“Had a nice nap,printsessa?”
That voice.
My head snaps to the side. “You.”
A man steps out of the shadows. No, not a man—thatman. The man with the eyepatch.
“Me.” He gestures theatrically towards himself. “I’m so touched you remember.”
How could I ever forget?
The memory of his hands on me sends a shiver down my spine. My heart starts pounding, remembering how it felt to be held by those vicious arms, trapped without any chance of escape. The cold grip of chloroform, seeping slowly into me, turning my body into dead weight.
Dead.That’s what I should be now, right? Dead, buried, a corpse to throw at Yulian’s feet. Because that’s what this is about, isn’t it?
Yulian.I should be furious with him for dragging me into his shit again. For putting me and my kid in danger, again, even after I’ve walked away.
But somehow, all my rage turns to the man in front of me. Because Yulian may be an asshole, but this fucker is worse.
This is the man who killed Yulian’s family.
And he will get no love from me.
“Let me go.”
“Now, where would be the fun in that?”
I yank against the bindings, but can’t get free. My wrists howl with pain, already bruised by Brad’s daily death grips. With every pull, the ropes bite into my skin harder.
The man tuts. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I’m pretty good at sailor’s knots. A lifesaving skill, let me tell you.”
“Your life won’t be worth shit once Yulian finds out what you did.” I spit out those words like poisonous darts. “He’ll end you. For real.”
“You’ve said that before,printsessa.But how sure can you really be that he’ll come for you?”
My confidence wavers. After seeing Yulian with Brad, having what was left of my faith shaken and shattered, I’ve already gotten proof aplenty he’s not the man I believed him to be. The Yulian I thought I knew would have come for me.
But this Yulian? The one who lied to me, used me as bait, brought me right back on Brad’s doorstep?
Suddenly, I don’t know anything anymore.
But I have a baby inside me. I have another kid waiting for me, a son whoneedsme. And call me crazy, but I’m not quite ready to kick it just yet.
So I’ll have to save myself.
“Don’t call me that.”
“What?Printsessa?”
“Yes. That’s not my name.”
“Right. My apologies, Euphemia.”
The sound of my old name grates, but I don’t let it get to me. “I’d return the favor, but I haven’t the faintest idea who you are.”
The man’s lips quirk. “Your boyfriend didn’t tell you?”
“You might have noticed we broke up.”
