Page 112 of Cruel Honor

I remember reading about self-defense techniques after my dad died. He was mugged in the street, and I never wanted something like that to happen to me again. How naive I was.

But I leaned a few things.

Cassie is holding my arms down, but I reach toward her face and bite her nose. She screams and jerks back. With my arm free, I use the palm of my hand and hit her in the throat.

Instantly, she doubles over, coughing.

I kick her in the leg and send her sprawling to the ground.Grabbing a blender off the counter, I drop it onto her face, where her head cracks.

She starts to spasm. It reminds me of Tatiana so much that it terrifies me. Tatiana was a mistake. But Cassie isn’t. I’m choosing to murder this girl. Yes, it’s self-defense. But I’m still choosing to take her life.

I can pretend Dimitri’s world hasn’t changed me, but it has. I thought it made me weak and scared, but I’m starting to think it’s made me brave and strong.

Cassie twitches a few more times before she stops moving.

I stumble back with a gasp. I need to get out of here.

I turn around and come face to face with Dima.

His busted eye is bleeding, but he can still see out of the other one. As that one good eye flicks down to Cassie’s dead body, his face contorts into anger. “You killed her!”

He wraps his arms around my throat and pushes me back against the counter. I’m without air. I can’t breathe. My feet kick out, but I don’t reach him. My hands dry grabbing his arms, but that does nothing.

Dima will kill me. He’s been trying for weeks now.

But I can’t let that happen. I have a husband to get back to.

My hands slap against the drawer behind me, and I manage to get it open. My fingers search for anything that could help me.

And that’s when I feel it.

I knife.

My hand wraps around it, wincing as my palm digs into the sharp part of the blade, but I don’t have time to let it go and re-grab it from the hilt. I need to stop Dima now before I’m completely out of air.

I raise the knife and jam it into his other eye.

Dima lets me go with another blood-curdling scream. I rip the knife from his eye and don’t hesitate.

I stab him in the neck.

Dima gurgles and claws at his neck. He makes a mistake when he rips the knife out of him. Blood instantly starts pouring down his neck.

Even though both his eyes are a bloody mess, he still widens them before he collapses to the floor. I saw fear in them.

Never have I felt so satisfied by the sight of someone dying.

Just like his girlfriend, Dima twitches a few times before he stops moving altogether.

Slumping to the ground, I let the tears come.

I survived. Dimitri has been saving me time and time again, but this time, I’m the one who saved myself. The police were of no help with Dima. I had to take him out, or no one would.

He’s gone, and he can never kill another woman again.

My hands are covered in his blood so I can’t wipe my tears away. I have to let them fall.

It’s complete and utter relief as to why I’m crying. Dima is gone. One less obstacle between Dimitri and me.

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