Page 100 of Ruthless Bonds

“No!” I shouted, my legs instinctively trying to move, but they couldn’t.

She’d shot him. That crazy bitch had actually shot him.

“You see, Mrs. Zokrova? He’s the weak one, not me. He can’t save you.”

“You’re forgetting one thing, Elena,” I hissed as every muscle in my body tensed.

She turned to face me, the gun by her side. “What’s that?”

“I don’t need anyone to rescue me when I can do it myself.” I leapt up, surprise written on her face as she realized my hands were free.

I roared as I swung the handcuffs, my fist connecting with her face. She screamed, the gun going off again as the cuffs cut a gash across her cheek. We landed in a pile, with me on top of her, half the chair broken, but still tied to my leg.

“You bitch!” she snarled and tried to hit me with the gun.

I screamed in her face, all my anger and fear pouring out of me. My elbow came down and slammed into her nose, blood gushing everywhere. The gun went off again, the sound of stone crumbling and bottles falling behind. Kreos reached over, and knocked the gun from her hands. She thrashed around, trying to push me off. But I wasn’t going anywhere. I reached acrossthe floor, grabbed a piece of glass and, in one fluid motion, sliced it across her neck.

Her eyes widened as her mouth hung open, like she couldn’t believe I had actually done it. Kreos tore the chair free from my legs, then dragged me off her. Elena’s hands went to her throat. The only sounds in the room were my heavy breathing and the gurgling noises she was making.

“Milaya, are you OK?” Kreos’ eyes were frantic as his blood-soaked hands cradled my face.

“Kreos,” I choked, wrapping my arms around him. He was alive, a fucking miracle in itself. Despite everything, we both had survived. So many overwhelming emotions came over me as my tears soaked his shirt.

“Shh, shh, it’s OK.” He gripped me to him, squeezing me so tight I almost couldn’t breathe.

The door burst open, Gavriil shouting as he pointed around the room. “You foolish man,” he growled at Kreos.

He had his gun pointed at Elena, but it was unnecessary. She was never coming back to hurt us again.

Kreos scooped me up in one fluid motion, the only sign of his pain was the tightening of his jaw and a slight limp as he carried me. Grig and several of Kreos’ other guards were in the tunnel, all with their guns drawn. Their eyes widened at all the blood covering me, but I just held on as tight as I could to Kreos.

“Is it over now?” I whispered.

“Yes, my love. Everything is OK now.” His fingers dug into my flesh as we moved through the tunnel system.

I grabbed his shirt, trying to stop him. “Kreos, your leg. Put me down before you hurt yourself more.”

His dark chuckle echoed throughout the chamber as he held me in his arms. “No,milaya. I’m never fucking letting you go again,” he whispered, his voice filled with a mix of possessiveness and determination.

Thank God, because I wasn’t going anywhere now. He was stuck with me forever.

Chapter Nineteen

Alora

3 months later

I swung my legs in the cool water as Constantine took another lap past me. Dove held up a timer and jumped up and down when he reached her at the edge of the pool.

“I beat it by seven seconds,” he yelled to me, a huge grin on his face.

Dove clapped while I screamed out words of encouragement. With Elena no longer around, and with the help of doctors, Constantine had come out of his coma within days. It had been three months of intensive rehabilitation—daily sessions of rebuilding muscle memory, occupational therapy to help with fine motor skills, as well as speech therapy.

But I’d quickly learned that Constantine was a fighter, just as tough and pig-headed as Kreos. Swimming was supposed to be one of the best ways to help him rebuild muscle mass and help with his heart health. And Constantine was kicking ass and taking names.

A shadow fell over me, and I looked up as Kreos stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. Sasha sat at his feet, a smug look on her cute little face.

“What do you think you’re doing,kotic?” Hisvoice was soft, but I could feel the tension radiating off his body.

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