Page 60 of King of Malice

“I don’t think so,” Dimitri answers, his fingers not changing tempo, just continuing their light strokes. My fingers dig into his thigh as though I’m preparing for an onslaught. My grip is so tight, I’m likely bruising his skin.

This is my worst nightmare.

Five men running at me with the intent of forcibly taking me. I grip Dimitri even tighter. He promised me no one would ever hurt me.

In this moment, I cling to that promise exactly like I cling to his leg.

“You don’t have a choice.”

“Oh, but he does…” the man in black answers. If Dimitri is frightening with his tattoos, this man…

He truly looks like the devil. Dark hair and eyes and the sharp sort of locks that add this sinister air to his appearance.

He swings one of the two pistols around, pointing at Dimitri or Trent. I can’t be sure. “You can try…” he drawls in this emotionally detached voice that makes the hair on my neck stand up. “But you’ll never make it to your Porsche.”

“You think you can stop a Russian?” Trent spits.

“Me alone? Probably. Yeah. But my four brothers are waiting for you just in case I don’t.” The man in black replies, sounding equal parts bored and confident.

Trent lowers the gun a foot, a grimace pulling at his mouth.

But the man in black isn’t finished speaking. “Just so we’re all on the same page, Dimitri, he betrayed you and sold you out to your father, to get his Anastasia returned. Jake tapped his phone.”

“I had already puzzled all that out,” Dimitri answers with a quiet calm that helps my arms relax. Dimitri doesn’t sound worried, his touch remaining light. I tilt my head up to look at him, his fingers stroking through my hair.

“I had no choice,” Trent rumbles, baring his teeth. “Your father made that clear.”

He doesn’t look down, his gaze fixed on Trent. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

Dimitri makes a small snarling noise. “You had better be lying, because if you’re not, you’re a fool.”

“You ought to understand,” Trent fires back, his voice taking on a snarl. “Anastasia is the love of my life.”

Dimitri’s jaw goes rock hard. “I do. But I also know that I’d never sacrifice another person’s loved one for my own goals. I’d just fight harder.”

Trent roars. “I tried to protect you. Telling you about her spying and her deceit. She betrayed you. You should let her go, trade her for your sisters, while your father still thinks she holds value to you.”

Blood roars in my ears. Would Dimitri do that? Would he trade me for them? My eyes squeeze shut and a small sob breaks from my lips as I realize the men hunting me was not my worst nightmare.

This is.

The idea that the person I let past my defenses won’t love me back. That I’m too broken, not lovable. This is why I’ve hidden myself away all this time. Clung to Cadence.

Because letting another person in, it opens me to experience the hurt all over again.

Dimitri’s fingers move from my scalp, down to my jaw, the tips lightly dancing over my skin. “Hush, milaya,” he whispers into the night. “You’re safe with me.”

I look up at him, so strong and tall, his jaw set in a resolute line. And I just know…

I can trust Dimitri.

I press my cheek to the inside of his thigh. Dimitri has always been a man of principle. Even before my mind could believe it, I felt it deep in my heart.

He’ll do everything in his power to keep me safe.

And there isn’t anything I wouldn’t give to him. By his side is where I am meant to be.