Page 73 of Kings of Cruelty

promise?

I don’t know why I’m telling him I’m fine. I’m not. I’m not even close to being fine. I’m not going tobefine. Konstantin is already pissed at me, and the fact that I fled to James is not going to look good for me.

My thoughts darken, and I wonder what they’ve done with him.

I hope he’s fucking dead.

Yeah.

I text back as the car slows down.“But if you don’t hear back from me in twenty-four hours,” I begin to type, but I don’t know how to finish that. I end up erasing it.

I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing.

I’m not going to be like Vanessa Pavone, complicit and looking the other way while Konstantin traffics women. I’m just not.

So why the fuck am I here?

Nikolai parks the car by the front door. He takes the remote for the front gate with him.

I guess they aren’t making that mistake again.

I smile humorlessly. If they really think that would stop me if I wanted out, they don’t know me nearly as well as they think they do.

I still don’t know why I didn’t throw a fit at the hospital to keep Nikolai from taking me back here. I don’t know why I’mhere at all, except the idea of never seeing Konstantin, Yuri, and Nikolai again isn’t easy to swallow for reasons I can’t explain.

I get out of the car and fold my arms across my belly. Yuri is sitting on the front steps, staring at us.

“Is he still acting like an asshole?” I ask coolly, even though my heart is racing and it’s all I can do not to break out into a complete sweat.

Nikolai winces, but it’s only the three of us out here. No one in his organization is around to hear me demean their leader.

“Kotya…” Yuri sighs and runs his hand through his hair. “He’s acting like something.”

My fingers clench around my phone, and I wish I had told Kyran thatnothingwas okay.

Yuri’s expression turns darker. “We did something. For you. But I told him you get final say.”

I don’t know what to make of that. If they did something for me… Does that mean Konstantin isn’t going to lock me away and treat me like shit? “All right,” I say cautiously, then let out a sigh.

Yuri gets up and takes my hands into his. My elbows are still bruised, and he scowls down at the darkened skin.

“Whatever happens,” Yuri says in a near whisper, “I’m with you, Sierra, okay?”

I look at him, meeting his eyes. “I’m not going to roll over for him… or any of you,” I quietly tell him. “If he sticks with this, I’m out. One way or another.”

Nikolai looks between us, but he must not catch what we’re actually saying because he doesn’t contribute to the conversation.

Yuri puts his arm around my shoulder and leads me through the house. I’m confused when he skips the stairs and instead takes me out back to Konstantin’s work shed. The doors are cracked open, and my body tenses in apprehension.

I shouldn’t have come back.

“Kotya! We’re coming in! Sierra is with me!” Yuri calls out.

“Good,” Konstantin calls back. He slides the door open a few extra inches.

My eyes widen.

Behind Konstantin, on his work bench, is James. He’s gagged and bound to the table, struggling to free himself and making muffled noises.

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