“Where are you taking us?” I ask.
“To my home.”
I freeze. It takes me a few seconds before I can speak again. “But why? Mikhail is out looking for us.”
“I didn’t get to finish teaching you girls a lesson.”
His words shock me to my core. Andrei is deranged. Truly deranged.
I glance back at my sisters and see Mila huddled against Vik while Vik holds her head high. She won’t let Andrei embarrass her again. So, if she’s not going to, then I can’t let myself be embarrassed either.
I watch Andrei as he drives, not letting him out of my sight once. Andrei occasionally glances at me, almost like he’s … fearful. He knows Mikhail is looking for me. He’s not supposed to be doing this.
That gives me some small sense of satisfaction.
Andrei eventually pulls up to a house that is quite grand and very Victorian-looking. Mikhail must be paying Andrei well to afford a home like this.
“Get out,” Andrei says.
“No,” Vik replies. I can visibly see Andrei grit his teeth. He hates my sister. It’s obvious. He grabs a gun from his pocket and aims it at her head.
“I said, get out.”
Mila opens the door and pulls Vik along with her. I swear, Vik would choose to get shot in the head before ever submitting to a man. Andrei turns to me. “Your turn.”
I slowly get out of the car, keeping my eyes on Andrei. He grabs my arm once he’s out and tugs me toward his house. Mila grabs my other arm, clinging to both Vik and me.
The inside of the house is quite warm—brown wood tones and low lighting. It would be romantic if Andrei weren’t so scary.
Andrei makes us stand in a line in the living room as he walks back and forth, pointing his gun at his. Mila whimpers as tears stream down her face.
“Andrei,” I say. “Don’t do this. Mikhail will find me, and he won’t like that you’re doing this to me.”
“Shut up,” he growls. “You tried to leave your husband. It was obvious you and your sisters were on the run. He won’t be happy with me, but he definitely won’t be happy with you.” He turns his gun onto Vik. “Get on your knees and crawl to me.”
“No,” she says in a clear voice.
“Get on your knees.”
“No.”
Andrei huffs and grabs Vik by the back of her head, forcing her down. The cry that escapes her shocks me. My older sister is always so stern, sometimes to her own detriment, but that’s her one quality I can depend on.
And Andrei just took that away from her.
He shoves her face against the carpet. “I told you to crawl for me.”
I startle when I see tears run down Vik’s face. I’ve never seen her cry before.
Andrei lets Vik go and backs up. After a moment, Vik slowly begins to crawl toward him. It’s humiliating what Andrei is doing to my sister. It’s disgusting.
“How does that feel?” he taunts. “You tried to reject me. You’re nothing.”
Mila cries against my shoulder.
I watch as Vik reaches Andrei’s feet. He grabs the back of her head and shoves her against the floor again.
My strong older sister. I may not always get along with Vik—we tend to fight more than anything— but she’s still my sister. And Andrei has no right to treat her this way.
No one does.
We are not playthings for these men. We’re women. Human beings. And we should be treated as such.
Acting on instinct, I walk up to Andrei and slap him across the face.
The room goes silent.
Andrei turns his cold gaze onto me. “Oh. So, you want to play now, is that it?”
“I do,” I snarl and reach for his gun. My fingers wrap around it as he tries jerking it away. We fight for the gun. It ends up pointed at the ceiling, and a round is fired.
“Run!” I shout at my sisters. “Run!”
Mila helps Vik up, and they hurry for the front door. Even with her cast on, Vik is still moving fast.
Andrei rips the gun away from me and shoves me onto the ground. I land with a huff.
“You think you’re so smart.” He stands over me, pointing his gun at my face. “But you are nothing.”
