Page 59 of Savage Truce

I’m torn between finding it absurdly attractive that my brand-new husband is hot as hell right now and being terrified that something could go wrong and I lose him.

Sergei parks the SUV near the airstairs of the jet and shouts, “Move!”

When Rodian opens his door, he pulls me out of the backseat. He’s so wound tight that he maneuvers me exactly where he wants me, and I have no choice but to go with the flow as I’m ushered up the steps.

Beside the two of us, Andrei, Sergei, and another ten men fill the cabin. Everyone quickly takes their seats, and Rodian straps me in before taking care of himself.

Andrei shuts the door and secures it, then shouts, “Go! Go! Go!”

When I glance out the window, I see sedans and Jeeps speeding toward us, and some of them have rocket launchers, which makes me shriek, “Oh dear God!”

Rodian pulls me into his chest and says, “We’re going to be fine.”

The jet begins to move, and as it picks up speed, I cringe against him, bracing for impact. When we lift off the ground, my stomach drops from how loudly the engines roar while the entire plane shudders as it climbs higher and higher.

I swear I can taste the tension in the air as everyone holds their breath, and when the aircraft finally levels out, some of the men whoop and cheer.

I can’t make myself pull away from Rodian and cling to him with all my might. My heart is slamming wildly against my ribcage, and I struggle to stop my anxiety from overwhelming me.

I feel Rodian pepper my hair with kisses, his hand brushing up and down my spine, then he murmurs near my ear, “We’re out of danger, moya krasavitsa. Try to take deeper breaths for me.”

“Tell the pilot to keep flying,” I gasp. “We can live the rest of our lives in the air.”

Rodian has to peel me off him, and when he looks at my face, something makes him unhappy, and the lines on his forehead deepen. “How are you holding up?”

Lifting my hand, we both look at how badly I’m trembling, then he says, “I think you should take your medication. It’s been a rough day.”

I stupidly glance around me as if the three boxes that are always kept on the bedside table will magically appear out of thin air.

“Blyadʹ,” Rodian snaps when he realizes the same thing as me. “We forgot to pack your medication.”

He removes our seat belts, and standing up, he helps me out of my seat. As I’m maneuvered down the aisle, Rodian barks out an order to his men. “Don’t disturb us unless the plane is going down.”

I’m taken to the back of the plane and into a bedroom. My breaths still come in short puffs over my lips, and the trembling won’t stop.

After shutting the door, he rushes to a bar fridge and pulls out a can of Coke. Opening it, he comes to place one of his hands behind my head while holding the can to my lips. “Drink, moya krasavitsa. The sugar will help with the shock.”

I take a few sips, then shake my head to indicate I don’t want any more. As soon as he’s done setting the Coke down on a counter, I move closer to him. Curling my fingers into his jacket, I press my cheek to his warm, solid chest, and shut my eyes.

Screams echo through my mind, some new from earlier today and others from my time at the factory.

Rodian holds me, every now and then kissing my forehead or hair. “Just focus on me,” he murmurs, his tone soft and comforting.

“I hear them,” I whisper. “The screams.” My voice cracks, and I swear I can feel how my fingers ached from all the work I was forced to do in order to stay alive as I admit, “I peeled potatoes while the others were tortured. I hid in the kitchen and didn’t try to help them.”

“You did what you had to.” Pushing me back by my shoulders, he orders, “Open your eyes and look at me.”

I pry them open and almost flinch from the brutal expression on his face. “Don’t feel guilty for a single second, Anastasia. There was nothing you could’ve done to help them. You would’ve gotten yourself raped and killed alongside them.” His expression turns downright savage as he growls, “If they didn’t kill Yelena, I would’ve. There was no way I would let her live after what she did to you.”

“No one deserves to die the way they did,” I whimper as a tear escapes and rolls down my cheek.

He places his hands over mine and squeezes them as he leans even closer. “Fair, but you need to realize you couldn’t help them, and they sure as fuck would’ve fed you to the wolves if it meant saving their own lives. Stop feeling guilty for surviving. You have so much to deal with already with all the hell you had to endure, don’t take this burden on your shoulders as well.”

He’s right.

Every single one of them would’ve sacrificed me in a heartbeat. Even when Ms. Fedorova and I were the only two left, with no one but each other to depend on, she still called me a fat bitch and smirked when they forced me to crawl like a pig.

When I curl into his chest again, he engulfs me, one of his hands gripping the back of my head.