I thrash in his hold, kicking out with both my legs. One of my heels digs into his left calf, drawing out a grunt of pain.
But then my vision starts to sway. I realize, belatedly, it isn’t his palm on my face.
It’s a cloth.
A wet, ether-smelling cloth.
“Nice try, sweetheart. But I think I’d rather continue this conversation in private. Wouldn’t you?”
I don’t get to answer. I don’t get to keep fighting. All I get to do is hold on to my consciousness for a few precious extra seconds as my vision slowly turns black.
I think about Eli.
I think about my baby.
I think about?—
Yulian.
Then darkness takes me.
5
YULIAN
I scour the whole building looking for Mia. My lungs burn as I run from floor to floor, kicking in every door, roaring her name in every corridor.
By the time I make it back downstairs, Maks and Nikita jog up to me. “She’s not at the party,” Nikita gasps. “Not in any of the bathrooms, either.”
“She might have gone home,” Maks floats. “I’ll send men to check the Hamptons residence?—”
“No,” I spit. “I’ve got this.”
Brad’s gelled curls are far too easy to spot. I make my way to the center of the gazebo, where he’s telling some shitty joke to a rapt audience of wannabe investors and bootlickers.
“And then the guy says?—”
“Where the hell is she?”
The laughter stops. A dozen pairs of alarmed eyes settle over me, confusion and discomfort clear on every face.
“How the hell should I know?” Brad scoffs, sounding equal parts annoyed and concerned. Not for her—never for her—but forhimself.
So be it. I’ll give him something to worry about.
Before anyone can step in, I grab his collar and slam him into the nearest wall.
“Hey! What the fuck, man?!”
“I’m only going to ask one more time:Where. Is. She?”
“How dare you—argh!”
I pull him back, slam him harder against the concrete. White dust comes raining down from the shitty plaster job, causing him to cough violently.
“You can tell me now,” I hiss, low enough for only him to hear, “or you can tell me once I’m done breaking every bone in your worthless body. Choice is yours.”
His face goes deathly pale. “I-I thought we were allies now. Partners.”
