Abruptly, he stood up from the table and stared down at me with cold, dead eyes. “My protection has been revoked. If you die, you die. I do not give a shit anymore. Your sister will do just fine in four years. Or sooner. Who gives a fuck? But you?” He leaned down and sneered in my face. “You will feel this punishment like no other. Maybe you will still beg for mercy, and your little rich mutt will be nothing. One last thing for me to worry about.”
Just like that, he left me to sit there and stare at theempty table in front of me. The waiter never came back to see about our order, and on wooden legs, I finally stood after I’d gotten some of my composure back. I always knew he was a bad person but this was different. He was a monster and it was even more apparent to me now. It wasn’t until I stumbled out of the restaurant that I realized everything Donovan threatened. With shaking hands, I pulled my phone free from my clutch and hit Ivan’s name.
It rang once before it went to voicemail.
No. No. No.
I hit his name again. It did the same thing. I scrubbed my hands down my face and punched Emeline’s number in. She had to know that her son was safe. She had to know if he was home. She could warn him for me. She could do a lot more than I could.
“Hello, dear. I hope you had a good time at dinner.” Ivan’s mother answered on the first ring. My body seemed to sag in relief.
“Hi! Is Ivan there? He isn’t answering his phone.” My voice sounded shrill and panicked, but I didn’t care. I needed to know he was safe.
“He went out for a run, maybe an hour ago. I’m not sure. Jane and I were playing Scrabble and got alittlecompetitive.” Any other time it would have warmed my heart to hear that, but not today.
“When he gets home, can you have him call me?”
“Absolutely, sweetheart.”
“Goodbye,” I muttered as I hung up and hit Don's number. I didn’t want to worry anyone with what washappening, but I had to get back somehow; I didn’t know how to hail a taxi, and Uber wasn’t something I was overly familiar with.
Surprisingly enough, especially with New York City traffic, Don arrived five minutes later. After I’d hung up with him, there had been no stopping the tears from falling. I knew I looked a mess based on all the weird glances I got from the over-crowded sidewalk, but I couldn’t find it in myself to care.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Ivan
My lungs burnedas I bent over at the waist and sucked lungfuls of cold air in through my mouth. Cardio wasn’t my favorite, which meant it was the perfect way to torture the taste of Poppy off of my lips and the scent of her out of my nose. Anything to get her out of my head at this point, but it didn’t matter how much pain I inflicted on myself; she had invaded my every pore.
She lived in my bones now. In my pulse. In every fucking thought. My entire existence was wrapped up in her, and I was royally fucked.
I stretched my arms over my head when I first sensed I was no longer alone. I started my run again, even though my legs burned, but I didn’t want whoever was tailing me to know I was onto them. My legs ached with every stride, screaming at me to stop, but pain was good. Pain kept me focused. I took the next turn—down a street with fewer exits, fewer witnesses, and fewer cameras. If they wanted metrapped, they picked the wrong fucking man to follow. Except when I turned down the alley, there were five men waiting there. I stopped and turned on my heel, hoping it was just one man behind me, but instead I found three. The back of my neck prickled with irritation instead of fear.
“Really?” I muttered under my breath. “This many?”
The ones behind me spread out, blocking the exit. The ones in front stepped closer.
“Donovan Madden would like to send a message, Ivan Cristof.”
“Do you really think this is a good idea?” I cracked my knuckles. “Do you have any idea how many men I’ve killed?”
A couple in front of me looked at each other nervously, but they still didn’t move. I didn’t have my guns on me because I’d been stupid and lazy, thinking no one would target me—they were only after Poppy. I had a knife strapped to my leg, but that would only do so much damage, and that was if I could get close enough.
“I thought Donovan Madden would be the type of man to take care of business himself,” I called out as I watched all of the men the best I could.
“He is. We are here to retrieve you.”
Eight men to retrieve me? I was flattered.
Before I knew it, all at once, each of them rushed me. The crack of a taser echoed through the alley, and I knew I didn’t stand a chance. I moved, and I was fast, but I wasn’t fast enough. Agony lit up my spine as one of the men hit me with the baton taser. My knees buckled, but I fought to stayupright. I’d been through worse—at least that was what I told myself.
But I still hit the pavement face-first, unable to break the fall, limbs locked and useless as electricity tore through every nerve ending because in the end… I’d never been through anything like this before. I wasn’t prepared for just how awful it was.
Voices blurred above me. “Hit him again. He’s too strong.”
A second jolt slammed into me— harder this time. My vision went white. My muscles spasmed uncontrollably. My shoulder slammed into the concrete as another wave crashed over me.
I lost air as I fought to stay conscious. Hands grabbed my hair, arms, and legs as they tried to roll me over.
