Page 23 of Gilded Cage (Kovalyov Bratva 1)

But my eyes slip to the partially closed door of the stall Tamara’s in.

I can’t leave her.

“Please,” I say. “I need to get my cousin home.”

“Cousin, huh?” he says conversationally. “You two don’t look related.”

I haven’t moved an inch. But he takes a step toward me and I turn slowly on the spot.

“Yeah, well, she’s my cousin, and she got sick, so…”

He nods. It’s almost convincingly sympathetic. “Yeah, you should probably get her home quickly.”

“Exactly—"

“The sooner you suck my cock, the sooner that’s gonna happen.”

A gasp catches in my throat.No fucking way did he just say that.

But his grin widens a notch, and I know that he very much did.

I can’t deal with all this right now. The fear of Papa, of Boulder Man, of every drunk faceless horny moron out preying on the club floor right now—it’s all piling up, choking me out, clouding my brain.

I pray for someone to enter the bathroom. Anyone will do—beggars can’t be choosers.

The fear is worsening. It’s choking me. Making me dizzy. Making me weak.

Do something, Esme!screams the voice of self-preservation in my head.

“That’s never going to happen,” I snap at him with strength I don’t actually feel.

He chuckles. “I’m not really giving you a choice, darlin’.”

Then, all at once, he lunges forward.

A scream rises in the back of my throat, but nothing comes out.

I stumble to the side in an attempt to get away from him.

Not fast enough, though.

Boulder Man seizes my hair and pulls me back-to-front against him. His breath is sticky against my neck as he brushes my hair aside and licks from my collarbone up to my jaw.

He stinks of alcohol and sweat and cheap cologne.

The rapist trifecta.

Worst of all, I can feel his nasty erection pressing against the fabric on the back of my dress.

For some reason, that does it—releases the scream in my throat.

The tiny, tiled bathroom echoes with the sound of my fear.

And my instincts switch fromflighttofight.

I jab my elbow as hard as I can back into his stomach. He’s got easily a hundred or more pounds on me, so it’s not like I do any real damage.

But the move startles him so much he actually loosens his grip on me and I wriggle free.

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