Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
I was about to go to her when I saw him.
He was at her back in an instant. His arm moved in front of her, and he placed the blade of his knife at her throat. His cold gray eyes lit up as he purred, “You made it just in time.”
“Let her down.”
“You’re in no position to make orders, my friend.” His voice was calm. Too calm. “This is my show. You will play by my rules.”
Rage rolled through me like wildfire, and I wanted to rip the asshole in half. “You’re a fool if you think you’re going to walk away from this. I’m going to kill you. Let her go, and I’ll consider making it quick.”
“Pfft. He thinks he’s in control,” he scoffed. “He thinks this is about her, and maybe it is.”
He dragged the blade lightly across the side of her neck. It wasn’t deep, but it broke the skin, and a thin line of blood began to trickle from the wound. She flinched, but she didn’t cry. Her eyes locked on mine, and my pulse quickened.
“Yes, there it is,” he snickered. “He’s weak for her, just like I knew he would be.”
He shifted the knife and drew it slowly along her bicep. It was another shallow cut, but it was enough to make her bleed—again. The sick fuck was toying with me, and I was playing right into his game. I wasn’t thinking straight. I wasn’t thinking at all. I was too focused on getting to her to calculate a way to effectively end this thing without getting killed in the process.
That’s what he wanted.
“You want her back so badly?” Zadora brought the knife up to her bare breast and held it there as he ran his tongue along the crook of her neck. “Come take her.”
“Motherfucker.” I took a step forward, and he pressed the blade harder to her ribs and sliced her again. She gasped this time, and my stomach turned to fire. “Touch her again, and I’ll carve your eyes out while you’re still breathing.”
“Talk. Talk. Talk.” He lowered his free hand down between her legs, cupping her as he snarled, “That’s all you do. That’s all you can do, because one wrong move and I’ll gut this pretty, young thing and make a lamp out of her after I fuck her senseless.”
That did it.
Lina must’ve felt the shift in the air, because she moved before I could. She lifted her foot and drove her heel into the top of his foot with everything she had. He grunted and shifted his step. It was slight, but it was enough. I closed the distance, and I was about to pull the trigger when I thought better of it.
I couldn’t take a chance of hurting Lina, so I charged him. I was a breath away from tackling him to the ground when he recovered faster than I’d expected. He turned, and his blade snapped out of his hand and into his other one. He pierced his blade into my side as I lunged at him. This wasn’t a graze or quick slice. This was deep, and it hurt like hell. I lost my grip on my gun, but I didn’t let that slow me down.
I slammed my forearm into his throat and drove him back against the wall and away from Lina. That was my main thought. I had to get him away from her and keep him away from her. When she saw the blood at my side, Lina screamed my name.
It was the first time I’d heard it from her mouth in terror, and I never wanted to hear it again. Zadora struck again, but this time, it wasn’t as deep. I answered by slamming my forehead into his, splitting his brow. Blood poured from his eye, but that didn’t stop him from coming at me again. He swung wide, and I blocked with my injured side and felt something tear.
It didn’t matter. It didn’t slow me down. If anything, it fueled me on. I slammed his wrist against the wall again and again until the knife fell to the ground. He kept fighting, and I was growing tired of the bullshit. I reached down, grabbed my own knife from its holster, and buried it under his sternum.
His breath hitched, and I gave it a firm twist. His knees gave way, and he slumped to a puddle on the floor. When he dropped, I went with him. Blood soaked my waist and chest. Lina tugged at her restraints as she called out to me, “Sergei! Sergei, please! Tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m here… I’m okay.”
I tried to get up, and my hand slipped on something wet. I don’t know if it was his or mine. It didn’t matter. Zadora was dead, and Lina was still breathing. I dragged myself over to her, leaving a smear across the stage. She whispered my name, but I couldn’t respond.