I keep running away when George grabs me by the hair and yanks my head back, throwing me to the ground. I scream as he gets on top of me.
But before he can bring the knife to my throat, I use my hand to hit him between the legs. He groans and flinches back, giving me just enough time to wiggle out from under him. George only grabs my legs and pulls me back to him though. Nikolai – who I’m sure is looking for me by now – is not going to find me here in time. I have to save myself.
When George swipes the knife towards my face, I use that moment to grab his wrist and bite down. He growls and his hold on the knife loosens. My fingers fight against his own as I try to grab it.
That’s when he punches me in the gut. I’m still a little achy there from when Alexei hurt me so I can’t stop myself from falling onto my back, giving George the chance to get back on top of me.
He raises the knife high. I muster up all the strength I can and grab onto his hands as he brings the knife down. I just barely keep him from killing me.
“Stop fighting,” he growls. “I am going to win and you know it.”
“No. I have been through too much just to give up now.” And I know in this moment, I never should have left Nikolai’s side again. I was just so angry with him for making a deal with my dad that I lost sight of everything. But I know now: Nikolai is the only one who can, for a fact, protect me, and I left him.
If I make it through this, I’ll never leave him again. I’ll put my hatred for my dad aside. I’ll try to be as happy as I can be with my husband.
Just let me make it through this.
George is stronger than me and eventually, my arms give out. He brings the knife down but I manage to roll out of the way to avoid getting stabbed in the heart. George is stunned for a moment and I use that against him.
I grab the knife and slash his arm with it, and after getting to my feet, I back away from him. George comes back at me and I know I’m going to have to get close enough to hurt him. To stop him.
So I don’t run.
He grabs my arms but I’m ready. As he brings me towards him, I use the knife to stab him in the gut. He grunts and backs away from me, shocked I actually managed to stab him.
In his shock, I stab him in the stomach again. I can’t risk him being fine enough to come back at me. He falls to his knees, fear in his eyes. His stomach is bleeding out fast.
I can only watch as he falls over and bleeds out before me. It takes a few minutes and then he’s gone. I killed him.
With a gasp, I drop the knife and back away from him. I have to get out of here. I have to get back to Nik.
I run up the stairs and reach the basement door… only to find that it’s locked with a keypad. I need the code to get out of here. Going back to George, it takes all my courage to rummage through his pockets, searching for the code, but I don’t find it. I’m stuck in here with a dead body.
And I’m not sure I’ll ever be found.
Nikolai
It takes me a few hours to realize that Irina is gone.
I go to check on her in the guest room, see if she’s cooled down, but what I find is that she’s not there. After checking the entire house, I realize she ran again. Sergei, my guard out front, tells me he hasn’t seen her either. Clever girl must have snuck away somehow.
But she’s also naïve. Alexei could get his hands on her again and I will do anything to protect my wife.
My phone dings, letting me know that Irina has used the credit card I gave her. She checked into a hotel not far from here. I don’t hesitate to hurry over there.
“I need the room for Irina Volkov,” I say to the woman behind the front desk. “I’m her husband.”
“I’ll need to see some ID.”
After showing it to her, the woman seems more at ease. She tells me that Irina is in room 501. I practically run to the elevators. People walking past me give me a wide berth. Good. My wife left me again, so I know I’m radiating anger. I need to get her back.
But when I knock on her door, she doesn’t answer. “Irina. Come on.”
Nothing. No sound. It is dark out. Maybe she’s asleep. I keep knocking and knocking… but nothing.
A maid walks past, pushing a cart.
“Excuse me,” I say. “I think my wife might be hurt. Can you open this door for me to check? I lost my key.” I give her my most charming smile and it warms her up to me.