“I wonder if he would care that you ditched your security to come out here and be alone with me. Alexei isn’t a very trusting person, Amy. I thought you would have known that by now. The only person he trusts apart from himself is Violet. So I do wonder what he would believe if—”
I cut him off, yanking my hand back from his grip. “I can prove that Violet isn’t to be trusted. She’s been using Alexei, but she’s been using you as well. There are at least half a dozen men on her list.”
Kristoff went completely still. “And you say you have proof?”
Fumbling in my pocket, I pulled out my cell phone. He watched silently as I started to open files. Not one emotion on his face.
“Yes, here.” Without thinking I thrust the phone towards him. He didn’t even look down at it. Instead, his eyes remained glued to my face.
“I honestly thought better of you, Amy,” he said softly with a shake of his head.
Confused, I opened my mouth to speak, and instead, it fell open as he dropped the phone to the floor with a clang.
“Did you really think it was a good idea to come here alone?”
The word no was on was on the tip of my tongue when his fist slammed into my face, and everything spun around me. The ground rushed up to meet my face as I fell.
Shit.
This was not part of the plan. I didn’t have a chance to get my hands under me before my face smashed into the concrete and everything turned blinding white.
I blinked my eyes awake,and at first, nothing I was seeing made sense. I was in a sparse room with wet-looking brick walls that enclosed me on all sides apart from one, where piles and piles of trolleys with what looked like laundry had been pushed.
But not clean laundry, the whole place had a musty smell that made my nose wrinkle in disgust.
“Where—” I tried to say and failed. There was something in my mouth. Some scrap of material that had a bitter taste.
Through my lashes, I let my eyes wander around. I had no clue where I was, but it felt like a basement, and I was tied to a chair. I could feel the hard ropes around my wrists binding me to the chair.
Yanking my arms, I tested the tightness, and they didn’t give. Whoever had tied me up had done a really good job.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
The voice was unmistakable. My head snapped around, and I glared at Violet as she sauntered into the room. Her jeans were crumpled, her shirt was ripped, and there was a bruise forming on her chin.
It looked like someone had hit her, just like Kristoff had hit me. But unlike me, she was walking around free.
“You won’t get away this time, Amy. It would have been better for everyone if you had run further. Alexei would have lost interest sooner or later.” She shook her head, and for the first time since I had met her, her hair wasn’t a perfectly sleek curtain. “But no, you had to stay close, you had to survive.”
Coming to a stop in front of me, she leaned down. Her breath wasminty fresh. “You had to think you won. You haven’t won, Amy, and today you will see once and for all that you never will. Is everything ready?”
Confused, I frowned. “What?” It took me exactly three seconds to realize she wasn’t speaking to me.
Kristoff appeared in the doorway, a chair dragged behind him and a rope held loose in his hands. He positioned the chair a few feet from me and then walked forward. “Are you OK?”
Again, I was confused. Wrapping his arm round Violet’s waist, he tilted her head up, his fingers brushing against the forming bruise. “I hated having to hurt you,” he whispered.
It hit me all in a rush. They were both in on it. But of course, they were. Kristoff was under her spell just like Alexei was.
Nikolia’s voice in my head had warned me not to go into that alleyway, and I had ignored it. I’d tried to outsmart people who had been in this life longer than I had.
“I love you,” he whispered as he captured her lips.
“I know,” I saw her smile. “And soon we will have everything we have ever wanted.”
She didn’t say she loved him back, but I already knew that. I had proof she didn’t. Or at least I had pictures on my phone that he had dropped on the floor by the trash and the files back at the apartment. Not that they would do me any good now. Unless Alexei—
I went completely still. I didn’t know how long had passed, but Alexei would realize I was missing soon, if he hadn’t already. If anyone could find me, it would be him.
