Page 10 of Sapphire

I can feel the tears fall down my cheeks as shock sets in.

“Like I said the first night I met you, you are precious, like gold. Once you start working for me, you will be worth so much more than gold. My little Sapphire,” Nikolai coos as he leans in and runs a finger along my jaw. His once familiar touch now feels like ice against my skin.

“You can warm up on me? I know how much you like sucking my cock.” He chuckles darkly.

Bile rises in my stomach at the realization of what he is saying and the situation I seem to be in. My flight or fight instincts kick in, and I’m not going down without a fight as I lunge at the man I once loved. I turn feral as I punch and scratch at him, as I try to fight for my life. I use every resource in my mind to save myself from this horrific situation I’m finding myself in.

Nikolai is screaming what I can only assume is obscenities as I attack him. I use every ounce of my self-defense skills to fight him. A fist to the stomach, a knee to the groin, a palm to the jaw. It’s just enough for me to get away from him as he stumbles. I make a break for the elevator, whose doors are still open.

Please, please, let me escape.

Reaching the doors, I press the close button a million times and will the doors to hurry and close, but it’s too late. A hand grabs me and pulls me back into the penthouse.

This is it—my life will never be the same.

5

MATEO

We finally arrive back at the hospital, and I’m desperate to see how she is going. We walk into her room, and she’s still not moving. A nurse comes in just after us and checks her vitals.

“Is she okay?” I ask.

“She was very lucky. She will be okay. It’s just time now,” she says before walking out of the room, leaving us alone with the girl.

I wrap Tomas in my arms, leaning on him for strength. “Thank goodness she’s going to be okay,” I mumble into his shirt as he holds me tightly.

“She is getting the best possible care she can,” Tomas reassures me.

“Who the hell would do something like this to a woman?”

“There are sick people in the world, Mateo.”

“She was brought to us for a reason, I know it. We were sent to help her.”

Tomas shakes his head at me. “Leave it to the police, Mateo. We don’t know what kind of trouble she could be involved with.”

A noise pulls our attention, and when I turn around, I see the mysterious girl moving and moaning.

“Go and get a nurse,” I yell at Tomas, who rushes out of the room.

I walk closer to the girl and watch as her sapphire blue eyes open, then widen as panic washes over her face as she sees me standing beside her. The machine beside her beeps as she tries to move away from me, her eyes darting around the room.

“I will not hurt you, I promise. You’re safe here,” I say and stay where I am.

Her eyes flick to the door and back to me, she winces in pain as she tries to move.

“Please, I won’t hurt you. I found you. You were almost dead outside my home. I brought you here, to the hospital.”

Those bright, deep blue eyes widen, and I can see she is still panting.

“Would you like some water or something?” I ask, hoping that will show her I’m not a monster.

She looks behind me, and I can see the panic flood her face again.

“The nurse will be here in a moment,” Tomas says, coming to stand beside me. He notices the panic on her face. “Shit, sorry, um …” He takes a couple of steps back.

Her eyes look between us. I can still see her whole body is tense and the machines are making an awful sound around her. Thankfully, the nurse comes in, and the girl visibly relaxes. The nurse explains she was involved in an accident last night and asks her if she remembers what happened.

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