Page 48 of Darkest Game
“But it is. You judge me but you and Nico are no better. I thought you two were enemies. You’re only working together because of your wives. Otherwise, you’d have killed each other by now. Well, I’m married to Irina. Let me work with you. Let me join the alliance. We can grow even stronger because of it.”
“I would rather die than work with Irish scum like you.”
Nico comes back, shaking his head. “The desk clerk told me that Liam didn’t purchase any other room. I threatened him into telling me the truth and he was adamant that he was. I think Liam’s right. Irina’s not here.”
Mikhail shoves his gun right against my head. “Then where is she? Where did you put her?”
“I told you. Elaine took her. She’s not some innocent woman like she appears. She hated Irina because Jack was going to claim Irina on our wedding night. She couldn’t hurt Jack so she wanted Irina to hurt instead. I killed Jack and that pissed her off. So she then kidnapped the two of us and tried to have Irina ganged raped. But I saved her. Now Elaine is going to make it happen again. And you’re here wasting all of our time. I have to save her. It’s the only thing I can do. You have to believe me.”
“An interesting story you got there,” Nico says. “I almost believe it. But I hate you so I don’t actually believe you.”
“We’re going to get the truth out of you yet,” Mikhail growls. “And we’re going to find Irina.”
“You’re going to find Irina a shell of who she is after she’s been ganged raped. Because that’s what Elaine wants.”
“She’s a woman,” Nico says. “Why would a woman do that to another woman? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I keep telling you: it’s because she’s fucking insane. There isn’t any other reason. She’s angry over her husband’s death and she partially blames Irina for it. She wants her to suffer. We canwork together to get Irina back. I’ll let her go. I don’t need to be married to her.” Though even as I say the words, I feel a pang in my chest at the thought of never seeing Irina again. It makes no fucking sense to me and yet, it’s there, deep inside.
Mikhail and Nico exchange a look. “Do you think he’s telling the truth?” Mikhail asks.
Nico shakes his head. “No. He’s an Irish mobster. I’ve only ever known them for being liars. So no, I don’t believe him.”
“But what if he’s telling the truth?”
Nico hesitates. “Then we make him take us to where he thinks Irina is and see if he’s telling the truth or not.”
“It’s worth a shot. But I don’t want him leading us on a wild goose chase. Irina could be hidden somewhere. Hurt. Dying. Natalya will never forgive me if her sister dies and I didn’t save her.”
“Neither will Sasha. She’ll hate me forever.”
As the two men talk, I slide my keys into the car and turn the lock. Then I rip open the door and dive inside. Mikahil whips around and tries to grab me but I slam the door shut before he can get me. He points the gun at the window.
“I will shoot you.”
I ignore him and slam on the gas pedal. Mikahil fires his gun and it does hit the window, but the bullet misses me. I drive away as Mikhail and Nico scramble to follow. Fuckers. Idiots. They wasted precious time I have in getting Irina back.
Elaine could have taken Irina anywhere but she would want to keep it quiet. Make sure no one heard Irina’s screams or saw anything suspicious. There’s only one place I know that’s secluded enough.
I’m hoping that Elaine is not original and will have taken Irina back to the house in the woods where the kennels are. If Irina is not there, then fuck. I have no idea where else she could be. And I’m running out of time.
Irina
Elaine sits next to me in the back seat of the car, pressing a gun to my temple. “Don’t get any ideas of trying to run,” she warns, jabbing the gun against my head. I wince. She jabs me again and laughs. “I’m enjoying this. Your pain. You thought you could steal my husband from me. You thought you could fuck him without any consequences. Well, now you’re going to know what it’s like to be fucked.” She nods at the driver and the other man in the passenger seat. “These men can’t wait to claim you for the first time.”
“How can you do this to me?” I whisper. “You’re a woman. How can you hurt me like this?”
“Because I hate you. I hate how pretty you are. How innocent you are. How men want you.”
“What if I was your daughter?”
“I don’t have any daughters. And if I did, I would hate them for being better than me. I would make sure they were never as pretty as me. Not as smart. I would make them dumb and ugly.”
“You’re horrible.”
“No. I’m a woman in this harsh world. I’m just doing what I have to do to survive.”
“Hurting me isn’t going to make you stronger. It’s not going to help you survive. It’s only putting you in danger. Liam will come save me and he’ll kill you.”
