Page 66 of Kings of Cruelty

“Sierrochka, who I do or don’t do business with is my concern. Not yours,” Konstantin says, voice clipped.

I stare at him for a long moment, then shake my head, disgusted. “No? I’m not like Vanessa Pavone,Konstantin,” I say, practically spitting out his name. “I’m not going to have your babies and pretend you aren’t a wretched excuse for a human being. What the fuck do you think I am? Who the fuck do you think you are?”

I go for the door, but Konstantin grabs my wrist and yanks it toward himself. He squeezes hard enough to cause pain, and I gasp.

“Who I am?” Konstantin growls. “I am Konstantin Igorevich Voronkov. I lead the American branch of the Voronkov Bratva. There are fifty men under my command, who will jump to obey my order. I will not tolerate insubordination or insults, especially not from mymistress.”

Rage boils up in me at his words, and I glare at him with a look of hatred I haven’t turned on him since he first took me from my home. “Excuse the fuck out of me,” I snarl at him. “I thought I was more than some whore to you, but I guess I was wrong. God, I can’t believe I ever willingly let you touch me.”

His eyes remain hard when he says, “You forget the deal we had. I’ve been too soft on you. Too nice. Maybe you were feeling yourself very clever, that you had us wrapped around your finger. But the only one in charge here is me. Understood?”

“Oh, I understand,” I tell him bitterly. “I understand that you aren’t who or what I thought you were. Because I thought you were a real man, not a coward.” I tug hard at his hold on my wrist. “Let go of me.”

I guess I’ll be taking Silvano Cresci’s offer to get me out of here after all—assuming Konstantin doesn’t lock me away, andassuming the offer is still good. I have never been this angry in my life, even when finding out that Silvano was responsible for my father’s death.

I don’t know what that says about me.

“You will obey,” Konstantin snarls. I feel a spike of fear, and the brand on my chest aches.

This is who he really is. This is who they all are.

“Yes,” I lie, my heart pounding hard in my chest as I try to formulate a plan. It’s another few beats before Konstantin finally releases me.

I get out of the car, where the driver is waiting awkwardly, keys still in hand.

Konstantin gets out on the other side, pulling his phone out. He says something in Russian, and the only words I catch aregirlandgo.

I know exactly what’s going to happen once I step into the mansion. He’s going to lock me away again. He’s going to be cruel, and remind me of our initial deal, and he’s going to try to break me. Yuri and Nikolai will follow his lead because they always do what Konstantin wants.

I don’t think.

I grab the keys from the driver. He cries out, but I hop into the driver’s side and lock all the doors. The seat is too far back and the mirrors are out of alignment for me, but I don’t care. I turn on the ignition. Konstantin slams his hand on the side of the door.

“Open fucking door, Sierra!” he shouts.

“Nyet,” I shout back, slamming my foot on the pedal and driving the car back down the driveway. I reach for the remote to open the front gate, and thank fucking god, the gate opens in time for me to race out of there.

I don’t even know where I’m going at first. I do know that I need to put as much distance as I possibly can between me andKonstantin, as fast as I can. I adjust the seat and the mirrors at the next stoplight. I don’t hear any loud engines roaring or motorcycles coming my way. It’s normal New Bristol suburb traffic.

My phone is still in my purse in the back seat of the car, out of my reach. I need to get rid of that, too, because I know they have a tracker in it.

I should’ve disabled it when I’d had the chance, but they would’ve known and they’re always with me anyway.

Fuck.

All right. There has to be a way out of this that doesn’t involve me being dragged back to the man cave by the hair, where they’ll lock me up and use me until I’m as broken as Vanessa Pavone is.

I will never, ever end up like that.

I find myself on the interstate, and I realize I’ve instinctively started to take the route back to my college campus. That’s as good a place as any to start from, I guess. I can call Kyran and find a place to hide until we can figure out logistics. It’s big enough for me to get lost in, even at this late hour. Maybe if I head into one of the frat parties that’s inevitably going on…

I force myself to slow down because the last thing I need is to get pulled over right now, even though I cast nervous glances at the side and rear view mirrors. They couldn’t have gotten a car ready that fast, though, and I have to believe that I have at least a five minute head start.

I park in the mostly empty parking lot and search the car for anything I can use. My purse and my phone, of course. I’d expected to find a gun or some kind of weapon in the glove compartment, but there’s nothing. I find a bottle of water and gratefully take a long gulp from it while I think about my options.

I don’t actually want Silvano Cresci’s help, but I don’t know who else to call. They still have my mother in a safe house, Iassume, which means she’ll be protected against Konstantin’s retribution—but it also means I can’t grab her and run this time. Fuck.

I should’ve done that when I’d had the chance.

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