Page 104 of Bastard

We reach an office. The Russian frantically shoves me inside a walk-in safe in the back, slams the door shut, then locks it from the outside.

I place my hand on a thick steel wall, taking a minute to catch my breath. It’s impossible to hear anything, the walls are so thick. So, I count to ten, giving the Russian time to leave and find Alexei, before I pick the lock. Once free, I wonder about the puzzling position I’ve found myself in. Either Barrington was displeased with the Russian investors. Or this is Hayden’s doing.

And if it’s the latter, is it over?

I step into the empty office, relaxing my shoulders when I find myself alone. I roll my lip between my teeth, back and forth once when suddenly, the office door swings open and Barrington charges into the room.

We stare at each other in surprise. His hair is wild. His tie split in two by what looks like ... a bullet hole.

Mierda.

I reach for the gun tucked into my shorts, but it’s too late. The two men who entered behind the pendejo seize hold of me within seconds.

“Is Sabine with you?”

Dios. This is what he asks me? I’m happy I helped her escape this obnoxiously possessive man.

“No. I haven’t seen her since Cape Town.”

He stalks toward me. “What did you say to her?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You were in deep conversation with her the night before that bitch made a scene,” he screams. “What did you say to cause her to attack me like that? To embarrass me like I can’t even control a woman?”

Ese cerdo machista.“Perhaps,” I say, my anger at this sexist pig overshadowing my judgment, “she found issue with you?” I glance down at his dick then up.

Whack! His slap across the face sounds worse than it feels, because I turned my head as his palm connected, slightly lessening the impact.

A slap, not a punch. Diego’s done much worse when we wrestled as children.

Barrington likes weak women. So, I give him what he wants. “Please. Don’t hurt me. My husband will be—”

“Dead. Now that I have something he wants.”

Dios mío, no. Hayden is not only here in this dangerous situation, but now I’ve placed him at a disadvantage.Escape, Luciana. Don’t allow them to use you to get to him.

Barrington points a finger in my face. “You and I aren’t done. And if you don’t tell me where Sabine has run off to, I’m going to strangle you with my bare hands.” He gestures to the men holding me. “Drag her inside. Let that fucker Lorenzo see what happens when I’m screwed over.”

He storms out of the room, and his men drag me along behind him. We’re headed for a clear space in the middle of the warehouse. I don’t struggle, waiting for a better opportunity to escape.

The scene around me is horrifying. Bodies are everywhere. It’s like the militant attack all over. I gasp, spotting Alexei’s unmoving figure not far away.

Barrington stops, then waves his arms overhead. It’d be comical if the situation were different.

“Look who I found.”

I’m shoved toward him, and he snatches hold of me and wraps his fingers around the back of my neck.

“Show yourself, you murderous bastard. Or your beautiful wife won’t be so pretty when I’m done cutting her.” A chill runs down my spine when he withdraws a knife. A big, wicked blade the size of half my forearm.

Not a fist. Not a gun. A knife.

I hate knives.

From his position behind me, he places the sharp, cold steel to my throat.

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to fight off my panic. When I open them, as a flash of light temporarily blinds me and I’m forced to blink.