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“Sorry, what were you saying?”
He looks at me strangely. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know.” I shake my head. “I had my first torture 101 lesson today.”
“What?” Andrey snarls. “Who the fuck is teaching you how to torture someone?”
“No one.” I shake my head. Why did I tell him that? “It was just some scumbag that raped Stacy.”
“Stacy got raped?” His brows draw together. There’s a noise, and his head shoots up. “You can tell me on the way.”
“On the way where?”
Andrey releases his hold on me and grabs my hand. “Come on.”
I pull back, trying to yank my hand from his. “No!” I start to struggle. “I’m not going back.”
“Yes, you are!” Andrey turns, his eyes bore into me. “You have a lot to answer to. Do you even know what you did?”
“I escaped a life of servitude,” I say.
“Servitude?” Andrey’s eyes darken. “You are neither servant nor slave. You are my wife.”
“What’s the difference?” I hiss. “I’m under your dominance and control without any autonomy or personal freedom, expected to do your bidding—servitude!”
Andrey’s presence looms large as he stands before me, his eyes blazing with a mix of fury and hurt. I’m not sure if it’s because my words hit a mark or if it’s because I dared to defy him.
Guilt gnaws at me over the secret I’m keeping from him. I steel myself against his commanding presence. Deep down, a part of me still longs for him, yearns for his touch, but the defiance surges stronger.
What life is the one he’s offering me for a child? Lev’s invitation to live with him and Stacy runs through my mind. Life in a small fishing village where we don’t have to worry about Bratva, mafia, or any other crime family is what I want for my kids—for me.
“You think you can just come here and take me?” My voice is shaky, but I force the words out, hands clenched into fists. “I won’t go with you, and even if I did, you’re not going to make it out of here. So run while you still can.”
“Not a chance, princess.” He steps closer, his presence overwhelming. “You have no choice, Isabella,” he growls, his voice low and dangerous. “You belong to me and by my side.”
“I don’t belong to you!” I spit out the words, trying to push away from him, but his grip tightens possessively. “Don’t you get it? I don’t want to be with you or live in your world.”
“Stop fighting,” he demands, his voice cutting through the tension. “I have a car just beyond the woods waiting for us. Now move.”
“No!” Tears well up in my eyes, frustration mixing with fear. “I won’t!”
“Fine if you won’t walk.” Andrey bends down and scoops me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “If you try to escape, I’ll tell James to kill your other hell hound.”
“You have Zeus?” I’m starting to feel queasy, hanging over Andrey’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Wait! James is with you?”
“Yes, James is with me. And yes, he has Zeus, who is fine for now but won’t be if you scream,” Andrey threatens. “While you’re thinking James won’t kill the brute, it turns out your cousin’s not as fond of the dog as you think he is.”
I go quiet and watch as the path back to the ranch house gets further away. I see my freedom once again move toward the distant horizon as we get to the edge of the woods.
Andrey has managed to get the huge gate open, and just beyond it is a vehicle. I start to feel woozy from being upside down, and he slides me down his body righting me. I feel the familiar cold gray mist swirl around me before the world goes black.
Chapter 24
ANDREY
I catch Isabella as she crumples into a dead faint. My eyes narrow with worry as I gently lay her on the back seat of the car.
“Quick, get in the car,” James says, his eyes darting between the gate and me. “I do not want to tango with my cousin.”
