Page 31 of Dance with Death

But the second lock never turns.

Instead, something slides past my foot and I immediately look down to see something slip under the door. Just then, Nikolai’s muffled voice comes through the closed door. “Just a reminder for you,mal’chik.If anything happens to me, she dies within a day. If you insist on fighting me, fine, fight me. But it will do you no good.”

“Motherfucker.” I grip my hand into a fist and slam it where it rests against the wall.

I bend and pick up what he’s slid under the door. It’s another picture of Emma, my ex-girlfriend, one of the few people who has been in my life for more than a season and would always have a piece of my heart. Though things didn’t work out between us, she was one of the only people who knew the real me, someone who stuck by me when shit got tough, someone who would always be like family to me.

And he was holding me hostage by one of the only people I actually gave a shit about.

He’s just adding fuel to my fire.

“I guess you should tell me what the fuck you want then before you open the door. ‘Cause I’ll tell you what, fucker, I’m ready to break your fucking nose the second this door opens.Fuck,would that feel good to my desperate fucking knuckles,” I shout.

I can hear his amused chuckle, though it’s faint through the door. “Could you fit anymore profanity into one sentence? At least you’ve found a way to make your anger entertaining.”

“Open thegoddamndoor, you colossalasshat, and say that to my face like afuckingman.”

Breaths pass as we both wait for his response.

Adrenaline kicks up in my veins and whooshes through with speed and fury.

I hear the key turn in the second lock and I amready. Grasping the knob again, I tug and tug until the lock clicks. I throw the door open, flinging it wide.

My brain can’t even process what’s happening as my body takes over. Nikolai is standing there, arms stretched out to his sides with a sinisterI-don’t-give-a-shitsmile plastered to his face. I think Kostya is standing there, too, but my eyes are blinded and intent on Nikolai.

I charge forward, pull my elbow back, curl my fingers into a tight fist, and swing at his face. He ducks just in the nick of time like a goddamn ninja.

As he bends away from my right arm, I uppercut him with my left. Though he’s quick, he’s not quick enough to miss two in a row. The punch lands hard. He wobbles, taking a step back, and I take advantage to sucker punch him in the gut once, twice…

I collapse under his weight as he bends over my head, clawing at my back to find purchase as they scramble over the fabric of my black T-shirt. Somehow, he grips my waist and spins me with a grunt. Grabbing the collar of my shirt at the back of my neck, he forces me upright.

My head whips back as I try to assess my next best move. He pushes me toward the wall and my head flies forward. My forehead crashes into drywall and bounces off, throwing me back a step. I put my hands up in time to ease the next blow as he throws me against the wall again—luckily, I catch myself with my hands.

His hand clamps around the back of my neck and he pins me face-first to the wall with his body.

“Are you done now?” he asks.

“Not a chance,” I spit.

I fling myself backward, my head tossing back and a bruising pain shoots through the back of my skull as I jam against his nose. He groans and steps back, and I whip around to see him doubled over. His fingers come up to touch his nose, then he looks down at them to see the blood I drew.

I huff to catch my breath after the frenzy and a smug smile creeps across my cheeks. In that moment, I’m blissfully aware that I caused him an injury that made himbleed.It makes me pause in my fury to relish the moment. That brings me back to reality enough to notice that there are two other people in the hallway.

It’s not just Kostya standing beside us, but a girl who looks scared shitless. Her hair is dark and long, like Anya’s. She struggles against Kostya, who tries to lift her from the floor. She seems to have fallen to her knees in fear, curling around herself like a scared child, though she’s at least as old as I am. My face drops at the look on hers.

This is a stolen girl.

An unwilling slave, just like me and Anya.

This sad young thing was stolen from her life. The newness of her circumstance is etched into her cheeks by the trails of her tears.

I bare my teeth at Nikolai, ready to knock him to the ground, but he holds up a palm to stop me as he straightens to his full height. “Touch me again and I’ll hurt her,” he threatens.

My agitation screams in my gut, shouting at me to hit and kick and hurt until he can’t feel hurt anymore, until he’s lying on the ground lifeless.

But a twinge of softness in my heart settles me.

I feel Anya grip my heart, like a ghost who haunts me. It’s as though I can see her bright blue eyes in my mind, that look she would give me that told me to keep my mouth shut and follow the rules. She wanted me to keep the peace, not just for my benefit, but for hers, too. She needed me to do what I was supposed to do because it wasn’t me he hurt.

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