Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“There’s no word from our men,” Lev says, shaking his head. “Jesus. I expected better.”
It was more important to me to secure her than it was to get our enemy. I had to choose one or the other.
I chose her.
I will always choose her.
Yudin’s a fucking dead man walking. I’ll see to that.
She barely moves during the two-hour ride home. We pull into the drive to my home late into the night. I stay in the back with Lydia as my brothers run surveillance to make sure nothing’s happened while I was gone, but I’m not surprised we find nothing. Timur Yudin will plan his retaliation, but he isn’t a man who acts recklessly. He’ll bide his time.
“Coast is clear, Vik,” Lev says from my doorway, signaling for us to come. Lydia stirs but doesn’t wake when I lift her from the car and cradle her in my arms.
When she wakes, she’ll be ready to fight. I might be able to talk some sense into her when Vera gets involved, but it’s more likely she’ll fight even then. It’s alright, though. I love that she’s a fighter.
I love the way she feels in my arms.
So I take a moment to relish this. The warm, comforting feel of her in my arms, nestled up to my chest. The heat of her against me, her breath on my neck. The lingering scent of jasmine mixed with an earthy undertone, fiery but refined.
Her long, thick, wavy hair the color of tanned leather hangs down her back, an unruly strand across her face, some of it tickling my neck. Her dress, torn in the accident, barely clings to her. I turn her into me and hold her tighter so she doesn’t get cold. The reassuring sound of her soft breath gives me a small measure of solace.
When I get to the entrance to the house, Nikita approaches, quiet and subdued yet alert. She’s as concerned as I am. Her soulful eyes meet mine, and I give her a nod. “Yeah, baby. You’ll protect her, just like I will.” She gives a small, appreciative sniff of Lydia’s foot before she follows us into the house.
She’ll spend the night in my bedroom, where I can keep a close eye on her.
Vera’s deep in the trenches of field study she’s doing with one of her professors and likely won’t be able to join us anytime soon. Zofia is currently leaving to travel abroad and head-up a series of high-profile charity events she’s previously committed to. Our timing is absolute shit.
I am hoping the Ivanovs will be able to talk sense into her, but time will tell.
Behind me on the landing, Lev’s phone rings. “It’s Mikhail.”
He answers immediately. “Yeah.” Lev curses under his breath. This is not good. He shakes his head and hangs up the phone. “Yudin escaped.”
CHAPTER SIX
Lydia
Even my dreams are sluggish and confused. I wake a few times in the night, and every time I do, the fog lifts just a tiny bit more.
At first, I become aware of the fact that I’m in bed. Not just any bed, and definitely not a hotel because this bed is absolutely enormous, almost absurdly so. If a cruise ship were a bed, I’m sleeping on it. It feels like a vast expanse of luxury, with soft, plush pillows and a comforter that seems to envelop me in a cocoon of warmth and safety. The mattress is so wide and spacious that it could easily fit five people with room to spare. I can barely see the edges of the bed, the sheer size making me feel like I’m in a luxurious sanctuary, designed to offer ultimate comfort and security.
Another time I wake, I’m aware of the sheets, like the finest silk against my skin. My head is on a satin pillowcase.
What kind of captor do I have who puts me in a bed that would rival a luxury hotel?
At first, I think I’m alone but quickly realize I’m not. When I stir, the huge guy who kidnapped and drugged me looms beside me, sitting in a chair next to a desk. “Are you alright?” he asks.
I open my mouth to speak, but my tongue feels too big for my mouth, and I can’t form words. Still, he rises, his large form blocking out any light from behind him as he makes his way over to me.
I flinch back from him as he presses something to my lips and I turn my head away. I don’t trust him.
“Drink,” he orders. “It’s water.”
I shake my head and press my head to the pillow. I’m vaguely aware of him cursing as I close my eyes and go back to sleep.
When I finally wake, I open my eyes. My vision’s a bit fuzzy, and my head is pounding. It hurts just to open my eyes and try to turn my head. Where am I? Am I safe?