Pain.
Relief.
Pain.
Relief.
My arm is bleeding from how many times I’ve been stuck and injected with such a tiny amount that I want to chew through these restraints. And then...
I bend. It’s just a little, but it’s enough.
Alexei straightens, satisfied. “There,” he says warmly. “Good boy.”
The restraints release, and I collapse forward onto the cold concrete floor. My body is shaking uncontrollably. He didn’tactuallyhave to touch her. All he had to do was teach my body that loving her hurts more than obeying him.
And it worked.
Chapter eleven
JUDE GRAVES
The hotel door opens and light spills in, and I’m vaguely aware of the hands under my arms. My body doesn’t cooperate. It justhangslike dead weight. I’m dimly surprised I’m still breathing.
“Jude! Oh my god!” Adriana’s voice reaches me. It’s genuinely panicked.
The men don’t answer her or even look in her direction. They carry me three more steps and then drop me. I hit the floor hard, air blasting out of my lungs in a wet, broken sound. Pain flares everywhere at once, but it’s distant, like all of this shit just happened to someone else. Boots turn, and the door closes.
Gone.
“Jesus Christ,” Adriana sobs. She’s on her knees, hands hovering, afraid to touch but touching anyway. Her fingers skim my ribs, and I hiss. She recoils. “Oh my god, you’recoveredin blood.”
My eyes won’t stay open. The room swims in and out of focus. I catch flashes—her face wrecked with fear, mascara streaking, hair half-fallen from its golden clip.
“What did theydoto you?” she whispers, horrified. “Your arm—Jude, it looks like it’s been fucking butchered.”
A sound crawls out of my chest. It might be a laugh. It might be a cry. I don’t know anymore.
Footsteps thunder in from the hall.
“What the hell is going on—” Nolan freezes mid-sentence. The color drains from his face when he sees me. “This is…Jesus,” he mutters. “This is the worst I’ve ever seen him.”
Of course it is, you motherfucker.
You sold my life away to a man who knows no kindness. Or warmth. He will fucking kill me the moment I don’t do what he says. Or he’ll hurt...her.
Adriana brushes my hair back from my face with shaking fingers. My skin is on fire, and I feel like I’m soaked in sweat. Her touch is too much and not enough all at once. “I’m here,” she keeps saying, like a mantra. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
Black creeps into the edges of my vision.
Nolan’s phone dings, stupidly loud in the quiet room.
He looks at it and swallows. “It’s Alexei,” he says.
Adriana looks up sharply.
“He says Jude’s been dosed,” he says, voice flat. “That he needs to rest. He’ll be in contact soon about his next job.” A pause. “And…a meeting. Between Alexei and one of my partners in the States, it seems.”
My stomach twists weakly at the wordjob.
