Page 93 of Beautiful Enemy

Saving Nadia.

She’s bleeding out on my nice leather seats. “Here.” I reach into the glove compartment and grab a rag and chuck it at her. “Clean yourself up. It’s unbecoming of a girl like you.”

Without a word, she does as I say. See? Nadia hasn’t changed one bit. She’s still my shy obedient daughter, just the way I like her.

“What’s going to happen to me?” she whispers.

“What do you mean? You’re going to marry Viktor and in so doing, I am going to get back into Erik’s good graces and reclaim my power that I lost. And you are going to do it all with a smile. I’m the one who saved you. Not Erik. Not Viktor. Me.”

She cries to herself. Fine. As long as she’s not bleeding on my seats, I don’t care. I’m used to Nadia crying a lot. She’s cried for most of her life. After her mother died, that whore. After Anya married Erik, that bitch. And I’m sure she cried when Dante kidnapped her.

I don’t have any sympathy for her tears. She can cry for all I care, as long as she does as I want.

“You didn’t save me,” she whispers. I know I must have heard her wrong.

“I did save you. I’m saving you right now.”

“You’re not saving me,” she says louder. “I don’t want this. Just take me back to Anya.”

I scoff. “I am not doing that. Your sister kidnapped you. I’m just taking you back. You belong to me.”

I settle into my seat, ready for the long drive back to the city. Nadia will do as I say. She’s always done as I say.

Then she lets out a scream and grabs the steering wheel.

“What the fuck?” I snarl, trying to steady it but it’s too late.

The car drives off the road and slams right into a tree.

Chapter Sixteen

Nadia

Ican’t let my father take me back. I can’t be controlled by him again.

I would rather die.

Something primal takes over me and uses my body to grab the steering wheel. He tries to fight me on it but ends up losing. The car crashes into a tree.

The airbags deploy, hitting me right in the face. For a moment, I’m dizzy, seeing stars, then my vision clears and I see my father beside me, groaning and rubbing his head.

I need to get out of this car. I need to run. I need to be free of him.

If he manages to take me back, he won’t return me to Anya. I won’t be safe.

And then I’ll probably never see Dante again and I’m not sure if that makes me happy. In fact, it’s the opposite. The thought of never seeing Dante again makes me want to curl into a ball and bawl my eyes out.

He tries restarting the car but the engine fizzles out. With an enraged scream, he tries again and again but it’s no use. The car will not start.

My fingers scramble to open the door but it’s locked.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He grabs my arm and hurls me back into my seat. The only saving grace is that it’s not my hurt arm. It stings from pain.

“Let me go, please.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” He grabs a gun from the backseat and cocks it. “Dante will be right behind us.” He manages to get his door open and kicks it shut before I can leave. He locks the door behind him.

I crawl into the backseat but just like the passenger door, the back doors are also locked. I’m stuck inside.

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