Page 80 of Stolen Seconds

He dragged the blade down to my collarbone—not inflicting harm, but the threat hung between us like a ticking bomb.

The sound of my shirt ripping down the middle had me turning my head away from him.

Dread twisted my insides, and I waited for the familiar bile to rise, but it never did.

That knowledge sent despair through me with defeat lodging itself deep into my bones. At least, if I felt something—anything—I would know that I wasn’t broken. That I had a chance to survive.

With my pulse roaring, I glanced between the knife and the man, noticing he had paused above my breast.

As if he was waiting for my attention, he dug the sharp end into my skin and dragged it until I buckled against the pain.

Nicolai screamed in rage, the chains on the floor rattling from his constant movement.

I curled my bottom lip between my teeth and bit down to stifle my cries.

I stared at the man as he took his time cutting me, drawing it out until my skin was burning, blood oozing and mixing with my sweat.

With uneven breaths, I panted harshly to ground myself against the torture as he moved onto my legs, slashing right through my pants until he hit flesh.

Tears streamed down my face, hot and heavy, but I clamped my mouth shut, tasting the tang of blood burst onto my tongue from biting so hard.

Nicolai said he’d get us out of here andI tried desperately to hold on to that with every piece of me that bled out, but I was losing myself.

A wave of dizziness passed over me and I couldn’t breathe. The sting of each slash worse than the last until all I felt was the pulsing pain from head to toe.

The man never uttered a single word, solely focusing on his task of marring my body, scarring it.

My body. The one thing the Bratva used to their advantage. And now it was flawed.

What importance would I be to them now?

With my teeth chattering, I gasped out the word I hardly ever uttered,“Please.”

He regarded me for a moment, his gaze trailing my body until the malicious gleam in his brown eyes intensified.

His fingers dug into my jaw until he had a firm grip on my face before he leaned in close, setting the blade above my brow.

My vision grew blurry, and I didn’t know if it was from my tears or sweat running down my face. The tightness in my chest was unbearable, and I wasterrified.

If he cut my face, I would becomenothing. I would be useless without my beauty.

“Enough!” It was Nicolai’s voice that finally stilled his movements, his voice hoarse. “What do you want? Whatever it is, I’ll do it. Just. . . leave her alone.” His pleas went down through deaf ears.

The man’s breathing became erratic, as if my brother’s words fueled his baseless anger and I knew that not only would I go scathed, but so would Nicolai.

The scream bubbled in my throat untilit pierced the air as the man slid his knife down the right side of my face. Every single sense homed in on the excruciating throb of my split flesh searing through me.

He pulled back, and I sobbed as the vision in my right eye became dark and red from the blood trickling into it.

I couldn’t stop the violent tremors racking my battered body, every tremble adding to the ache. The pain was unbearable, and I didn’t know where it began or ended as I inhaled shakily.

“Irina. . . ”

“Irina!”

“Irina, look at me!”

Someone was calling my name, but it sounded distant, muffled, as if I was underwater.

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