Page 4 of Cruel Bet

He places them on the floor and kicks them toward me. I gather them up, keeping the gun trained on him at all times. Truth be told. I have no idea what to do next. The second I leave he’ll shout out and alert everyone of my escape. I don’t want to kill him, even though he scares me he’s always been kind to me. He senses my hesitation.

“Arianna, just hand me the gun back and we can pretend this never happened. Your father doesn’t need to know. If you even manage to make it out of here without being caught, you’ve nowhere to go. He’d find you and make you pay.”

My resolve falters. He’s right. I can’t take on my father, there’s nowhere I can hide. I have no one in this world. Not one person will help me.

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire rings out and we both turn to look at the door where the noise is coming from. It sounded close. Too close. My heart leaps into my throat. The idea that we must protect the house at all times and that we could be attacked was always talked about and prepared for, but I never thought it would happen. My mind races as I contemplate which of my father’s enemies could be coming. Panic and dread flood my veins. Nothing could have prepared me for how downright terrifying this is.

“Princess, hand me the gun. We’re under attack,” Matteo says frantically.

I can’t move. Fear and uncertainty have me rooted in place.

“Princess, please!” Matteo barks, eyes fixed on the door.

The sounds of more shots and approaching footsteps snap me out of it. I drop the gun, not quite willing to hand it over but aware that my hands are shaking too much to fire it if I had to.

Matteo bends down to pick up the gun, relief etched on his face. At that moment, the door to my room crashes open, and a towering blood-spattered demigod strides in, Nikolai Kuzmin. He fires a single shot and Matteo collapses, dead.

I try to stifle the scream that threatens to bubble up inside, the relief that he’s come to rescue me is instantly overwhelmed by the horror of how easily he just killed a man I’ve known all my life. He didn’t even flinch. I glance down in horrorat the man who used to be the strongest, most deadly man I knew. Until now.

“Oh my god, what did you do?”

I look up at the man in front of me, he’s calm and perfectly in control, yet the danger and violence palpably emanate from him. I’m vaguely aware that my wedding dress is now stained in Matteo’s blood and for a moment I want to tear it off. That is until I notice the hungry glint in Nikolai’s eye as he looks at me.

“Exactly what you asked me to. I’m kidnapping you,” he says casually before slinging me over his shoulder with ease as though I weigh nothing.

A tiny squeal escapes my lips. “Put me down!”

“No,” he growls, striding out of the room and down the corridor.

“I’m perfectly capable of walking. Put me down, now!” I demand, kicking my legs like a petulant child.

“I said, no. Now, shut up before I change my mind and leave you here,” he commands.

I can’t see his face slung over his shoulder like this, but his abrupt tone makes me comply. I don’t want to find out if he’d keep that promise. I stay silent as we hurry through the house. As we walk, I try not to look at the bodies of the two dead men we pass. Luckily, most of the people who would normally be here are waiting for me at the cathedral with my father and the rest of the wedding party. Only a few remained to escort me there. But still, six men have died today because of me. I may have said to Matteo I’d kill him to save myself, but the reality ofsomeone actually doing that is far more horrifying than I could have anticipated.

“You… You killed them all,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

“You asked me to kidnap you, they weren’t just going to hand you over,” he replies calmly.

“Yes, but I didn’t think… I didn’t want anyone to get hurt!”

“Then you should be more careful who you ask for favors,kukolka,” he says, his deep voice almost purring.

Although this man is no pussy cat, he’s a lion. A lion that I’ve received a favor from. The fact that this favor is unlikely to be without a price is slowly starting to dawn on me.So why on earth do I still feel strangely safe in his arms?The warm solidness of him is infuriatingly comforting and I can’t help from being painfully aware of the fact that the arm that’s gripping me is tantalizingly close to my ass. And worse, I like it.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

“All clear, boss.”

A man who I assume is working with Nikolai approaches us. I can’t see his face from this angle, but I can see that he too is armed, and by the looks of the blood spatter on his shirt, he’s been using his weapon.

“Good. Let’s go.”

Before long, we approach an armored black SUV with tinted-out windows. The other man opens the back door and Nikolai unceremoniously throws me inside and buckles my seatbelt for me like a child.

“At least I’m not in the trunk,” I mutter.

“Don’t tempt me,kukolka.If you’re difficult, I still might,” he says, fixing me with those blue eyes.

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