A second later, his hand moves, and I feel sharp metal on my back, recognizing it as a knife.
My body tenses, but the tear of my shirt freeing my back gives my brain time to register that I’m not about to die.
He pulls my ripped tank top over my shoulders, freeing my breasts immediately.
His grin spreads from ear to ear as he hungrily presses against me. His tongue forces its way into my mouth again and again—relentless.
I have to hold back vomit, certain that if I throw up in this man’s mouth, he would kill me for it.
His fingers press my nipples between his middle and forefinger, and I can feel the tension in his grip building.
Then, suddenly, he shifts. His hands clamping down on my arms, reddening my skin almost instantly, and with a swift, shocking motion, he throws me onto the bed. My breath catches as the impact rattles me, and I can’t help but notice the manic joy in his eyes.
He leans close, whispering in low and dangerous Russian, “YA ostavlyu sinyaki na vsem etom krasivom litse.”
Before I can even form a coherent thought, a deafening ringing fills my ears.
Blood splatters across my face, chest, and the walls around me. The world tilts as I watch Sergio’s body slump lifelessly to the floor, a dark, spreading stain beneath him. Blood pours from the hole in his head in what feels like an endless flow, the warmth spreading to my feet as I stand in his blood and brain matter.
Chapter 43
Aurelia
“What the fuck,” I whisper, spitting blood and bile from my mouth. My hands shake as I reach for the bed sheet and press it tight to my chest, the metallic tang of blood filling my nose.
I am no stranger to men being executed in front of my face, but the blood isinsidemy mouth.
I would have to be psychopathic to not feel absolutely disgusting right now.
Nikolai steps forward, his gun slicing the space between Sergio’s lifeless body and me.
Every movement he makes is precise and terrifying. His jaw is rigid, but he isn’t even glancing at my nakedness. No—his stormy gaze is locked on mine, measuring and clearly furious.
I scramble with my heart hammering, trying to wipe the blood off of me while still remaining covered.
“Are you stupid, Aurelia?” He cuts through the haze of shock and disgust.
“What?” I wobble, trying to reclaim some shred of control.
I haven’t seen him in three days, not since his little fit when I refused to finish sucking his dick. “I’m not your property, Nikolai. I can fuck who I want, when I want!”
“You felt like fucking a desperate teenager who’s never touched a woman who wasn’t unconscious?” His words slice through me, full of venom and disbelief.
“He’s almost twenty!” I retort, my chest rising and falling rapidly.
I don’t even know if that’s true—he could have just turned nineteen.
But then… the second part of his sentence hits me. My stomach knots, confusion and horror flooding me. “Unconscious?” I whisper, trembling.
Nikolai’s eyes darken, every inch of him radiating cold, deadly intent. “If you think anyone working for the Bratva isn’t a criminal, Aurelia… you’re more naive than you realize.”
My stare drops to the boy I’d thought I could handle, the one who seemed harmless moments ago. The truth of him—the violence, the predatory intent—makes my nausea violently increase.
I can’t hold it.
I vomit beside his body, bile hot and acrid, spreading across the floor and onto the edges of Sergio’s lifeless body. My knees buckle, hands shaking, and the sheer weight of what I’ve witnessed, combined with what I almost participated in, crushes me.
Nikolai stands, gun still in hand, but lowered to his side, silent except for the barely audible drip of blood. His eyes never leave me, but now they hold something else, what might almost be… disappointment.
