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To stay, for her.
I struggled for air as the darkness threatened to consume me completely. Tears coursed down my face, but I sucked in large, sobbing breaths, clamping my mouth shut, determined to take control over the situation.
I had worked so hard to become a new person.
A person determined not to be crippled by the past.
And IknewI was no longer that girl, scared and powerless. I'd changed, grown, trained.
Worked my ass off to become who I was now.
And not because of Knight or Rook or my parents or anyone else.
It was because ofme.
I'd done that.
I'd done everything possible to stop myself from living under the control of another again.
Including the very poison Manuel had used against me, so many years ago.
The touch of the feather on my skin stopped and I took in deep, choking breaths. My face and clothes were drenched with my sweat and tears. My heart was still pounding so loud, it shook my insides out.
I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. Then, letting my rage take over, I opened them again, determination filling me.
I refused to be dragged back into his darkness.
To let my fears become my master.
I was capable of more than I ever dreamed of.
I wasn't that same little girl, scared and powerless.
I was Tatiana Krapivnik, and I wasn't going to let him control me anymore.
I would fight with everything I had.
He would kill me before I lived like that again.
The sounds of fighting grew closer, distracting Manuel.
He stood, cursing, "Puta de madra. That asshole made it this far." He sounded genuinely surprised. He pulled a gun from his side and stood at the door, waiting, his whole focus on that.
It gave me the chance I needed. Willing everything inside me, I twisted, turning my body to fall to the floor.
"Tatiana," he growled out, "what are you doing?"
Ignoring him, I crawled on my hands and knees towards his desk.
The sound of guns shooting towards the end of the hallway distracted him, and, gathering every ounce of strength inside me, I lunged to my feet.
I grabbed the letter opener from his desk and swiveled towards him.
His laughter burned something inside me. "Mylittle bird, going to kill me with that baby knife?" he sneered, his eyes alight with humor. God, I hated how he enjoyed this. Enjoyed my attempts to be strong.
"Tell me," he mused, "how are you even managing to move?"
I smiled, taking a step towards him, staring down my death in its face. I was going to kill this bastard if it was the last thing I ever did in my life.