Page 70 of Wicked Vow

The hand that comes out to strike me moves faster than I could have anticipated, hitting my cheek and sending my head sideways as my face burns from the slap. I turn back to look at him and see that he’s still smiling, a look of victory curving the edges of his lips.

“You’re a fool,” he hisses. “A stupid little girl. You think I didn’t know who Mikhail was when I saw him at the club? I’ve known who he was this entire time. I’ve known whoyouwere. I’m the one who sent the stalker after you in Moscow. I’m the one who’s been sending you things here–well, not the roses.Thatwas Mikhail. But the rest of it–that was me. It didn’t take you long to realize that just because the man in Moscow was dead, that you still weren’t safe, did it? It was always me pulling the strings.”

I stare at him, hearing him, but it feels impossible to understand. “That was you all along? How–why–?”

He laughs. “You were never supposed to know it was me. You were never supposed to be hurt, either, not really. You were supposed to be afraid, so I could sweep in and save you. Mikhail ruined all of that when he kidnapped you in Moscow. But I saw a second chance here. I’d make you think that you had another stalker–better yet, that it was him–and then I’d be the hero. I’d come in, save you, sweep you off your feet, and marry you, and you’d never know the difference. But you just couldn’t play along, could you?”

I hear the familiarsnickof a knife opening and feel my blood run cold as he runs it over the tip of his finger, looking at me with a cruel smile. “So now it doesn’t matter. You know, and I’ll give you a choice. A way to make up for fucking that trash, until you ended up pregnant with his baby.”

He leans in, his smile crueler than ever. “Did you enjoy it? Did you like the way he fucked you while he kept you caged in his house? You must have.”

Erik reaches down, pressing the point of the knife into my belly, his face contorted with jealousy. “Such a little slut, but you couldn’t open your legs for me. I should cut his baby out of you and leave you here to bleed out. But I still want to enjoy you myself. And I still think you could be worth something to me.”

My entire body feels cold and numb with terror, my mind still spinning as I try to process it all, everything he’s saying, all of the insane machinations that he’d gone through in order to try to win me over, and how we’d ended up here. But I can feel the laughter bubbling up in me, wild and hysterical, and I tilt my chin up, letting it out as I laugh in his face, my entire body shaking in the cuffs as I dangle there.

“You’re nothing compared to the kind of men I’ve known,” I hiss at him. “I’m not afraid of you. You’re a weak excuse, a cheap copy.”

It’s a lie–I’m fucking terrified. But I can see from the expression on his face, the way the rage twists it, that he believes me at least a little.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” he hisses, his voice low and cruel. “You could have been mine so easily, Natalia. It would have all been so pleasant for you. But now, I’m going to enjoy fucking you here for the first time, in front of my men like the whore you are, and I’m going to enjoy making it hurt.”

Fear lances through me, but I refuse to let him see it. I glare at him, spitting the words into his face. “Fuck you.”

“You should think it over,” he says, his voice a low growl. “If you’ll be with me and stop fighting, we can go to the doctor when you’ve recovered from today and get rid of the baby. We can be together. I’ll take care of you, and we can even make a baby of our own, in time.”

The knife presses a little harder into my stomach, and his wrist turns, twisting it slightly. “Your name, your money–all of that will give me the credit I need to go further in this world that I’m becoming a part of.”

“Idon’t even have my money, and you know that!” I hiss, glaring at him. “This is fucking ridiculous–”

“Go ahead,” he snarls, leaning in, his face so tight with fury that it terrifies me all over again. “Refuse me again, Natalia. I’ll kill the baby and you.”

“Likefuckyou will.”

I feel my entire world grind to a halt as I hear that voice, a voice Iknow, a voice that I’ve been terrified of and turned on by, a voice that has threatened me and whispered that it loved me, a voice that I never, ever knew I could be so happy to hear.

Mikhail strides towards us, his face a mask of rage, and at that moment, I don’t care how he got here–if he’d followed me, if he’s still stalking me, if someone else sent him.

All I feel is relief that he’s here.

Erik laughs, turning towards him, and Mikhail levels the gun at him. “No need to repeat yourself,” he says coldly. “I heard all of it. Now go ahead and take her down.”

“Not a fucking chance,” Erik sneers. “She’s mine,sobaka.”

“No, she’s fucking not. She’smine.”

I see Erik’s other men poised to shoot, but Mikhail isn’t alone. There are more men coming in behind him, their own weapons raised, and I have a moment to gather myself, to brace for it, before the warehouse is suddenly filled with deafening gunfire.

Erik flinches, and Mikhail goes for him. I see him fire, Erik swinging to one side as the bullet hits his shoulder and sends him down to the floor. He stumbles, crawling backward as he reaches for his own weapon, and I scream.

“Mikhail!”

In one swift motion, he’s at my side, his gun still pointed at Erik as he yanks my cuffs off of the hook. They’d re-cuffed my hands in front of me before stringing me up. I ignore Mikhail’s shout for me to get to safety as I lunge toward Erik, filled with the same overwhelming sense of violence that I can see on Mikhail’s face.

I’m so fucking done with feeling afraid.

Mikhail sees what I’m doing and goes for Erik, too. Gunfire is still going off behind him as he kicks Erik hard in the chest, sending him reeling back toward me. I throw the cuffs over his head, pulling them tight against his throat as I drag him backward, leaning down to whisper in his ear.

“I’m going to enjoy making this hurt.”

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