Page 18 of His Disobedient Bride

I hear an inarticulate sound of low, keening pain beside me and the evil angel drops his grip on my hair, drops the gun, and heads for Cerise.

I’m too shocked to do anything, but I feel Dmitri suddenly grab me, almost ripping my arm out of its socket with the force. Then he begins to run toward the car, dragging my slow, frozen body with him.

He calls sharply for Gleb and Yaroslav, and they run to get in the car with him.

Dmitri rips the door to the limo open and throws me bodily in the car. Then he jumps in behind me.

I land in a heap on the floor, but when I look back I can’t see either Andrei or Cerise as the car peels away, spurting up chunks of gravel in our haste.

My heart is hammering in my chest. I can’t believe what’s just happened.

“Is he going to kill her?” I ask Dmitri, feeling panic begin to spiral through my body. Did Cerise save me just to get herself killed?

Dmitri wasn’t exactly someone who had an easy grin, but he smiled grimly at this, although the rest of his face was set in harsh lines.

“Cerise?” he asked incredulously. “Oh no. She’s the only person on earth he’d never kill.”

“But,” he added dryly, “He will be very angry when he finds her. So we’ll have a head start.”

I gasp. “I can’t believe she did that,” I say.

“Don’t ever get on Cerise’s bad side,” says Dmitri grimly. “She is just as ruthless as Andrei is when she wants something.”

Then he turned to Gleb, who was driving the car.

“Fucking step on it,” he said.

14

CERISE

I ran like hell.

I knew I couldn’t escape him for very long. But I had to try to give Dmitri and Mary a big enough head start.

I had barely made it onto the path to go into the Taiga when I heard my husband behind me.

Had he scaled the fucking terrace wall?

I felt a shiver go down my spine. He must be absolutely furious. I had never seen him this angry before.

I was afraid of what he was going to do when he caught me.

I could hear him behind me: fast, hard, ruthless.

I pelted through the woods haphazardly, ignoring the stinging slaps of the branches in my face, not knowing where I was going.

Just knowing I had to put as much distance between us and Mary as I could.

“Cerise, stop!” I heard Andrei call behind me, but I ignored him.

I knew the chase used to inflame and arouse him. It used to drive him. But wanting me shattered that. The chase doesn’t drive him anymore. Now he hates it and it makes him sick.

I ran anyway. I’m the one who picked up Mary, so I’m responsible for her. And the longer I can distract him the better a chance she has to get away.

I can feel him getting closer behind me. I’m a fast runner, but he’s faster.

And he’s not calling for me to stop anymore. Which means he knows he’s getting closer.

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