I’d barely had anything.
Yuri laughed again, uglier this time.
“You’re wound so fucking tight,” he said. “Can’t wait for our wedding night. Bet you’re a real screamer when someone finally gets inside that stuck-up little pussy of...”
I slapped him before he finished the sentence.
The sound cracked the air, freezing the men around us.
His head snapped sideways, his mouth forming a thin, incredulous line.
For a beat, he stood frozen, as if the slap hadn’t registered in his mind. Then, a low chuckle rumbled in his chest, but it was laced with malice. “You’re gonna pay for that, baby,” he purred, his eyes darkening as his hand hovered dangerously close to me.
The men around him laughed, but it was hollow and unsettling.
The patio swam before my eyes.
Shit.
I stumbled backward, clutching the railing.
I’d barely had anything, but already the edges of my vision were blurring.
The taste was wrong—too strong, like the drink was cutting through me like fire. I shook my head, trying to clear the fog from my mind, but the world kept spinning. My legs wobbled beneath me, and I reached for the railing for support. Something wasn’t right. I knew it in the way the room tilted unnaturally, the world suddenly moving too fast around me.
He did something to the drink.
I blinked hard, trying to steady myself. I knew coming was a stupid idea, not after what he did hours ago.
“I don’t feel good,” I muttered.
Yuri stood, catching my elbow in a too-firm grip.
“Maybe you just need to lie down,” he said. “I’ll help you.”
Panic clawed at my throat.
No.
No way was I letting him take me somewhere alone.
I pulled away, but the ground dipped under my feet, and my vision blurred.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard footsteps.
Sharp and measured.
A chill swept over me.
Even drugged, even half-conscious, my body recognized the presence before my mind caught up.
Misha.
I didn’t know how long he’d been watching,
He stepped into the patio light like a blade drawn from a scabbard.
No words.