Page 56 of Bound to the Mafia King

I breathed in the toxic fumes, my vision already coming in and out of focus. “Valerio!”

I called for him, but the smoke was thick. I couldn't even see two meters ahead of me. I coughed violently, my body trying to reject whatever was filling up my lungs, but it was too late. The strength left my muscles, and my entire body tumbled to the floor with a loud thud, my skull taking the brunt of the fall.

The next thing I knew, my vision went black, and consciousness left me.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Anastasia

My head pounded loudly. I tried to bring my hand to my temple to try and soothe the growing ache, but when I tried to move my hand, it wouldn’t budge.

My eyes fluttered open, and the first thing I saw was the glacier eyes that had haunted my dreams for months. Standing only a few feet from where I was bound was none other than my ex-fiancée. When I tried to speak, my voice bounced off the tape and back into my mouth.

My eyes darted around the room, and from what I could tell he had me in a plane bunker. There was a sky liner to the side of us, and three men behind him posted up with guns in clear view.

Fuck.

This wasn’t good.

My mind replayed what the hell had happened. It had all happened so quickly. One minute I had stepped outside onto the beach, and the next my vision was gone and my consciousness soon followed.

I thrashed around in the chair and screamed, but all my sounds came out muffled.

“No one can hear you, Anastasia.” Sergei’s chilling voice reached my ears. His jaw was hard set, but that was the only sign of his disdain. You would think that a man who just had his empire practically robbed from him would be a bit more fired up. “I think you and I need to have a little chat.”

But his coolness could only mean that his anger went far beyond red hot. It was an ice-cold kind of anger, the kind that made the devil look like a saint.

I was in trouble.

He stalked toward me. He grabbed my chin and raised my gaze to meet his. The ice in his touch burned my skin and charred my insides with fear.

“Did you really think you could get away from me?” He let out on low huff. “I never lose my property.”

I gulped.

He tore the tape from my lips harshly, allowing my mouth to be released.

“You’ve been a bad girl, Anastasia. Now what am I meant to do with you? You tainted yourself; how can I have something so broken and disgusting as my bride?”

His words were meant to hurt me, but I was no longer the girl that cowered in fear in the corner. I was the one who fought for my freedom and stood my ground.

“Go. To. Hell.” I tried to back my words with as much conviction as possible. “I was never and will never be yours.”

His grip on my chin tightened, and he drew his face in far closer than I would have liked. “And that is where you are wrong. I own you.”

I spat in his face. Without hesitation, he slapped me and sent my head flying backward. The pain was searing, but the elation from spitting in his good-for-nothing face felt amazing.

“You think you’re so bold,” he roared, his face turning a ghastly red. “I will break you back into submission. I will do what your brother could never do. You will be my bride, and I will keep my empire intact.”

I moved my neck to face him. I could taste the metallic blood in my mouth. “He won’t stop until he finds me.”

He knew exactly who I was talking about. “That’s what I’m counting on.”

He lifted a small little silver thing in his hand, and it was then that I noticed it was my bracelet. The one that Valerio had gifted me.

“Tracker,” he said simply. “Looks like your Prince Charming is just as psychotic as the rest of us. He’ll be here shortly, and when he arrives, I’m going to make sure to put a bullet in his head.”

My heart sank.

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