Page 99 of Ghost

Irinia watched, transfixed and emotionless, as Mila’s body shook involuntarily.

The chain drew her arms higher and higher, pulling her body from the floor.She couldn’t take it again.The first time had been unbearable, the second torture.The third just might break her.

She fought to stay on her toes as long as she could, but seconds later she dangled several feet off the ground, trying desperately not to move or flinch because every sway, no matter how slight, pulled excruciatingly on her wrists, made the metal cut even deeper into her flesh.

“Alexei would be disappointed in you,” Irinia said.

Mila opened her eyes to stare down at the horrendous woman only feet away.

She tsked.“So disappointed.We’ve been at this not even an hour and you look ready to pass out.I knew that useless man was too soft on you.”

Anger surged through her like a tidal wave.She swung one of her legs as hard as she could, and her foot connected with Irinia’s jaw.The woman’s head snapped to the side.

She didn’t fall.But she stumbled.And goddammit, seeing the bitch weaken even a little brought life back into Mila’s depleted cells.

Irinia slowly turned back to Mila, her eyes glowing with rage and her face pinched.There was a large red mark on her skin, and the impact of Mila’s kick had shaken some of Irinia’s hair loose from her bun.

The man operating the crank whispered something sharply to the other man in the barn.Then silence flattened the air.

“You will pay for that,Malyshka,” Irinia hissed.She turned on her heel and stormed across the barn.“Continue.I will be back in the morning.”She slammed the door behind her.

Mila struggled to take a breath.Her shoulders threatened to leap from their sockets, her arms to separate from her wrists.Tears stung her eyes.

Hate reawakened inside her, bringing a pulse to that part of her that’d died.She’d always resented Irinia.Always despised the woman.But this...this was twenty years of rage rushing through her.

Now, at twenty-nine years old, she didn’t care what Irinia had done in the past.She wouldn’t be afraid of her again.If she was to die this way, so be it.But she wasn’t going down without a fight, nor was she going alone.

If Irinia wanted her dead, she was coming with her.

Numbness spread down her arms.Her hands had lost feeling long ago.Slowly the crank was unwound.A gulp of relief hit her throat as her feet touched the ground.Unable to hold herself upright, she sank to the floor like a wet rag.

She fell forward and curled on her side.The men might see her as pitiful, but she knew her body’s limitations.She had to rest any way she could.The musty scent of hay tickled her nostrils as she swallowed one deep breath after another.

Voices carried through the barn, but she could make out only one word:water.

Unease gripped her.She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to focus on her breath.The feeling returned to her arms and fingers, and the stinging sensation of blood returning to deprived extremities was almost as painful as being hung by her hands.

Warmth coated her wrists.She opened her eyes and stared at where the shackles looped around her.Blood oozed from the raw and red skin.

Mila fought a wave of emotion.More than anything, she wanted Ghost.Not just to rescue her, but to make her feel safe.To wrap his strong, warm arms around her.

A memory struck her—a man sneaking down the hallway toward Ghost’s room while she was held in the kitchen with a rag over her mouth.

Oh, god.

Had the attacker succeeded?He couldn’t have.Ghost was too strong.Too dangerous.

Still, doubt hit her from all angles.A small cry escaped her lips as she coiled her knees tightly to her abdomen.

She couldn’t believe someone had killed him.Wouldn’t allow her mind to go there.

If he was alive, he’d search for her.As flimsy as that hope was, she clung to it.

Footsteps scuffed across the floor, growing closer and closer.Panic weighed down her limbs.

She might not live to find out if Ghost was alive.

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