Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
I throw my weight into the door again, and it splinters, falling to the ground.
Lydia’s in the middle of the room, gagged and tied to the chair, naked. I see red momentarily and take a deep breath to clear my vision. Lightning strikes overhead. She’s shaking her head as if to warn me, her eyes wide with terror. I feel someone behind me and immediately snap into action the way Kolya taught me.
I pivot swiftly on my heel, blindly grab for the arm reaching for me, twisting it sharply and forcing my assailant to his knees with a pained grunt. Lightning strikes again, illuminating the face I fully expected to see—Timur Yudin, his face twisted in shock and pain. I stare into the face of my enemy for only a second before I drive my knee into his ribcage, winding him. He collapses to the ground.
“Stay down,” I growl, my voice low and menacing as I pin him beneath me. “Down.”
The room is a mix of shadows and flashes of light from the storm outside. I turn my attention back to her, tied to the chair, vulnerable and scared.
“Are you alright?”
She nods and blinks, fat tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Did he hurt you?” I’m barely breathing, holding out for her answer.
Swallowing, she nods. I turn back to him and lift him by the back of the head, slamming his face into the wooden floor. He lies limp beneath me. I look up at her, and she shakes her head, her eyes widening as Yudin comes to life beneath me and slashes at me with a blade. It slices into my bare chest, and pain radiates through me. I hit him again and again, but he fights hard.
With a roar, I grab him and slam him into the floor. The force of the impact knocks the knife from his hand. I lift him and slam him against the wall. His head cracks against it. A lamp crashes to the floor as thunder rolls overhead, lightning coming closer. I unleash a flurry of hard, deadly punches, each one driven by years of pent-up fury and the need to punish him for hurting my Lydia. Blood splatters with every hit, his face a broken, unrecognizable mess.
He crumples to the ground, and I kick him away. He doesn’t move.
I lift him with one arm and drag him behind me, holding onto him with my left arm as I bend and take the blade he used against me. I slash at the knot where the rope tied her up. I can’t cut it into shreds like I want to.
I need that rope.
Lydia rushes to my side, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and relief. I pull her into my arms, holding her tight against me.
I slam Yudin into the same chair he used for her. He slumps forward, one eye swollen shut and the other focused with hatred on me.
“I’d slit your throat,” I growl at him, shaking my head. “But I won’t take this from her. You don’t get to see her naked, you fucking asshole.” I lift the knife. “Turn away, Lydia.”
She buries her head in my shoulder while I advance on him. He screams in terror while I slice at his face and blind him. Blood drips down his face in torrents. I throw the blade to the floor.
“I want you to know what you lost. You wanted her money. You wanted the power. You hurt her mother and tried to hurt the woman I love. You worthless piece of shit.” I turn to her, my hands covered in blood. My thumb slips along her cheek as I raise her face to look into mine.
“It’s over,” I murmur into her hair. “He’ll never hurt you again.”
Lydia pulls back slightly, looking up at me with tears in her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispers, her voice trembling. “Oh God, I was scared. I still am.”
“We’re going to end that now. You’re safe, baby.” I cup her face in my hands, my thumb brushing away a tear. A streak of red smears across her cheek, and I kiss her temple. “I’ll always protect you, Lydia. No one will ever harm you as long as I draw breath.”
“I love you,” I say to her as the sound of rain overhead begins to slow. “He will never, ever hurt you again,” I repeat. I want her to know this down in her bones.
She nods, blinking tears away. “And I love you, Viktor. Let’s end this. Let’s end this once and for all.”
I look around the cabin and find a fireplace with firewood and lighter fluid.
Perfect.
I lift a blanket from the bed and cover her with it.
Hand her the matches.
Lift the lighter fluid and douse the cabin with it. The liquid sloshes onto the floor. I make sure Yudin’s fucking drenched.