Page 43 of Sweet Obsession (Savage Vow #1)

MISHA

I was still in Colombia when they dropped me.

One moment I was hanging upside down, blood rushing to my skull, body screaming from the strain, then I was falling.

I hit the concrete hard. Knees, ribs, shoulder. Something cracked. My vision blurred. My head throbbed.

They blindfolded me. Cuffed my wrists behind my back. Chained my ankles.

Dragged me like dead weight from one hell into another.

Jet engines. Heat. Noise. Then silence.

I blacked out somewhere mid-flight. Came to again on cold cement.

My wrists burned. My shoulders were locked in place.

I couldn’t lift my head.

But I recognized the voices.

Chernov. Lev. Alexei.

The Odessa brothers.

Three devils in tailored suits. Sitting in front of me like judges at an execution.

“Look at this mess,” Chernov drawled. “You always had the face for martyrdom, Misha.”

Lev snorted. “He looks like someone pissed on his soul.”

Alexei leaned forward. “Correction. Smells like it.”

They laughed.

My jaw clenched. Blood pooled under my tongue. I said nothing.

Chernov lifted a finger. “Drink. Let’s be civil.”

A servant brought a cup to my lips. I didn’t trust it—but I drank anyway. Weakness tasted like cool relief, until it turned.

Bitter. Warm. Wrong.

I gagged. Spat.

Their laughter echoed around the room.

“That was my piss,” Chernov said, smiling like he’d just made art. “A royal pour.”

The rage came fast—violent and pure. I wanted to lunge. To rip his throat out with my teeth.

But I was tied down. Still. Helpless.

Chernov leaned in. His voice dropped. “Don’t worry. You won’t die yet.”

His eyes glittered.

“Luna’s on her way.”

My heart stopped.

“No,” I rasped. “Impossible. My men...”

“She walked in, Misha. No guards. No backup. Just like I told her.”

He smiled wider.

“She wants to see you. She wants to save you.”

He stood slowly. “So I’ll reward her. I’ll fuck her right here in front of you. Make sure you hear every scream.”

Something cracked inside me.

Not bones.

Something deeper.

I didn’t flinch. Didn’t give him a reaction. But inside—I was fire.

Alexei shifted in his seat, grinning. “Won’t I get a taste too, brother?”

Chernov didn’t miss a beat. “Of course,” he said, his voice smooth and low. “Even spineless Lev gets a turn. We’ll pass her around like a bottle of vodka.”

He leaned in close, his breath hot and sour against my skin.

“But let’s not forget,” he whispered, “she’s mine first. My prize. My plaything.”

They were still talking when his phone buzzed.

He answered it on speaker.

Static. Then...

Her voice.

“I’m at the entrance. Just like you said. I want to see him.”

It hit me like a bullet.

My lungs emptied. My vision turned white.

She came.

She fucking came.

She walked in? Alone? That wasn’t possible. Oleg wouldn’t have let her—unless she came behind his back. Unless she thought she could save me.

The thread holding me together snapped.

And I was gone.

Not dead.

Worse.

Awake.

They were bringing her in.

I heard it—boots scraping concrete, the metallic click of the lock turning, a door opening like a funeral bell tolling.

No.

No.

This wasn’t real.

But then I heard her voice.

Soft. Breathless. Too calm.

“Where is he?”

She was close. Too fucking close.

And I—I couldn’t move. Couldn’t scream at her to turn back. Couldn’t shield her from what was waiting. From the wolves with knives behind their teeth and rot in their eyes.

Chernov’s mouth twisted in anticipation.

Lev stood and straightened his cuffs like he was dressing for a date.

Alexei just licked his lips and grinned at me.

They were excited.

I was dying.

A guard shoved her forward, and suddenly she was there.

Hair loose. Skin pale. Eyes wild.

Luna.

And she saw me.

Tied to the chair. Barefoot. Shirt torn open. My ribs purple and bruised. Blood crusted to my temple. I looked like something dragged from the bottom of a grave.

Her face cracked. “Misha...”

She took a step forward.

“No,” Chernov said, holding up a hand. “Let’s keep the distance. For now.”

She froze, and that was when I saw it—fear. But worse, she wasn’t afraid for herself.

She was afraid for me.

And I broke.

Not visibly. Not in the way she would see. But inside, I came apart. Because I had made a vow. And my men had betrayed it. Or maybe she had. Maybe she had chosen this. Chosen me.

She should’ve stayed behind the walls I built for her.

Safe. Locked away like treasure.

Instead, she walked straight into hell.

“Touch her,” I said hoarsely, “and I swear...”

“You’ll what?” Chernov cut me off, sauntering toward her like a snake sizing up its prey. “You’re not in a position to threaten anyone, Misha.”

Alexei laughed and crouched beside me, fingers tapping against my knee like he was testing its strength. “I bet you’re wondering if she’s worth dying for. We’re about to find out if she’s worth screaming for.”

Lev leaned toward Luna. “He begged for water, you know. Drank piss like a dog.”

“Enough!” I roared, the sound scraping up from somewhere primal. It tore my throat raw. “Get away from her.”

But my body didn’t follow my voice. It stayed tied. Broken. Useless.

Luna didn’t flinch. Not once.

She just looked at me, tears brimming, then turned to Chernov with disgust. “You’re pathetic.”

He chuckled. “Maybe. But I’m also patient. And you—you’re going to beg me not to kill him when I bend you over this table.”

My veins turned to fire. My vision pulsed black at the edges.

Alexei leaned in, whispering so only I could hear, “She’s got a nice mouth. Bet it’ll look prettier with my cock down her throat.”

“Or mine,” Lev chimed, laughing as he reached for her arm.

She smacked him.

The sound cracked through the room like a gunshot.

The three brothers stilled.

Lev’s smile faded.

Alexei’s jaw ticked.

But Chernov just tilted his head.

“Feisty,” he said. “I like that. Let’s break it.”

She was going to die.

They were going to...

And I...

I was tied to a chair, tasting copper, my body shaking not from pain but rage. Pure, concentrated rage. If I could rip the tendons from my own wrists to get free, I would’ve done it in that second.

But all I could do was watch as Chernov grabbed her by the jaw, forcing her to look at me.

“This is what he brought you to,” he hissed. “This is what love looks like.”

She didn’t look away.

She didn’t blink.

She just whispered, “You won’t win.”

But I didn’t hear hope in her voice.

I heard goodbye.

And that—that was what broke me.

Not their threats. Not their piss. Not the pain.

Her voice. Her softness. Her stupid, suicidal loyalty.

Because now, it wasn’t just my death they wanted.

It was hers.

And if I couldn’t stop them—if I couldn’t tear this fucking room apart with my bare hands—then I’d find another way. Another weapon. Another kind of war.

Even if it meant becoming something I could never come back from.

LUNA

They thought I came alone.

That I walked blindly into this slaughterhouse because love made me stupid.

Let them believe it.

Oleg and Nikolai were already in motion. This wasn’t a rescue. It was an execution, just not mine.

But first, I had to play their game.

“You think I need to force her?” Chernov murmured, stepping behind Misha with a glinting blade in hand. “I won’t have to lift a finger before she strips herself bare. I know exactly how to break her.”

He pressed the knife to Misha’s throat. Blood bloomed instantly, a crimson thread running down his neck.

“Misha!” I gasped, instinct dragging me a step forward before I stopped myself. My pulse thundered in my ears.

One wrong move before the signal and we’d both be dead. That beep wasn’t just permission—it meant the path was clear.

I froze. My heart jackhammered. Every instinct screamed don’t, but the knife pressed deeper into Misha’s throat.

“Now!” he barked.

The blade bit deeper. Misha’s body jerked, a low groan escaping him.

My hands shook. I had to buy time. Just a little more.

“I will,” I whispered. “Don’t hurt him. Please.”

Lev grinned. “Knew you’d break.” He circled behind me and slapped my ass. Hard.

Misha roared, his body convulsing against the restraints, veins bulging with helpless rage.

“Look at your mighty Pakhan now,” Alexei murmured, unzipping his pants, hand already stroking. His eyes devoured me. “We haven’t even touched you yet, and he’s falling apart.”

Misha’s eyes locked with mine—pure fire. Blood trickled from his lip where he’d bitten down, hard enough to split it.

I reached for the hem of my dress. Slowly. Deliberately.

Chernov chuckled. “Take your time. Even if it takes an hour, we’ll wait. You’re a performance, sweetheart.”

The fabric fell to the floor. I stood in tight leggings and a fitted top. Covered. Still armed beneath.

Chernov’s face twisted. “You came dressed like a nun to a blood ritual?” he snarled. “Strip. Everything. Or I carve another hole in him.”

I didn’t move.

Alexei approached, gripped my hair, yanked hard. “Enough. You’re wasting our time.”

Chernov’s voice was razor-sharp. “We could tear it off you. But we won’t. You’ll do it yourself. Or you’ll watch your lover die screaming.”

I stared at Misha. His eyes pleaded. Not with fear. With fury. Don’t do it.

Still, I didn’t move.

So Chernov drove the knife into Misha’s hand.

His scream split the air—raw, animal, unbearable.

“No!” I cried, ripping at my shirt. Buttons popped. Fabric tore.

And then...

The signal.

A low, distant pulse in my earpiece. One long beep.

They were in.

I reached behind me, yanked free the device strapped to my lower back—a small timed explosive, just enough to shock and disorient.

I threw it to the far side of the room and sprinted the opposite direction.

The charge popped... smoke, blinding light, enough to turn trained killers into fumbling shadows.

“Get that bitch!” Chernov snarled.

Lev and Alexei bolted after me. Chernov stayed with Misha, pressing the knife deeper.

The device exploded... light, heat, smoke. Screams.

I ducked, rolled behind a steel pillar. Lev lunged, missed. I slammed a pipe into his gut.

Alexei tackled me. I elbowed his throat, grabbed his gun, fired—miss. Fired again—blood. He dropped.

I ran back. The smoke parted like curtains...

Chernov stood over Misha, blade raised.

I screamed and charged.

He turned too slow. I slashed across his face. Blood sprayed. He staggered back, clutching his cheek.

“You think you’ve won?” he roared, fury blazing through the pain. “If your death is the price, I’ll take it. We’ll all burn together!”

I barely had time to register the second charge flashing red from where I’d hidden it.

This one wasn’t smoke and distraction, it was real.

The second blast tore through the room like a wrecking ball.

Walls buckled. Heat and shrapnel punched the air from my lungs. The ground jumped beneath me.

We flew—Misha, Chernov, me—all flung in different directions as fire chewed through metal and concrete.

Everything blurred.

And still... I crawled toward him.

Smoke. Fire. Screams.

The blast had torn through the far side of the compound, collapsing part of the ceiling and flinging bodies like dolls. But Chernov wasn’t dead.

Neither was Misha.

I choked on dust, ears ringing as I forced myself up. Every bone ached. My vision blurred—but I could make out the twisted chair, toppled sideways, and Misha’s blood-slicked body slumped against it.

I crawled. My knees burned over broken glass and scorched tile.

He was conscious—but barely. Pale. Bleeding from his throat, his hand, his wrists. His chest heaved with shallow, ragged breaths.

“Misha,” I rasped, grabbing his face. “Look at me.”

His eyelids fluttered. “Luna... run...”

“No,” I growled, dragging myself to his side. “I didn’t come this far to watch you die.”

His arms were bound with reinforced leather and chains—sick bastards weren’t taking chances. I found a knife—Chernov’s, still sticky with Misha’s blood—and began sawing through it.

Gunfire rang out in the distance. Not from Nikolai. Not Oleg.

They’d failed.

We were alone.

The knot refused to give. I screamed in frustration and used the blade, ripping into the leather until it gave way, freeing one arm. Then the next.

He collapsed forward with a groan, heavy against me.

“Can you walk?”

His answer was a grunt and a slow nod. Barely.

I dragged him. His steps were drunken, barely coordinated. Each breath a wheeze of pain. But he stayed on his feet.

I got his arm around my shoulder, and we staggered toward the hallway. My legs trembled under his weight, but adrenaline shoved us forward.

Then

“There!”

Lev. Face bloodied. Eyes murderous.

I turned and fired the gun I’d taken from Alexei. One shot caught his leg. He screamed and went down.

I aimed again—click. Empty. Useless. I tossed it, but another shadow lunged—Alexei wasn’t dead.

He tackled me from the side, and we crashed into the wall. His hands clawed at my throat.

“I’ll fucking kill you, you little bitch...”

I grabbed the shard of broken glass and drove it into his eye. He screamed, flailed—then went limp.

I shoved him off. Blood covered my hands. My face.

I reached for Misha again. He was on his knees now, shaking.

“I’ve got you,” I whispered, voice cracking. “Almost there.”

We turned the corner...

Chernov.

Face slashed, eye bleeding, gun raised.

“You don’t leave,” he hissed, hand trembling on the trigger. “You don’t get to take him. You’re mine...”

I didn’t hesitate.

I threw the third charge. Smaller, improvised. Just a flashbang—but enough.

The explosion lit the corridor white. Chernov screamed, clutching his face.

I pulled Misha down another hallway, kicked open the emergency door, and stumbled into the night.

We were outside. Still inside the compound walls—but near the perimeter now.

There were more guards. Shouting. Flashlights sweeping the yard.

I dragged Misha toward a ruined truck, pushed him behind it just as bullets tore through the air.

I grabbed a pistol from a dead guard and fired back. Three shots. One went down. The others ducked.

“Misha, stay with me.”

“I’m not leaving you,” he gasped. “You hear me? I’ll fucking crawl.”

He didn’t have to. I saw it, a hole in the perimeter wall, half-collapsed from the blast. A way out.

We ran. Limped. Crawled.

Behind us, I heard Chernov’s scream echo into the night. Vengeful. Promising hell.

We didn’t stop.

Not until we were miles away. Covered in blood. Alive.

But barely.