My nostrils flare. “Shut up. Enzo, please search him.”
I step back, and Enzo pulls out a rusty key from his pocket before twisting it in the lock of Mikhail’s cell. As the door groans open, my stalker continues to watch me, his smirk obscene—knowing, almost. I swallow hard, telling myself it means nothing.
“You haven’t answered my question,” he says as Enzo steps inside. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? Bad dreams? Or did you just miss me?”
Dreams. He says the word so nonchalantly—as if he’s teasing me. Am I reading too much into this? God, I hate how easily he messes with my mind.
“Maybe I just came to see you suffer,” I say.
“Ah—a sadist, then. Sadly, we can’t both be one.”
Enzo begins patting him down, and I keep the flashlight on the two of them. If there’s anything in his pockets that could’ve helped him get out of this cell—another key or something sharp—then we can make sure he stays here, where he belongs.
But Enzo stands empty-handed, offering a shrug before looking around the dimly-lit space.
And then?—
My eyes widen, cold dread washing over me as Mikhail’s imposing shadow dislodges itself from the wall.
His wrists are tethered to the wall, but the chains are long enough to allow him some movement, enough for him to tower above my oblivious guard.
My hand goes to my mouth as I suck in a breath. “Enzo?—”
I’m not fast enough.
Mikhail wraps one of the long chains around the guard’s neck, cutting off his air. Enzo’s eyes bulge. He brings his hands up, reaching for it, clawing at Mikhail’s forearm. Grunting, he kicks back and then bends forward in a panicked frenzy. But Mikhail doesn’t relent.
I watch in horror, not knowing what to do. He’d kill Enzo before I came back with other guards.
“Stop!” I shout, hands trembling. “Leave him alone.Please. Don’t kill him!”
With one hand, Mikhail keeps the chain tight around Enzo’s neck. With the other, he pushes him forward until his face slamsinto the prison bars in front of me. Blood whooshes from Enzo’s eyebrow immediately, his eyes closed as he focuses on taking in any amount of air he can manage.
“Buy his life then,” Mikhail says. “If you care so much.”
Guilt gnaws at my throat, forcing my words out. “Let him breathe! Please!”
“Mmm. I do love to hear you beg,Lastochka.” Then, his hand loosens on the guard’s throat, enough for him to take in a heap of air before it tightens once more.
Even if Mikhail removed the chain, Enzo would still be too out of it to fight. And yet, like a trained killer, Mikhail is not taking any chances as he keeps the restraint at Enzo’s neck.
“So it’s a yes?”
I look up at him, terror gripping me. “W-What?”
“Are you or are younotbuying his life?”
“Y-Yes. Yes! God, just… What do you want?!”
“What do I want… Hmm, let’s see,” he muses, taking Enzo with him like a dog as he paces his cell. “I’d take your pussy, since you mentioned sex last time you were here. But if I’m being honest, I want it freely, not because we cut some kind of bargain. It tastes sweeter that way.” He winks, and my whole body flushes, even in this terrible moment.
“You’re s-sick,” I say. “Out of your mind.”
“Sure am.”
Enzo’s wheezing peels my eyes off Mikhail. “Name your goddamn price already. You’re killing him!”
“Right. My bad,” he says, giving the guard another chance to breathe. Mikhail prowls closer to the bars, bringing Enzo with him, until the length of his chains stop him from going past the cell door we left open.
