Page 79 of Triplet Babies
“But I’m willing to make accommodations.” He continues as if I haven’t spoken, his voice taking on the tone of someone discussing weekend plans. “We’ll deal with the currentinconvenience once we’re settled somewhere safe, and then I’ll give you a brat if you really want one. My child. Our child.”
The threat to my babies unleashes something primal and fierce inside me. I lunge forward as far as my bonds allow, fury overriding caution. “If you touch them, I’ll kill you myself.”
He laughs, clearly genuinely amused by my reaction. He claps his hands together slowly, like I’ve just performed a particularly entertaining trick. “There’s the fire I fell in love with. I was starting to worry you’d become completely docile during your little adventure in domesticity.”
He reaches for my jacket, his fingers working at the zipper with familiar possessiveness. “But first, we need to reestablish our connection and remind you of what you’ve been missing.”
“I haven’t been missing anything.” I struggle against his touch, trying to twist away, but the wall behind me provides no escape.
He moves to my shirt, pulling at the fabric with increasing urgency. “You say that now, but your body remembers me. It always responds to me, no matter how much your mind tries to resist.”
“My body remembers being afraid of you. Too afraid to say no, but that was then.” I glare at him. “I always faked it.”
That doesn’t seem to insult him. He just ignores my words and says, “Fear and desire are closely related.” He works the buttons of my shirt, sending chills through my body. “You’ll remember that too, once we have some privacy. You do have to pay for the year you stole from me, after all.”
He’s trying to strip me, and I jerk away, making my jacket tear slightly near the seam. I gasp and instinctively curl inward,protecting myself, and that’s when my fingers graze the torn fabric and find the small blade Nina had given to me to stitch into the lining weeks ago.
Hope flares, bright and sudden. Nina’s gift, her quiet way of making sure I could protect myself, might be exactly what I need. I don’t move or let my expression change, but I’m not helpless. I have options.
Alex continues pawing at my clothes, too focused on his own desires to notice the change in my posture. “You’re going to remember why you loved me, Sarah, and why we’re meant to be together.” The sound of footsteps outside the room makes him pause. He looks toward the door with irritation, clearly not expecting to be interrupted during what he considers an intimate reunion.
“Expecting someone?” I ask, hoping to buy time while I try to work the blade free from its hiding spot. It’s impossible at the moment with my hands bound and in front of him.
“My partner should be here soon. We have business to conclude before we leave the country.” He straightens his clothes and steps back from me, instantly transforming from predator to professional. “She’s been quite helpful in arranging our escape.”
The door opens, and a woman enters. I recognize Katya Nikitina immediately. Yarik’s fiancée looks as perfectly composed as ever in an expensive cream-colored coat and black heels that clack with each step across the concrete floor like a countdown.
Alex stands and turns toward her with a polite smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Katya. You’re early.” He sounds faintly sullen, but his expression is warm.
She surveys the room with cool detachment, gaze lingering on me for a moment before returning to Alex. When she looks at me, there’s no recognition or acknowledgment of our previous encounters at the estate. I’m just an object to be disposed of. “Roman, I see you’ve retrieved our mutual problem.”
Roman. The name catches my attention, reminding me Demitrios called him that too.
Alex—Roman—moves toward her with the easy confidence of an equal partner. “She’s more stubborn than I expected, but nothing we can’t handle. Are the travel arrangements finalized?”
“There’s been a change of plans.” Katya reaches into her coat, her fingers trembling ever so slightly.
“What kind of change?” His voice carries a note of suspicion, and I see his posture shift slightly, becoming more defensive.
Instead of answering, she pulls out a gun and points it directly at his chest. The weapon looks enormous in her delicate hands, but she holds it with the steady confidence of someone who knows how to use it.
Alex stares at the weapon, confusion replacing confidence. “What are you doing? We’re partners. We agreed?—”
“We agreed you would help me eliminate obstacles to my marriage. You were useful for gathering information and creating problems for Yarik, but I never promised you a happy ending.” Her voice is conversational, like she’s discussing the weather rather than pointing a gun at someone’s chest.
The pieces click together in my mind. Katya has been using Alex all along, manipulating his obsession with me to serve her ownpurposes. She never intended to help him get me back. She just needed a convenient scapegoat.
Alex takes a step backward, his face flushing with anger and growing fear. “You can’t be serious. We had a deal.”
Her laugh is cold. “Did we? I remember offering you resources to pursue your little stalking hobby, not promising you a future. You were always going to be a liability, Roman. You’re too unstable, too obsessed, and too obvious.”
“I gave you everything. Access to Sarah, information about Yarik’s operations?—”
“And you left enough digital breadcrumbs to bury yourself.” She tilts her head slightly, studying him like a scientist examining a particularly interesting specimen. “Photos, fake accounts, and threatening messages from multiple phone numbers easily tied back to burner phones purchased with your credit cards. All I had to do was watch you spiral and document your descent into madness.” The gun remains steady in her grip, pointed at his center mass
Alex’s face goes pale as he realizes the scope of her betrayal. “You’re going to kill me.”
“I’m going to tie up loose ends.” Katya’s finger moves to the trigger. “You served your purpose, but now you’re just a complication I can’t afford.”
