“Yes, I do. They’ve already tried.”
He glances at me. “I’m sorry, Holly. I’m just doing what I have to.”
With a sinking feeling I realize I’m not gonna be able to talk my way out of this. But it’s not in my nature to not try to fight back.
“I can’t let you do this, Andrei.”
“You can’t stop me.”
“But I can try…”
I lurch for the steering wheel and yank it towards me. Because I would rather die in the freezing cold than at the hand of Yuri The fucking Wolf.
I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of doing it himself.
Even if it means facing the same nightmare that tried to take me once before, knowing I won’t be lucky enough to survive it again.
Taken by surprise, Andrei loses control. The car starts to spin and veers off the road, airborne as we go down the embankment. It’s like being inside a missile ploughing its way through the trees and the undergrowth. And as the world rushes past me, I remember the night of the accident with my parents, and I can feel them in the car with me. I’m going to die, but instead of being afraid, I feel at peace.
That’s when we hit a tree and my world goes black.
It’s the shivering that wakes me up. My teeth are chattering, and my body is shaking.
As I become more awake, I am aware of the eerie silence around me. The wind has stopped howling, but it is snowing now, and inside the car the temperature has plummeted.
I feel stiff, sore, and cold.
Wincing, I turn my head to the left and see the driver seat is empty and the door is open. Andrei has gone, and he’s left me for dead.
I take a moment to get my bearings. I do an audit on my body. Check if anything is broken, or if anything hurts when I move. But I’m okay.I think.I release my seatbelt but can’t open my door because the snow has piled up on the other side of it. My only hope of getting out of the car is via the driver’s side.
Cold and bruised, I climb over the middle console and awkwardly fall over the driver’s seat and out onto the snow. I gasp with pain and the sudden inhalation of cold air down my throat.
Catching my breath, I climb to my knees, then slowly rise to my feet. I feel dizzy but steady myself against the car.
Get it together, Holly. If you’re going to survive this, you need to get away from this car before Andrei alerts the wrong people to your whereabouts.
The embankment up to the road is only a few yards away, but it’s a steep slope. So steep it might as well be an entire mountain. But I need to conquer it to reach the side of the road and hopefully wave somebody down.
Taking unsteady steps, I try to get up the snowy incline but lose my footing and slide back down again.
A second, third and fourth attempt all end the same way. I can’t get enough traction, and I am getting weaker with every attempt.
Exhausted, I try again. But this time I almost break both my legs when I tumble back down to the bottom again.
Too weak for another attempt, I feel the darkness closing in. I know if I shut my eyes, I will die here. But my eyelids are growing heavier and heavier by the second. And with a sinking heart, I realize I am never going to see Nikolai again. I’m never going to feel the warmth of his skin against mine. Never feel the safety of being in his arms again.
I close my eyes and feel the darkness pull me under.
But then strong arms wrap around me and lift me up.Nikolai. His broad chest shields me from the cold and the snow, his heat seeping into me as he carries me to the warmth of a waiting car.
I can barely open my eyes, but when I do, I see Nikolai’s beautiful face. His jaw is tight. His face emotionless. But his eyes blaze with rage and fear and relief.
“Nikolai…” His name slips from my lips in a whisper.
His beautiful eyes meet mine. “It’s okay,malyshka,you’re safe now.”
I close my eyes again and sigh.
