"No one is coming to help you, bitch," he yelled.
My vision blurred at the edges.
The scarf around my neck loosened, and when he dragged me back up by my hair, it fell open, revealing the diamond collar.
They caught the light. Brilliant. Damning.
"Is that what you are whoring yourself out for, bitch? I'm not good enough for you now? You need some rich sugar daddy to buy you pretty things?"
He was beyond reason. The timbre of his voice got higher and higher. He slammed me against the counter again and this time held me there.
Then his other hand was on my dress, tearing at the thin fabric.
"No," I screamed. "Stop, get off of me." I saw him in the reflection of the now red-tinted glass as he raised his hand, ready to hit me again.
His face was twisted. Unrecognizable.
A stranger wearing Peregrine's expensive clothes.
His fist descended toward my face when the door opened.
The bell chimed again—cheerful and absurd.
Peregrine said something I couldn't quite make out. The words came from underwater. Everything muffled.
Then, the distinctive click of a hammer being pulled back on a gun.
That sound cut through the fog. Crystal clear.
"Otoydi ot devushki," an unfamiliar but heavily Russian-accented voice said.
Peregrine let go of my hair, and I collapsed.
My knees hit the floor. Hard.
Pain shot up my thighs.
I looked up to see two of Darius's men, both armed and staring daggers at my fake ex.
Peregrine bolted through the back door, and the men followed.
Their footsteps thundered. The back door slammed.
Then nothing.
Silence.
I didn't understand what was happening and couldn't move from where I'd fallen.
My fingertips skimmed over my injured cheek. A hiss escaped between my teeth. My hands shook. I watched them tremble like they belonged to someone else. Thank god there wasn't as much blood as I feared.
I should've felt something more—physical pain, stress, emotional distress, anything. I was completely numb, whichprobably should've scared me even more. And I was sure once I could feel again, I'd be terrified.
My breath came in short gasps.
In. Out. In. Out.
I couldn't get enough air.
