“Eleana Sawyer…” I muttered, my voice raspy.
“That’s right. Surprised to see me?” she questioned, flashing her gun in my face.
My gaze darted around the room and it was filthy, walls cracked and the air heavy. My wrists were chained tight around a steel post, cuffs biting into my skin. I tried to move, but there was no slack, no hope.
“Honey, you’ll need this if you want out.” Eleana dangled a tiny key in front of my eyes, her lips curling in a mocking smile.
“Where are we?” I asked, heart pounding in my chest.
“The basement of a lovely lakeside cottage at Ghost Lake. There’s a view, you know. Spectacular water, blue mountains. Shame you’ll never see it.”
She crouched to meet my eyes, her expression turning hard, eyes icy and mean.
“And out here? You could scream all you want. No one would hear you. No one’s coming, Serenity.”
I drew a long breath, steeling myself, refusing to show her even an ounce of fear. She didn’t deserve the satisfaction.
“What do you want?”
She rose and began pacing, gun swinging in her hand.
“What do I want? Oh, honey, you and I have unfinished business. You didn’t think I’d just let you walk after everything you did to me, did you?”
A grin crept across my lips, taunting her. “Still nursing that bum shoulder, Eleana? Thought you’d have gotten over it by now.”
The look on her face twisted to rage. She stormed over and slammed her fist across my jaw. Blood dripped from my nose, pain exploding in my skull.
“You better lose the attitude, Serenity. You’re not in charge here. You’re not untouchable. I can put a bullet in your head right now and no one would miss you,” she spat.
But I kept my smirk, meeting her stare with my own brand of poison. “Don’t tell me you dragged me down here hoping to see me beg. Is that it, Eleana? All this trouble, just so you could watch me fall apart and ask for mercy? Is that why you had me tracked down and snatched, locked in a basement, just so you could pretend you finally had the upper hand?”
“Shut up!” she screamed, striking me again.
I felt the sting, tasted blood, but I refused to let her see me break.
“You’re putting on a show, but I know you’re scared, Serenity. Eleana scowled as she reached for my Glock on the table and waved it in my face. “I took your little toy, the one you love so much. You won’t get a chance to use it tonight. Me, though…”She stepped in front of me and pressed her gun against my head. “I’m ready to put a bullet in your head, Serenity. That way, you’ll never stand in my way again.”
Steel pressed against my temple. Her hand was steady, but I kept my composure, still refusing to give her the satisfaction of fear.
“So that’s what all this is about? I’m in your way? Let me guess—you want Konflict?” I said, a mocking smile twisting my lips.
Her jaw clenched, her knuckles whitening on the grip. That was all the answer I needed. I laughed, loud and cruel, just to watch her lose control.
“Shut up!” she screamed, her mask cracking. “If it weren’t for you, he never would have rejected me. Everything was going fine. I was this close. He was going to get rid of you and marry me, but then he went back to you, even after hating you.”
My grin widened, cutting deep. “Oh, poor thing. All this because a married man chose his wife over his side piece? Bet that stings, especially after he burned down your family’s estate right after you showed up at his wife’s casino. That must have hit your ego hard. Remind me again, what did you brag about the other day? ‘He fucked me all night, Serenity. He was all mine.’ Yeah, then he torched your crib. Guess my husband really is a little bipolar, but I bet you didn’t think you’d get to see just how ugly that could get.”
“I’ll pull the trigger if you don’t shut your mouth,” she threatened.
But I kept going, pushing her right to the edge. “Do you even know how to use that thing? Because you look like a kid trying to play with grown-ups. All this for some dick? You know what, Eleana? You can have him. We’re not even married anymore as of today. The divorce is official. I left the signed papers for him. Take him. I don’t want him anymore.” My tone was pure mockery. “Oh, right... He doesn’t want you either. And since youdisrespected the Korven name, he wants your head. Tough luck. Guess sleeping with a married man doesn’t always get you what you want. Or maybe your pussy was such a disappointment, he dumped you like yesterday’s garbage.”
Her rage exploded. She crashed into me with fists flying in a wild mess of claws and curses. I curled in, protecting my stomach, letting her rage expend itself on my arms, my back, anything but the place I needed to keep safe.
“Hey, hey, what are you doing? Stop!” Someone finally pulled her off, dragging her away so I could catch my breath.
“Let me go! I’m going to kill her. She deserves to lose that smug smile,” Eleana howled.
“Get a grip, Eleana,” her brother Seylan said as he grabbed her face, forcing her to focus. “Don’t ruin our plans, Elea. You know what we have to do. We stick to the plan.”
