Page 52 of Rebellion

No wonder Sacha had a fit and told her to sleep. He’d even threatened to send the doctor around with some sleeping pills.She’d hightailed it home before he could make good on that threat.

Sofia hadn’t wanted to sleep in the house without him there, so she’d come to her place. She felt safer here—usually.

Suddenly, someone appeared behind her.

A reflection in the mirror.

A face from a nightmare she wished she’d never see again.

Opening her mouth, she drew in a breath to scream. It was a reflex, one he obviously anticipated as he slid his hand over her mouth. But he had a cloth in his hand, which he pushed right over her nose too.

She tried to hold her breath, to fight, but it was impossible.

And the darkness soon overpowered her.

Sofia woke up groggily.

Where was she? What was going on? Why did she feel so out of it? She opened her eyes and glanced around.

A shiver ran through her. Wherever she was, it was cold. It looked run-down and dark. And it smelled like dead animals and garbage.

Her stomach rolled.

How had she gotten here? She glanced around, her head thumping horribly. Then, as she tried to stand, she realized she was tied to a chair.

Oh, God.

What was going on?

A door slammed and a man walked toward her. Sofia’s breathing grew so fast that she was scared she was about to have a panic attack.

“Ahh, you’re awake,” Oleg said with a sneer. “Just when I was coming in to wake you up.”

Sofia swallowed heavily. She didn’t want to think about how he might wake her up.

“What are you doing, Oleg? What is going on? Sacha is going to kill you.”

“Really? When he going to do that? While stuck in a hospital bed? I don’t think so,” he said almost gleefully.

If he’d started rubbing his hands together like an evil villain, she wouldn’t have been shocked.

“Did you... did you have something to do with that?” she asked.

Oleg’s eyes widened. “Finally, she get it! Of course, if he hadn’t moved to the side at the last moment, well, that would have been better outcome, don’t you think?”

Because then he would have been dead. She swallowed her bile. This just... it made no sense.

“But I don’t understand,” she whispered. “I thought you wanted to pretend to be my boyfriend to get on Aleksandr’s good side? I thought you wanted to be part of his inner circle.”

“Yeah, I did,” Oleg sneered. “But he never thought me good enough. Not for you or to get close to him. Ridiculous! You should be grateful I ever pay attention to you. No one else want you.”

She’d long ago built shields to stop herself from being hurt by his words.

Of course, they didn’t always remain intact.

Slivers got through. And those slivers turned to swords.

She knew that she shouldn’t listen to his poison. But it was insidious. It was coating her soul.

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