Page 99 of Ruthless Bonds

“What is it? What’s the matter?”

Her head snapped in my direction, her nostrils flaring. “Recipes,” she shrieked. “Fucking recipes.” She picked one up, showing me. “Pashka.” She dropped it, picking up another. “Napoleon cake!”

Oh, fuck, she was really losing it now.

“How is this possible?” I could hear the rage in her voice, and I knew that I would have to make a move soon. She grabbed the gun and came toward me. “Did you do this? Did you ruin my plan?”

“No, I did.” Kreos’ voice came from the doorway and we both turned our heads in his direction.

Elena stood next to me, the gun pointed at my head. Kreos took a step forward, his hands raised. Relief washed over me now that I could see him. Did he have a plan? God, I hoped he did, because my plan wasn’t bulletproof, and neither was I. His gaze met mine, and I mouthed “I’m OK” so he wouldn’t freak out. Well, not too much anyway.

His jaw clenched as he came closer. “Nadya, you don’t have to hurt her. I’m here now. I’ll do whatever you say.”

“My name is Elena,” she screamed, her hand trembling as she pushed the gun into the side of my head, the metal cold against my skin. If she didn’t calm down, she was going to shoot me before I could even move.

“OK, Elena. I’m unarmed. Please let her go. She has nothing to do with this.” His voice was calm, but I knew better than that. I could see the turmoil in his eyes. He was terrified. “Tell me what you want.”

She pointed to the table at one of the syringes. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to inject yourself with that and get nice and relaxed. Then I’ll lether go and it will just be me and you.”

“She’s lying, Kreos. She’s going—”

Elena smacked the gun against my forehead, a sharp pain radiating through me. “Shut up. Just shut the hell up. I’m sick of you already. I want this over. I’ve been waiting too long now.” She pointed the gun at Kreos as he took another step forward.

“I’m just getting the syringe. Easy now.” He picked up the syringe and held it up. “What is this?”

“The same thing that keeps your baby brother asleep. And now you will be too.” She laughed, that manic laugh that made you feel you were in a horror movie.

He stripped off his jacket, never taking his eyes off me. I wiggled my right shoulder slightly, my gaze going from him to my shoulder, back and forth, trying to tell him I was free. But either he didn’t understand or he had another plan, because he started to roll up the sleeves of his shirt.

“Are you going to tell me why you’re doing this, Elena?” he murmured, resting his hands on the table.

“Your father took away everything that I loved. And now I’m going to do the same to him. To you. Starting with her.” She pushed the gun harder into the side of my head, and I clenched my jaw.

“I love you, Kreos,” I whispered. Not because I was giving up, but because I needed him to know.

His eyes darkened as he stared at me. “Don’t worry,milaya, this will be over soon.”

I couldn’t lose him. My whole life I had been waiting for something, and I realized now that it was Kreos. He was my everything, and I wouldn’t let her take him away from me.

“Yes, it will be.” Elena stood between us, pointing the gun at Kreos. “Get on your knees.”

Kreos held his hands up, one of them holding a syringe as he got down on his knees. Elena’s hand was trembling, and I realized that she might be going off plan now. You could see the rage all over her face as she stood over him. What if she shot him?

She looked over her shoulder at me, a wicked smile on her face. “Look at your husband now, the mighty Pakhan on his knees. Not so powerful anymore, is he?” She chuckled, then turned back to face Kreos.

She cocked the gun, and my stomach turned. Where was Gavriil? Surely he wouldn’t let Kreos come down here without some type of plan. My ankles were tied to the chair, and there was no way to get free from the bonds.

There was a commotion just outside the door, and Elena’s eyes widened. Someone else was here, but the question was, would Kreos and I both be dead by the time they got inside? She turned the gun toward me, then back to Kreos. Back and forth she went, her face twisted in anger.

“What are you going to do now, Elena?” He arched his eyebrow. “My men are here. Are you going to take your revenge, or are you a coward?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, focusing the gun completely on him. What the hell was he thinking, taunting her like that?

“Years of infiltrating my organization and working to stay undetected. How you must have hated seeing me succeed, knowing that I was growing stronger, and you… well, you just stayed weak, didn’t you?”

“Shut up!” she screamed, her face turning red.

A deafening boom echoed throughout the room. Kreos inhaled sharply through clenched teeth, and my heart stilled. A harsh sound escaped his throat, something between a grunt and a snarl as blood soaked his pant leg.

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