“I’m going to enjoy killing such a pretty little thing,” he said, and I could tell he meant it from the depths of his soul.
I tried to grab for the vial with my free hand. Before I could make contact, he slammed my head against a brick wall. My vision swam. He took the opportunity to force both my hands above my head.
Through the pain, I kicked him in the crotch. His hand loosened around my throat as he howled in pain. I tried to dash around him, but he grabbed a combination of my hair and wig. Then pulled me into him.
I thrashed against him, blindly jabbing my elbows against vulnerable sections of his body. But when he started laughing, fear slithered through me.
“Release her, or I’ll cut off your hands,” a chilling voice echoed from the front of the alley.
Igor’s grip loosened around my hair, and my head whipped towards the voice.
Shadows swarmed Dmitri as he stepped into the alley, anger gleaming in his darkening eyes.
Chapter seven
Dmitri
I was still pissed off about the little stunt Alisa pulled when I was sparring with her. But no one was allowed to hurt my kitten except me.
I stepped forward and registered the shock on both of their faces. It kept Alisa from trying to escape from the hand holding her arm captive. She should know better than that. Always take advantage of distractions.
After all, she couldn’t count on my deranged attention forever.
The shock on my kitten’s face turned to confusion as I quickly cut across the space between us.
“W-what are y-you,” she said.
“Cat got your tongue?” I teased, but my muscles tensed when I noticed a bruise forming around her throat.
“Back the fuck off,” the man said, finally finding his voice. The bravado in his voice contrasted with the hint of fear swirling in his eyes.
I took another step forward, and he jerked Alisa's arm back. Something twisted in my stomach when Alisa stifled a whimper of pain.
“I don’t think so,” I said.
I grabbed the hand clenching Alisa’s arm and smiled when I heard his bones snap.
His screech of agony filled the air. He stumbled to the ground, and I tugged Alisa into my chest.
Alisa’s body sagged against mine, and she let out a sigh of pure relief.
When her head tilted up to look at me, I felt the muscles in her upper body constrict. She staggered back a step with a look of horror on her face when she realized what she’d done.
I nearly started laughing, but the man was already standing back up with a knife in his other hand.
As he raised the knife towards Alisa's back, a slice of panic I so rarely felt anymore tugged at my chest. I yanked her behind me, keeping my hand firmly on her wrist.
“Don’t move,” I warned her. And for once in her life Alisa actually listened to me.
I kicked the man's shaking hand, and the knife went flying back into the alley. His face crumpled with pain, and I smiled as I remembered my promise from earlier.
After daring to lay his hands on her, this would be the least of the pain he’d be experiencing tonight.
Before he could recover, I punched him hard in the throat. The exact same place he’d bruised Alisa.
He crumpled to the dirty ground. While he lay there clutching his neck, I tugged Alisa towards me.
“Who is he?”
