Gustav’s fingers whiten around the rifle.
My breath grows shallow. Vlad is more put together than I expected. Attractive, even. But the cold in his eyes makes me nervous. At least with Gustav, the madness is not hidden. With Vlad, I’m near a snake who might be coiled to strike or sleep.
Suddenly, Gustav growls, “I already chipped her.”
...As if everyone understands Gustav-talk.
Vlad blinks. “You did what?”
“Microchipped. She’s mine.”
I dug that damn thing out of my flesh with a pen, but I stay silent.
“Crazy fucking Sokolovs.” Vlad laughs. “But you wasted your time. Microchipping women is not in the bylaws. Marriage is all that counts. She is free for anyone with a Yellow Card.”
Bile bubbles up to my tongue.
Vlad’s gaze slides to me. A slow, greedy assessment. “Don’t worry, little girl. I will treat you well for as long as you last.”
Ice shoots through me. My mind flashes to Gustav’s warning in the woods:Humiliate. Defile. Until death.
Was that truth or manipulation?
“As long as I last?” I whisper.
He chuckles darkly. “A woman can only take so much cock.”
Now, with Vlad’s evil words out there, I know Gustav wasn’t giving a warning. It was a promise.
Gustav’s body tenses. I feel the moment everything changes because I’m drawn to him fast.
Gustav must sense it too and reaches for me without looking, guiding me behind him. The motion is subtle but protective. Only a foolish woman would find comfort being near him. But I do. At least in this moment.
“Here is my offer,” Gustav says, voice controlled. “I give you one life, four tons of C4, and two containers of ammo.”
Vlad’s smile returns, wider. “I do not want another life or weapons. I want her. I prefer my last life to be a pretty one.”
I frown.
He turns to his men. “She will make a fine plaything for us. I am sure she screams sexy.”
Gustav’s posture changes in an instant. His breath stills. His hand steadies. Something inside him snaps so violently I feel the echo vibrate in the floor.
“No,” Gustav says.
Vlad lifts a brow. “No?”
Gustav lifts his rifle.
He—pulls the trigger.
The shot cracks through the room with shattering force. Vlad drops instantly, a lifeless thud hitting the stone floor. Blood fans beneath his head in a crimson bloom.
The other three reach for their guns, but Gustav’s guards are already moving. Shots explode in rapid succession. Bodies fall. The room fills with smoke and silence, the metallic taste of gunfire hanging in the air like iron dust.
When the final body hits the ground, the stillness is suffocating.
Gustav turns to face me. His voice is quiet, almost intimate in the echoing room.
