Page 39 of Her Darkest Possession

The tears I've been holding back finally spill over. I pull Amara into my arms, holding her tight against me. She hugs me back just as fiercely, and for a moment, we cling to each other in a world that's tried its damnedest to rip us apart.

When we finally break apart, I wipe my eyes and take a deep breath.

"I need to go downstairs for a minute," I say quietly.

Amara nods, understanding immediately what I'm not saying. Her eyes darken. "Don't let that monster have any mercy."

"I won't," I whisper.

I leave her room and walk down the staircase, my steps steady and purposeful. When I reach the basement door, I pause for just a moment before pulling it open.

The sound reaches me first. Dull thuds of fists meeting flesh, followed by muffled groans. Next comes the smell, metallic and sharp. It's the unmistakable scent of blood rising from the darkness below.

As I descend into the shadows, I remember the last time I walked down a set of basement steps with Anatoly, to witness him kill the men who murdered my parents.

I felt then like I was descending into hell itself, and Anatoly is the avenging devil of my dreams.

But this time is different.

This time,Iam the devil.

11

ANATOLY

Blood spraysacross the basement floor.

Grisha spits out a tooth and continues to laugh at me. The chains binding him to the chair rattles as he does so. The sound crawls under my skin like a parasite that I can't dislodge.

"Is that all you've got, Baryshev?" Blood bubbles between his lips as he speaks. "And here I thought I was just starting to feel something."

I hit him again, harder this time. Behind me, Roma shifts as he waits for his turn while Vassily watches with cold detachment. We've been at this non-stop since we came back with Amara.

And no matter how hard I hit him, Grisha won't shut his mouth.

"You know," Grisha wheezes. "When my sister gets word of this... she'll make sure your whore pays." He grins through his bloody mask. "Maybe we'll even putherin a cage."

My vision blurs red. I grab his throat, squeezing until his eyes bulge.

"My family will burn your whole world down," he gasps when I loosen my grip. "And I'll be waiting in hell for you to join me."

I know what he's doing. The rational part of my brain recognizes it perfectly. He wants me to end this quickly and kill him in rage to end his suffering.

But a quick death is too merciful for what he's done.

"You touched my wife," I say, my voice deadly calm as I release his throat. "You tried to rape her. You threatened our child."

Grisha spits blood onto my shoes. "And I'd do it again. Your bitch?—"

This time the orbital bone around his eye cracks from the blow. Blood drips down from his eye.

"When my family avenges me," he pants, "everything I did will seem like kindness. Whatever you do to me... they'll repay it ten times on her. On her sister."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I bellow, my fist connecting with Grisha's jaw again.

My knuckles are raw and bleeding, but I can't stop. Every time I look at this piece of shit, I see him touching Indigo on that train. I see him threatening our unborn child. I see him putting his filthy hands on my wife.

I hit him harder. And harder. His head snaps back with each blow.