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“Stacy?” I gasp, trying to process the sight before me. She looks pale, her lip split, and a nasty bruise darkening her cheek.
“Bella!” Stacy’s voice trembles with urgency. “Thank God.” She grabs my hand, her grip tight and desperate. “You have to come with me, quick. Lev’s not who we thought he was.”
“No shit!” I snap, my mind still reeling. My instincts scream that something is wrong, but I let her pull me deeper into the alley. “I thought you were dead!”
“Lev made me make that video,” she whispers, her eyes misting over with unshed tears. “He… he hurt me.”
“Stacy,” I breathe, guilt and anger mixing in my chest. “I’m so sorry.”
She nods, trying to pull herself together. “We just need to get you to safety, okay?”
As we approach the corner, Stacy peeks around it cautiously. My breath catches when I hear footsteps pounding behind us. I whirl around to see Lev barreling toward us, his expression murderous.
Instinct takes over. I raise the gun, aiming for Lev’s hip, but before I can fire, shots ring out from over my head. Bullets slam into Lev’s chest, forcing him back. I watch in shock as he collapses to the ground.
Before I can even react, strong hands clamp over my mouth, and a terrifying voice hisses in my ear. “Don’t scream, Isabella.” The gun is ripped from my grasp. “I think in order to keep my balls, I’ll take this.”
Panic floods me, but I bite down hard on his hand. “Jesus Christ, Isabella,” he growls, releasing me only to spin me around and grab my shoulders. “Stop being such an ungrateful fucking bitch.”
My eyes widen in horror as I see Stacy lying limp on the ground.
“Don’t worry, she’s still breathing,” he says, his voice laced with urgency. “But we won’t be if we don’t get out of here now.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you!” I snap, struggling against his hold. “I prefer my chances with Lev.”
“Trust me, you’d have no chance with Lev.“ His jaw clenches, and he shakes his head toward Stacy. “FYI, Stacy was leading you right back to her hubby—the two of them deserve each other. I can assure you, nothing that little psychopath told you is true.”
“It seems nothing anyone has told me my entire life is true,” I shoot back, my voice laced with bitterness.
“Look, Isabella,” he sighs, desperation creeping into his tone. “Either come with me of your own free will, or—“
“Or what?” I challenge, refusing to back down.
“Great,” he mutters, frustration evident in his voice. “I didn’t want to have to do this, and I’m not very good at it, so I hope I don’t hurt you.”
Before I can react, he moves swiftly, his arm wrapping around my neck, but instead of choking me, his fingers press firmly against a spot just below my ear. It’s a pressure point I recognize, one designed to render someone unconscious without causing lasting harm. I fight against the encroaching darkness, my body instinctively struggling, but the world begins to blur, my strength fading faster than I can resist.
As the shadows close in, I force out a final, venomous whisper, “I’m going to kill you, Harry Thompson.”
Chapter 22
ANDREY
“Are you sure this is the place?” I ask Sasha, looking around as we near the front gates of an address, we found where my brother has been hiding in the North Pole, Alaska.
“It’s the address.” Sasha’s sharp eyes scan the premises. “I’m telling you, there’s no one here.”
He pushes the gate, and it falls open. “Well, this doesn’t seem like a trap at all.”
“Let’s find out.” Sasha shrugs.
With our hands near our weapons, we slowly walk inside.
“Don’t you think whoever is in that very glassy house is wondering why we’re walking up their driveway without a vehicle?”
Sasha shrugs. “Maybe they think we parked the sleigh and reindeer outside?”
“How long have you been wanting to say that?”
