Page 105 of Sinful Scars

Having his hands on me has me fighting the urge to vomit.

I try to scream, but the sound comes out muffled.

I can only hope that Anton and Danil are still outside my window to hear me yelling.

I was stupid to send Mikhail and Lucia away. What did I expect? To walk back into my room and pretend like I didn’t learn that Lev murdered my parents and brother?

I guess I’m even more of a fool than I thought.

Lev adjusts his hold on me so that he can pull his phone out of his pocket. But his hand remains clamped over my mouth to stop me from crying for help.

“Pyotr? I need you to bring me a car. Meet me in the side alley beside apartment 428, on the corner of east 83rd in five minutes.”

Who the fuck is Pyotr? And where the hell is he taking me?

All I can do is squirm. Even with only one arm holding me in place, I’m still too weak to fight him off.

I wish I took Lucia up on her offer all those yearsago to learn self-defense. She would never get caught in a situation like this. She would have had Lev on the ground in seconds.

It’s the fire all over again.

I’m completely helpless, only this time, Lev isn’t going to be carrying me away from the flames. Instead, he’s going to make me walk straight through them.

Lev hangs up the phone. “I’m not going to hurt you. Please, I need you to trust me.”

His body pressed against mine no longer feels comforting or familiar. The man who I was falling for, the man who has fathered my child, is nothing but a stranger to me now.

And the worst part is, he even tried to warn me, but I refused to listen. I was too caught up in my own fantasy to realize what was right in front of me.

A monster, hiding in plain sight.

Lev tightens his hand over my mouth to muffle my sobs as he half-carries me out of my apartment and down the stairs.

I pray for someone to appear, to have heard my shouts and decided to come to investigate, but as we get closer to the first floor, I realize that no one is coming to save me.

“I’m sorry to do this, Elle,” Lev keeps repeating over and over.

Once upon a time, I would have believed him.

But not anymore.

When we reach the first floor, Lev drags me away from the door toward the fire exit at the back of the building that leads to the alley where the garbage cans are kept.

His breathing in my ear has my skin prickling, and my heart is pounding so hard in my chest I feel like I’m going to pass out.

Lev wastes no time pushing open the emergency exit and forcing me outside where a car is already waiting.

A large man dressed in all black with neat blond hair and blue eyes is leaning against the blacked out SUV.

I can only assume this is Pyotr.

Immediately, my eyes go to the gun he has tucked into his belt, and I start trying to fight Lev’s hold on me to no avail.

This can’t be how it ends.

Where the hell is Mikhail or Anton?

The one time they decided to do as I ask and leave me alone is the one time I actually need them.

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