me so himself, but now, I see him for who he really is: A dangerous man who only cares about his own interests, and those interests don’t include me. I was naïve to go home with him. I liked his attention.

How stupid was I?

I should have asked someone at the club for help. Surely, there would have been a woman there willing to offer me her phone so I could call for my sisters. Why didn’t I think of that?

Because I’ve lived my life with my head in the clouds, and this is what happens to girls like me. We get taken advantage of because we’re too naïve to think differently.

I bite my lip to keep myself from crying, but the tears still come anyway.

SOFIYA

“Where could she be, Mikhail?” I ask, pacing the living room.

“I searched for every Vladimir I know and didn’t find any connection to Mila.”

I rub my stomach. The baby has been kicking for the past few weeks now, but I haven’t felt him kick today yet. I try not to let it worry me.

“How can that be?” I stare at my strong husband. I know he would die for me, but would he die for Mila? “How hard are you looking for her?”

“That’s not fair,” he says in a low voice. “I’m trying, Sofiya. I haven’t given up.”

“But you have eyes and ears everywhere!”

“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. I have a lot of contacts, yes. But none of them have seen Mila. Not yet, anyway. The moment I get any clue where she might be, I’ll find her.”

“It’s not good enough,” I sob. “I need her to be ok. I need it.”

And then I feel it. A sudden, intense pain in my stomach. I cry out and crumble to the floor. Mikhail rushes to my side and picks me up. Without a word, I know he’s going to take me to the hospital.

The pain in my stomach won’t abate. I just worry something has happened to the baby.

VIKTORIYA

I rush through the hospital doors and find Sofiya’s room within minutes. She’s in a bed, Mikhail sitting next to her.

“What happened?” I ask.

She sighs, running her hands over her belly. “It was a false alarm. The baby is ok. But the doctor told me I need to stop being so stressed. It’s hurting the baby. It could lead to a miscarriage if I’m not careful.” Her eyes water, and tears spill over.

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