Page 15 of The Pretty Psycho

"I need to get away," I blurted out before I could change my mind. "I need to get away from here, from him, from?—"

"I can assure you, Vega," a new voice boomed from the direction of the door, and it took me a second to turn around and look at the intruders. "That isn't going to happen."

A tall man, almost as tall as Adrian, walked inside the room, smiling the entire time. And while that smile was supposed to reassure me, it was his eyes that sent chills straight through my veins. I pushed away from Yolanda, withdrawing into the backrest of my bed, and it wasn't until the new face entered my room that the panic shot through my body, making me shiver almost involuntarily.

"We need to talk,printsessa," the tall man spoke, looking between me and the newcomer.

I could barely hear him, my eyes drawn to the Devil who just kept staring at me with a blank look on his face.

Arseniy Morozov stared at me as if he had any right to do so, and I was incapable of doing anything but looking straight back at the man who was most probably here to kill me.

6

VEGA

There were notmany things that terrified me.

House spiders.

Cockroaches.

And men in black suits as I laid in my hospital bed, completely defenseless, only able to stare at them.

Arseniy sat on the chair Yolanda occupied just before she jumped into my bed, while his friend, associate, whatever the fuck he was, stood at the bottom of the bed, staring at me with an almost bored look on his face. Tall, Dark, and Dangerous simply looked at Yolanda before I nodded at her after she looked at me with a panicky look in her eyes, and she ran out of here faster than I could say sex.

But that was almost ten minutes ago now, and none of us had said a single word since she closed the door behind her, leaving me in here with these two possible monsters.

"We are sorry this happened to you, Vega," the tall one spoke first, making me sit up straighter. "It wasn't supposed to be like this." What wasn't? My death?

Was it beneath them killing me when I was already down? Did they get some sick pleasure in getting their targets when they were alive and well?

"My name is Dimitri," he spoke again, smiling as if that perfect little smile could erase the fact that my heart threatened to burst outside of my chest. "I assume you already know who Arseniy is?"

"I do," I answered, the tone of my voice steady, strong for the first time since I woke up. Yet I still didn't want to look at the man sitting on my left.

The man that was my brother. Well, half-brother.

The man that was most probably here to kill me, because I had no doubt in my mind that he wasn't here to check up on me.

Arseniy still kept quiet, but I could feel his eyes on my face. I could almost feel the turmoil of his thoughts as he observed me, all the while keeping his mouth shut and letting his friend talk.

Dimitri walked toward the corner of the room, picking the lone chair up and bringing it right next to Arseniy, and I had no choice but to look at him. Really, really look at him.

I expected anger or depravity in those eyes, but all I saw were eyes filled with a sorrow so deep that the breath I was taking shuddered through me, because I knew that look. I saw it every single day in the mirror and every single time I told myself that it wasn't me I felt all this sadness for, but other people I've lost.

And while he stared at me, drinking me in, the corner of his lips lifted up, transforming his face from that of a killer into one of someone that cared for me.

"We are sorry for barging in like this," Dimitri started again. "Adrian told us what happened, and before I say anything else I want you to know that we are not here to hurt you." I scoffed and rolled my eyes, expecting an angry retort from one of them, but it never came.

Arseniy looked at Dimitri, silently laughing at me, while his friend shook his head, obviously amused by my little act.

"I guess I could understand why you might not believe us, but I can promise you, we mean you no harm."

"Yeah, I've heard those exact words several times before," I said, holding his gaze. "And more often than not, they mean absolutely nothing, because every single time the owner of those same words tends to be the very person that tries to hurt me. So, are you a liar, Dimitri, or do you simply think that I would believe in your fairy tale just because you threw out the words I wanted to hear?"

"Oh, she's good," Dimitri chuckled. "Your reputation precedes you, Vega, but I have nothing else to offer but my words. I understand that the promises we carry with us might not be enough, but if you give us a chance, we can prove that we mean what we say. We truly mean you no harm."

"And why would I do that?" I asked angrily, too tired to even try and play nice with these people. "This one," I pointed at Arseniy, "is my half-brother." He scowled at that, and I had no idea if he was scowling because I used half and brother in that sentence or because I even dared to address him. "I know what happens to people like me. I know I'm not even supposed to exist, but I can promise you that I have no desire to take over the Morozov Empire. Up until a couple of days ago I had no idea he even existed. Hell, I had no idea that he sent his lapdog Adrian to fetch me, and I bet it wasn't because he wanted to attend afternoon tea with me."

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