Rurik yanked her closer, only to find a knife in her hands.
Luerna stared wide-eyed, the weapon clenched tight. She shook, but it didn’t mean she was afraid. “Don’t touch me.”
He stepped back. “What the fuck is this? You gonna stab me, huh? This is one of your crazy moments, isn’t it? I’m gonna call the police.” Rurik looked around for his phone, but when he looked at her again, he changed his mind. “No. They’ll just take you to the crazy house. That’s what you want. You want to embarrass me?” He clenched his teeth, tightening his hold on the belt. “You’re trying to ruin me.”
“Get the fuck out!”
Rurik swung the belt, smacking the knife out of her hands. She shrieked, holding her hands to her chest as welts pulsed on her skin. “I gave you so many chances. But you’re an ungrateful bitch.” Rurik raised the belt.
A knock on the door interrupted. “Mama?”
Luerna slapped a hand over her mouth to quiet her crying. She looked at Rurik, silently begging with a shake of her head.
“Go to bed, boy,” Rurik hollered through the door.
“Is Mama okay?”
Rurik rushed to the door while Luerna called out, begging. The knife was on the floor right behind where he stood as he opened it. “I told you to get to bed.”
RJ leaned around him, searching for Luerna. “Mama?”
Her eyes snapped up. The terrible of idea of killing Rurik in front of her son dissolved and she smiled. “I’m okay, baby.”
Rurik pushed him on. “We’ll go horseback riding in the morning. Go on, boy.” He watched RJ till he was far enough down the hall, then slammed and locked the door. He sighed, turning toward Luerna, only to see her eyeing the knife feet from where he stood. He stepped on it. “You want to kill me?”
“Just leave me alone,” she begged, getting up, trying to find some other exit. The balcony was too high. She had stood on the edge of it once before and knew she’d die on impact. There was no escape.
When Rurik came toward her again, she tried to run but it was pathetic. He tossed her on the bed. “My father used to beat me so badly I couldn’t go to school. I’ve been good to those kids but mark my words, Luerna. If you don’t fall back in line, I’ll punish them. And they’ll grow to hate you for it because I’ll make damn sure they know it’s because of you.” Luerna nodded, unable to speak. “Now, take off your shirt.”
She clenched her eyes shut. She begged Levka to rescue her, but she knew it was pointless. He’d never make it. They’d kill him, and she couldn’t risk it. She couldn’t let anyone else suffer because of her.
Luerna yanked her shirt off and then pressed her face into it.
The first hit exploded all nerve endings, and she arched off the bed, screaming into her shirt. Rurik didn’t give her a moment to recover. He hit her again and again. She cried and wailed, her noises muffled and stifled. She begged RJ couldn’t hear her. Every breath was terrible. Every shift was agony.
Four hits and Rurik tired, panting. He dropped the belt on the floor. “Next time your brothers come to your defense, it will be worse. Tell them to mind their fucking business.”
Luerna struggled to breathe, trying not to make a sound but little whimpers were released with each fast exhale. She stared at the wall, and sarcastic comebacks filtered in her head, calling him a coward, a pathetic bitch, a pussy. But she said nothing.
Rurik leaned on the bed over her. She could feel his weight, a leg on each side of hers and his hands pressing into the mattress beside her shoulders. His lips were at her ears. “Now,” he whispered, pushing his body against hers. It sparked a fight in her, but she was too weak to move. Rurik chuckled in her ear. “That wolf won’t want to fuck you with my baby in your belly.”
“No,” she moaned desperately. “Please.”
“If this one kills you, then I can’t be blamed, can I? I’ll be the poor widower. And if you’re lucky, you’ll finally get the death you crave.”
Chapter twenty-one
Over
Levkastaredatthecomputer screen with a hand against his mouth. He kept studying Luerna’s movements as she entered the kitchen, getting her children breakfast. She moved calmly, stiffly, and clearly in pain. She put on a nice smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. He glanced at his phone. The last text message he received from her was two days ago when she told him Rurik was back home. Now, the only thing he could do was wait for her to tell him it was safe to contact her.
But what if something was wrong?
It hit him too late when he had thought about her text.‘Can we leave in ten days?’It coincided with her brother’s departure.
Levka leaned back in his chair. If she shared anything about her situation, he wouldn’t be so clueless. He knew Rurik hit her on occasion. It was a hard pill he learned to swallow years ago when he was a young punk. Unable to help her, to get her free, had been the drive he used to become as rich and powerful as he was now. But what if it was gradually getting worse? What if she was in pain because of something Rurik had done, and Levka now had the power to intervene?
“Boss.” His cousin, Gleb, stood in the doorway. “The Utkins have been waiting for ten minutes.”
