Page 80 of Viripotent

“Rotten boy, such cruelty, and evil.”

She maintains the mumbling as she unlocks her door and I help her inside. Setting her things in the kitchen, she starts her explanation, pointing out of her window.

“They lived there. I could hear the screams, that poor girl would scream every day, every night. She wouldn’t stop.”

I don’t know if she’s senile or who she’s talking about as the neighboring house looks abandoned.

She shakes her head as she walks away and takes a seat at the table, then pats the seat beside her. I follow the command and try not to ask the million questions going through my head. Pinning me with a haunting stare, her voice hardens with conviction.

“He killed her, then fifteen more in one night.”

My voice is low, holding on to misplaced hope.

“Who?”

I already know, we both do, but she whispers the name she called my husband.

“Dyavol. He is evil, so much evil around him.”

My hands are sweating, and my heart is trying to smash itself into pieces against my ribs as the woman recounts a horrifying history.

“Such a beautiful girl, she should never have been left with him. The other boys too, they’d have black eyes and broken noses.”

Clicking her fingers, she tries to remember a name and I bite my tongue to stop from offering it.

“The younger one, Valyusha, I think. He tried to run, but dyavol pulled him back every time to take his punishment. They both did, so little and they would hide behind the willow tree.”

Vlad wouldn’t hurt his brothers. My stupid fucking brain is defending him when there’s so much evidence he freely gives showing he’s heartless. Why would his brothers be safe when he tortured an innocent girl for fucking hours, across days because he’s a sick fucking bastard.I’m not capable of speaking as I try to remain calm instead of changing my identity and running away like I should.

I saw the alert he set on his phone and mine goes off with enough time to make it back to the jet before him. Quickly leaving his old neighbor’s house, I keep my head down and slide into the back of the car without seeing Vlad. He’s worse than anyone knows, and I will not have the father of my child be that fucking monster. Even if I have to sacrifice my life, it will be worth it.

THIRTY-TWO

Inessa

Ican feel something watching me and a scream gets trapped in my throat as I open my eyes to Vlad hovering over me. He never sleeps beside me, and my brain is still weighed down by sleep, forgetting everything I learned in Russia. He pulls the sheets up to my chin and keeps his voice sounding low almost guilty.

“I didn’t want you to get cold.”

I’m too tired to say anything and nod my head as my eyes close. Leaning towards the warmth blanketing me from his body, I pull on his arm, wanting it closer, and he reluctantly lowers. I nuzzle into the pillow as the bed dips and he sits against the headboard. I’m on the brink of sleep when he flattens his palm over my ear and massages my scalp.

My arm moves automatically going over his thighs and trying to get him to absorb me. He’s so warm and comfortable I want to curl around him.

“Why won’t you talk to me anymore?”

The low voice doesn’t get my attention as he keeps massaging my scalp and my eyes snap open when he repeats himself.

I’m cuddling a fucking murderer.

He tightens his arm around me so I can’t move, and my throat goes dry. I’ve spent a week avoiding him and my dumb ass let my guard down in sleep, thinking I’d be safe. Saying my name like a warning has me flinching.

“Inessa, speak.”

He doesn’t relax and his fingers dig into my shoulder as I try to push away from him.

I can’t tell him the truth, or I’ll be the one getting kicked across the room. The hand in my hair is gentle, but he was pulling until Galya was nearly bald and her mouth was filled with blood when I went back in to help her. She couldn’t even fucking walk because of what he did. My eyes burn in anger and pain at how she found the strength to stand and the cause of it all comforts me.

He picks me up and wraps his arms around me. One is banded across my back, the other at the back of my head, holding my head to his chest. His voice is deadly and rumbles through his chest under my ear.

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