Page 133 of No Longer Mine

The more I fought, the tighter his grip became.

My pulse thundered in my ears as I twisted hard, trying to drop my weight as I’d been taught. I couldn’t believe I’d allowed myself to be taken off guard like this. I was a better than good fighter. But the man was bigger than me. He dragged me into the alleyway and slammed me against the wall. I reared my head back to try to head butt him but he saw it coming.

“What the fuck is taking so long?” Another voice said.

I started screaming against the hand wrapped around my mouth and tried to fight harder, but it was no use because the other voice was an accomplice.

“She’s a lot stronger than she looks,” the man grunted as he lifted me off of my feet. I wiggled and kicked, but it was no use.

“Fucking knock her out already.”

My squirming became more panicked as tears filled my eyes and anger burned through my body. I wasn’t going to let these men take me. I would die fighting them off if I had to. But as soon as the man let me go, the other one stepped forward and wrapped a rag under the bottom of my face. A sickly sweet smell met my nose, and I knew exactly what it was.

Chloroform.

Panic ignited like wildfire in my chest. The scent was deceptively soft—sweet, almost fruity—but my body recognized the danger before my mind could fully process it. I thrashed harder, adrenaline screaming through my veins as I tried to wrench away.

“Hold her still,” the first one snapped.

“No—no—” I tried to scream, but the rag cut it off, smothering the sound in my throat. I held my breath, jerking my head back and forth. I couldn’t let it take hold. I couldn’t lose consciousness.

But they were strong and coordinated.

I kicked, clawed, bit—but everything was starting to slow. My limbs were getting heavier. The edges of my vision blurred like someone was dimming the lights. My knees buckled, and one of them caught me mid-collapse. I was slipping.

I thought of Dimitri. I thought of the chessboard. I thought of everything happy he’d given me in such a short time… and then darkness enveloped me.

Chapter Fifty-Five

Dimitri

I checkedmy watch for the sixth time.

Where was she?

Alexei smirked as he took a sip from his glass. I didn’t know why he even attended these events… But tonight I knew that he was hoping for a glimpse of my elusive little thief. Apparently, Audrey hadn’t stopped talking about her, and now everyone was curious about how this little thing had captured my attention so wholly.

“Are you sure she is real?” Alexei said as he placed his bourbon on the table between us. Audrey and Carina were at the bar giggling about something we couldn’t hear.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, she’s real and yes, she’ll be here. She’s just running a little late.”

An hour late, to be exact.

“Is she usually late?” Ace murmured as he slid into the chair beside us. It was still weird getting used to him being around more often. It wasn’t good, but it also wasn’t bad. Just different.

“Honestly,” I adjusted my cufflinks. “I’m not sure. We’ve only been on two dates.”

Alexei grinned as his eyes stayed on his fiancée. “You’ve got it bad then.”

Just to be safe, I fired off a quick text to Benson.

Did Scarlett make it back to her building after we left today?

Benson

No. Was she supposed to go back to her penthouse?

Look at the security footage at their safe house.