Page 173 of Blood & Snow
They haul me through the door and down the hallway, throwing me into the stockroom.
I hit the floor hard.
My ribs scream.
My head throbs and blood drips from my nose onto the concrete.
Arkady's already there, waiting.
He looks down at me with a dangerous, sardonic smile.
"You tried to escape?" he asks.
I don't answer because there's no point.
This man is sin incarnate.
Asking for mercy from him is like asking the devil for an apple.
"Stupid girl…" He clicks.
He crouches in front of me and grabs my chin, forcing me to look at him.
His fingers are rough, his grip brutal.
"You're carrying his child," he says.
"That's the only reason you're still breathing. But if you try that again, I'll kill you myself. Do you understand?"
I spit in his face.
The saliva hits his cheek and drips down.
For a moment, he doesn't move. He just stares at me in uttershock that I'd be so brazen as to spit on him.
Then he slaps me.
The blow snaps my head to the side.
Pain explodes across my face and I taste blood, but it's worth it.
Just to know I've pissed him off and he lost his temper all because of me.
"You think you're brave?" he asks.
"You think defying me makes you strong?"
I glare at him.
"I won't help you kill him."
He stands and pulls a phone from his pocket.
He dials a number and holds it to his ear.
My heart stops as I see whose phone it is.
A knot forms in my throat, and my head throbs so hard I can't see straight.
