Page 15

Chapter

Fifteen

EVIE

Y ou killed her sister.

Dimitri is right. I did kill Tatiana, and that will haunt me forever. But I can’t stand here and watch him use a little girl as bait.

“I have to go,” I say.

“Go where?” Dimitri demands. “Abram is hunting us down. You can’t just leave, Evie.”

“He doesn’t have eyes and ears everywhere. I just need to go somewhere else. Some other motel for the night. I just need space.”

“No,” he growls. “You’re going to stay right here.”

“You can’t control me, Dimitri. It’s not going to work. I’m not your property.”

“You’re my wife.”

“And that doesn’t give you the right to control me.” I sigh and take one small step closer to him. “I know you just want me to be safe. But I can’t look at you right now. I’ll get another room at this motel. I’ll be close by. I just can’t be around you.”

He considers it then nods. “Fine. But I’ll have Maxim go with you for safety.” He nods at the handsome biker who showed up with him tonight,

The man who helped kidnap a little girl.

“No. I can’t be around any of you right now, so don’t make me.” I rush toward the front office of the motel, not stopping as Dimitri calls out for me. I’m not going far. I just need space. Everything will all right.

I enter the front office, taking in the wood paneling and the moldy smell. This motel should probably be shut down for how much of a health hazard it is, but right now, it’s the only safe place I have.

“I’d like a room,” I tell the man behind the counter.

“It’s forty bucks.”

I realize then I don’t have any money. I’ll have to go back and ask Dimitri for some, and that’s the last thing I want.

But it’s the only play I have.

I give the man an apologetic smile and leave the front office. Stepping back outside into the darkness, I’m suddenly aware of how vulnerable I am. I’ll just make it back to Dimitri and get the money and get a new room and hunker down for the night.

And then I sense him .

I would know that sweaty smell anywhere.

Dima.

I gasp and turn around, coming face to face with him,

“Hi, Evie.”

I don’t stop to talk. I just take off running.

But Dima grabs me and holds me down onto the ground. I try to scream, but he covers my mouth. We’re hidden behind a car in the parking lot. No one can see us.

“It’s time for you to come with me,” he says. “Do you want me to continue killing all those other girls? Because I’ll stop if you just come with me.”

We both know he’s lying.

But I also can’t stand the guilt of having more blood on my hands. Tatiana’s death is my fault. The other girls Dima has killed because he wants me—while not my fault—still feel like my fault. The guilt gnaws at me.

“Just come with me, and no one else has to get hurt.”

The last thing I want to do is go with Dima, but maybe if I do, maybe if I’m … dead, then that will help things. I’m the reason Tatiana is dead. If Abram finds out I’m dead, maybe he’ll stop going after Dimitri. Maybe I can help save more lives if I’m gone.

Slowly, I nod.

“Good.” He doesn’t remove his hand from my mouth as he forces me to stand. “Walk.”

He inches me away from the room Dimitri is in. I can see it from here. Room five. It’s so close and yet so far.

I’m choosing this.

My guilt over Tatiana. The betrayal of Dimitri over kidnapping a child. The constant danger we’re in.

Maybe I do deserve to die. Maybe I should have died all those weeks ago when Dima first took me.

He leads me over to a car, and I get inside. Dima only removes his stinky hand from my mouth to shut the car door. I can breathe again, but that doesn’t make things better.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.” He starts the car, and we drive away. Dimitri doesn’t even know I’m gone.

“How did you find me here?”

“I’ve been following you all this time, just waiting for my chance when your husband was away. I figured now was as good a time as any.”

I don’t ask Dima any more questions. What’s the point?

I was fine living my sheltered life in books. Was I truly happy? Not really. But I had the library. I had Katya. I was making it work.

Then Dimitri entered my life and showed me I could have more.

The thing is, I don’t deserve more. Not after what I’ve done.

Dima doesn’t stop driving until we reach a ramshackle house outside the city. It looks a lot like his previous house. I guess he has a certain style.

Just like he has a certain type of woman he likes to murder .

“Is this where you’re going to kill me?”

“Yes.” No sugarcoating it.

A shiver runs down my spine. I nod anyway, accepting my fate.

Dima’s eyes widen in surprise. “You’re surprisingly calm.”

I don’t give him an answer. He doesn’t deserve one.

Dima grunts and gets out of the car. I wait for him to retrieve me. I know what’s going to happen—he’s going to take me into that house and murder me. He’ll probably torture me first.

Am I scared? I’m terrified.

In the few seconds it takes for Dima to walk around the car, I feel something settle inside my stomach.

What am I doing here? Why did I think I would be ok with this?

I don’t want to die.

I don’t deserve to die.

But by the time I have this realization, Dima is opening the car door, forcing me out of it, and shoving me toward the house.

The house where I’m going to get murdered.

DIMITRI

“You just let her go?” Katya asks once I step into the room.

Maria is huddled against one of the beds, Katya standing protectively near her.

“Evie needed some space. She’s going to get another room at the motel. I can’t always be a controlling asshole, Katya.”

She rolls her eyes. “When I need you to be, you choose not to be. Go check on Evie. Make sure she’s all right.”

“She doesn’t want to see me right now!”

“Who cares? Abram is out hunting for us. Just make sure she made it to her room.”

I grumble under my breath even though I know Katya is right. If anything were to happen to Evie, I’d be devastated. She’s settled herself into my heart, and there’s no removing her.

God, I’m a fucking pussy sometimes .

I share a look with Maxim, hoping he’ll agree with me that Katya is annoying, but Maxim just looks annoyed himself.

“We grabbed the girl,” he says. “Now we need to go after Abram. Once he’s dealt with, we can set Maria free. I don’t like having her here.”

“Why? Guilty?” I ask.

“Yes.”

I snort and clap Maxim on the back. “Well, then, it’s good I never feel guilty. Just stay here and keep an eye on them.” I head out of the room and to the front office. The man behind the counter looks so bored, it makes me feel bored.

“A woman just came into here,” I say, leaning against the desk and giving the man my best smile. It does nothing on him. “I need to know what room number she’s in.”

“Sorry. Can’t give out that information.”

“Ok. Understood.” I pause for one moment then grab his shirt and jerk him across the counter. He squeaks. “Just tell me what room number. She has brown hair. Petite. She was just in here getting a new room for the night. Tell me which one it is.”

“Uh … she didn’t buy a room. I told her the cost, and then she left.”

I let the man go, and he slumps back against his chair with a huff. “She didn’t buy a room for the night?”

“No.”

“So, then where the fuck is she?”

“I don’t know.”

“Great. Thanks for the help.”

“You’re welcome.”

Clearly, this man has never heard of sarcasm before. I sigh and leave the front office. It’s dark out in the parking lot. The streetlamp isn’t working, masking everything into darkness.

If Evie isn’t in a room at the motel, then where is she?

I check the car, but she isn’t in there. Ok. Don’t fucking panic. Maybe she went for a walk .

I walk to the sidewalk and look up and down it, searching for her. She couldn’t be far. It’s only been minutes since she left.

But I don’t see her, and if I move in one direction and she’s in the other direction, I’ll miss her completely.

Why the fuck would Evie leave? She knows how dangerous it is.

Except that’s the point. Evie’s smart. She doesn’t play games or mess around with her safety. She wouldn’t just go for a walk when she knows Abram is out looking for us.

Which means something terrible happened. Which means I need to save her again.

Assuming I can, that is.

No. I can’t even entertain the idea. Evie is safe. She has to be. I’ll find her and bring her back and spank her ass for good measure. And then I’ll kiss her like a dying man, marking my claim onto her.

But first, I have to find her.

I rush back into the motel room. “Evie’s gone,” I announce.

Katya’s eyes practically bug out of her head. “What?!” Maria gasps and sinks deeper into the bed.

“Did Abram take her?” Maxim asks.

“I have no fucking clue,” I admit, and I hate that I have to say it. I hate that she was taken right out from under my nose. “But if it was Abram, then we need to make a trade. Get word to him. Tell him we have his daughter, and that if he wants Maria back, he’ll give me Evie in return.”

“We’re not going to kill him?”

“Oh, we’re going to kill him. Nothing will stop me from doing that.”

AbrAM

I return home to the sight of my bodyguards dead.

All fucking dead.

I know instantly who did it.

When I run upstairs and enter Maria’s room, I’m stopped by the cold reality that Maria isn’t in her bed .

She’s gone. Dimitri has her.

Who else would’ve taken her?

Dimitri is just asking for me to kill him at this point. First, he killed my Tatiana, and now, he’s taken my Maria. I don’t allow myself to think about Maria being anything else other than kidnapped.

She can’t be dead like her sister.

I call one of my men, Sergei. “My daughter is gone. Find her.” I hang up before he can reply.

With nothing to do and nowhere to begin looking, all I can do is pace back and forth across my living room floor. Two of my bodyguards are dead in the house. Their blood is soaking into the hardwood, but I don’t care.

Not when my Maria is gone.

The doorbell rings.

Thinking it’s Sergei, I rush to answer and stumble back when I see it’s a … biker? I think I recognize the man with dark hair and a leather jacket, but I don’t know his name.

“Maxim Baranov,” he says. “President of the Knights.”

“The motorcycle club?” I know Dimitri is in cahoots with him. I never understood the appeal of working with a motorcycle club. but then, Dimitri makes decisions I think are careless and utterly fucking stupid all the time.

“Dimitri has your daughter.”

My eyes narrow. “I figured.”

“And he proposes a trade. His wife for your daughter.”

I pause. Wait. Dimitri thinks I have his wife. I’m not sure why he thinks that, but I’m not going to tell him otherwise. If I say I don’t have Evie, then I’m guessing this biker will just kill me right away.

“A fair trade,” I say. “I’ll bring his wife to a meeting spot of my own choosing if he brings Maria.”

“No. Not a spot of your choosing. We’re meeting at this warehouse.” He rattles off an address. “So, show up and bring Evie with you, or you’ll never see your daughter again.”

“I could just shoot you now, you know.”

Maxim opens his jacket to reveal a gun in the pocket. “You could, but I’m a quick draw. You’d be dead before you can even blink. The only reason you’re not is because we need Evie.”

“You think you’re so much better than me, but you kidnapped my daughter.”

“Dimitri kidnapped your daughter. I just helped.”

“Doesn’t matter. Anyone in league with Dimitri is an enemy in my eyes.”

“Listen, Abram, I don’t really care. Just bring Evie. The only reason you’re not dead right now is because you know where she is, and we need that information. So, bring her to the warehouse, and you’ll get your daughter back.”

I’m not stupid like this fucking biker seems to think I am. I know this is a trap. Dimitri probably won’t even show up with my daughter. But I have no other options.

He has the one thing he can use against me, and I fucking hate him for it.

“I’ll be there.”

Maxim nods and leaves without a word.

I clench my teeth together. My entire world is slipping from my fingers, and there’s only one way to stop it: Kill Dimitri Ivanov and make it slow and bloody.

DIMITRI

I arrive at the warehouse, Maria and Maxim with me. I left Katya back at the motel with the clear instructions to shoot anyone who isn’t us if they come through the door. I didn’t have to tell her how to use a gun. Our father taught her to use one when she was a little girl.

The inside of the warehouse is dank and musty and dirty. Trash is strewn all over the place. Needles are left behind on the ground. Shit that’s clearly human is smeared on the walls.

This place is fucking disgusting. So, what better of a place for Abram?

Maria holds her arms across her chest, whimpering. She reminds me so much of Evie in this moment with her brown hair and sad little face. I remind myself I’m not a colossal piece of shit. I’m going to give the girl back.

Just not until I shoot her father in the fucking face.

Abram arrives with two guards. “Maria!”

She gasps and tries to run to her father, but I grab her arm, stopping her. “You’ll get your daughter back once you give me my wife. Where is she?”

“She’s waiting outside. You won’t see her until I have my daughter next to me.”

I click my tongue. “You see, Abram, that’s not going to work. Give me Evie back. Now.”

“Not until you give me my daughter back.”

Maria whimpers. “Please. Please.”

I stare down at her scared expression. I did this to her. I made her feel this way.

Maybe I am the monster Evie said I am.

But that won’t stop me from saving her once again.

“Show me Evie, and I’ll consider giving you your daughter back.”

Abram looks down at his feet and begins to chuckle. The sound matches the dirtiness of the room. “You see, I don’t have her.” He lifts his gun, and his two guards do the same.

Maxim has his gun already drawn.

Now, the right thing to do would be to just shoot Abram. But I can’t let him win.

“You’re lying,” I growl.

“No. I’m really not.”

I look at Abram more closely, taking in his gleeful expression. He doesn’t have Evie. So, then, who does?

Fuck. Dima. Who else?

Without hesitating, I press my gun to Maria’s head.

“No!” Abram shouts.

“Then lower your fucking gun and kneel before me. Once you do that, I’ll let your daughter go.” I have to hurry this up so I can find Evie .

I don’t allow myself to even consider the fact that Evie might be dead.

She’s smart. She’ll find a way out of Dima’s clutches. She just has to.

While I have to end this with Abram.

“Please,” Maria cries. “Don’t kill me.”

“Then ask your dad to save you.”

Abram slowly lowers his gun. “Fine. You win, Dimitri. You already killed one of my daughters. I won’t let you kill the other one.”

“Tell your men to lower their guns.”

After a long beat, he nods at them, and they do as he instructs. “There. Now, give me my daughter back.”

“No.” I motion to the floor with my gun. “Get on your fucking knees.”

“I’m shocked, Dimitri. I wouldn’t have imagined you’d want this to go so easily. I would’ve thought you’d want a fight.”

“I’m done fighting. I just want this war to end.” The moment the words leave me, I realize how true they are. I know I started this war over how I treated Tatiana. But I’m done with it.

I just want Evie back in my arms. I just want to make her fully mine for the first time.

“But then you’ll kill me,” Abram says.

“I will. It’s the only way your daughter survives, Abram. You know it. I know it. Even Maxim knows it. So, let this be done.”

He huffs, and a dark gleam enters his eye. “You think this will just end? Think again?”

And then he fires.

But not at me.

At Maxim.

The bullet hits Maxim in the arm, making him stumble back, but Maxim is quick and aims his gun at Abram, who throws himself behind one of his guards. That guard gets shot in the head though the shot was meant for Abram.

I pick Maria up and run out of the warehouse. I can’t lose the little bit of leverage I have .

“Dimitri!” Maxim shouts. I know he’s asking for my help.

But I don’t give it.

I leave him behind to finish fighting my fight.

EVIE

Dima roughly grabs my arm as he forces me into his murder house. The urge to beg him for my life is on the tip of my tongue, but I hold it back. I’m not going to beg Dima for anything.

I’m going to find a way to end him.

He can’t continue killing women without facing the consequences, and it’s clear the police are no longer any help. I have to do this on my own.

“Come along,” he growls, pushing me toward a door. I slam into it, feeling the hard doorknob hit my stomach. I cry out, and I hate how weak it sounds. I hate how much power Dima and Abram and even Dimitri have over me.

Ripping the door open, he shoves me again. I stumble down a set of stairs, landing at the bottom with a huff. All the air leaves me. Pain covers my entire body.

But I’m alive. That’s what matters.

Dima smirks as he approaches me. He thinks he has this in the bag.

What he seems to have forgotten is that we’ve been here before. I’m ready for him this time.

Just like his previous house, this basement has a table in the middle of the room with another table next to it filled with scalpels and knifes and scissors.

Using all my strength, I surge to my feet and grab a scalpel off the table.

Dima hesitates just long enough for me to attack.

With a scream, I run at him and slam the scalpel into his eye. His own scream is gut-wrenching.

I try to run past him to the stairs, but he grabs my arms and shoves me to the side. I manage to stay up right.

Instinct takes over, and I run the opposite direction, deeper into the basement. There’s another door down here, and I rip it open and run down a dark hallway. Dima is right behind me.

I reach a back room that reeks of death.

One little light overhead illuminates everything. In a stack in the corner is a pile of bodies. This is where Dima has put the other women he killed.

And then I hear something. A small squeak. But it’s not an animal. It’s human.

Turning my head, I see a cage. A dog cage. And in that cage is three women, all huddled together.

“Help us,” one of them whispers.

I turn around as Dima enters the room. Without hesitating, I rip the scalpel from his eye. Blood shoots out, spraying me. Dima stumbles back, clutching at his face.

Gripping the scalpel tight, I slash at Dima and keep slashing until he runs from the room. He doesn’t try to kill me. Maybe because it’s not how he wants to do it.

But he runs.

Still holding the scalpel, I turn back to the women in the cage.

“Help us,” they all say.

There’s a lock on the cage, and I don’t have a key, but I use the scalpel and try picking it.

“Hurry,” one of them says. “He’ll come back. He always comes back.”

“I’ll get you out. Don’t worry.”

After messing with the lock for another few minutes, it’s obvious that it’s pointless. I can’t get the lock open. “I’ll need to find a key. I need to go get help.”

“No!” The one who screams is tiny and looks so young. Much younger than my twenty years. “Please just get us out.”

“I can’t. But I’m going to try.” I run away from them and back into the other part of the basement. Dima isn’t there. My eyes land on the door leading up to the main floor. I could try to run.

But I can’t just leave these girls behind.

Searching frantically for a key, my eyes finally spy something hanging against the wall on a hook. It blends right on in with the cement walls. But it’s a key.

With a gasp, I grab it and sprint back to the girls. “Let’s see if this will work.” I insert the key, and after I turn it, the lock snaps open.

The girls sob with relief.

I open the cage door and usher them out. “Listen. If we work together, we can get out of here. Ok?”

But the three of them all take off running before I finish my sentence. With no other choice, I follow them.

They rush up the stairs and enter the main part of the house. Dima still isn’t anywhere. Dealing with his messed-up eye, I’m sure. That doesn’t matter.

I just can’t shake the uneasiness as to why Dima isn’t around. Why would he just leave me unattended to let these three women out?

As the girls starts to run for the front door, but the super tiny one grabs a lamp off a side table and hits a girl over the head with it.

I stumble back in shock. “What …”

Before the other girl can react, the tiny girl hits her in the head, too.

That just leaves me.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

Tiny girl gives me a smile that chills me to the bone. “I’m Dima’s girlfriend. And I can’t let you leave.”