Now, my brain was running away with all the different scenarios that could happen next. I might be murdered, tortured, sold into slavery, or maybe held for ransom. The Bratva wasn’t known for their kindness, and Sergei wouldn’t take mercy on me, just because we were distantly related by blood.
I twisted my wrists in the zip tie that held them bound together, but it was too tight for me to slip out of. The motion rubbed my wrists raw, and the hard plastic cut into my flesh, drawing blood.
The man carried me outside, his companion sticking close. However, instead of throwing me into the trunk of a car, they carried me toward the wooded area of Richard’s property. I wracked my brain to remember what Nina told me about what was out here. She said the landscaping was only a small part of the land, and the rest was used as a barrier to the outside. It looked like I was about to be killed and buried within sight of my new home.
I renewed my struggles, because if I were about to die, I had nothing to lose. I would fight with every last breath that I had. I kicked wildly and bucked my entire body as I attempted to loosen the man’s hold on me.
He grunted as I managed to land a kick, but then abruptly lowered me to the ground. I was a little shocked that he did so gently, instead of just dropping me from shoulder height.
I wasn’t willing to give up or miss an opportunity for escape, so I leaned back and aimed a kick at his knee. He cursed, and the second man laughed.
I froze when I recognized that voice and laugh.
“Kingston! Maverik!”
Of course, my indignant shouting just came out as incomprehensible, muffled mumbling, but I was beyond furious. Those two idiots had me convinced that I was being kidnapped by the Bratva.
I scooted forward and kicked out at Maverik again, but this time he managed to dodge me. He lowered the balaclava mask that hid his face and scowled at me. I shouted at him through the cloth gag despite knowing he wouldn’t understand a word I was saying. He could definitely feel the rage coming off me, though.
Maverik knelt next to me. “I’m going to take the gag off, but don’t scream.”
I nodded as if I were stupid enough to agree to that, then waited until he removed it and sat back on his heels before I screamed as loud as I could.
“Shut up,” he hissed at me as he clapped his hand back over my mouth.
I glared at him defiantly. He dragged me out of bed, scared the crap out of me, then expected me to blindly obey him?
Nope. He was in for a rough time.
Kingston patted me on the head. “Calm down, KittyKat. We just want to talk.”
Maverik cautiously removed his hand from my mouth, and I had never wanted to stab someone so much before in my life.
“What is wrong with you?” I hissed at them.
Maverik smiled, but the threat was clear in his eyes. “We want to make sure you understand precisely how precarious your position is here. If we want you gone, we can make it happen.”
I snorted. “Why are you targeting me? Do this shit to Nina.”
Kingston and Maverik exchanged a glance.
“I don’t believe you’re completely innocent in all of this,” Maverik stated bluntly. “I think you know exactly what Nina’s planning.”
I rolled my eyes. “She’s planning on marrying your dad, you idiots. He has billions of dollars, in case you were unaware.”
Maverik watched me closely, but he didn’t answer.
“Untie me,” I demanded.
Kingston laughed. “We could put the gag back in and leave you out here for the rest of the night.”
“I will seriously murder you,” I threatened.
Maverik tilted his head to one side. “I don’t think you understand what we’re trying to show you right now.”
“Oh, I do,” I said as I tried to toss my loose hair out of my face. “I understand that the two of you are absolute psychos.”
Maverik flashed a disturbing smile at me, and Kingston patted me on the head again. “And don’t you forget it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Lesson learned, now untie me so I can go back to bed.”
“Tell me this,” Maverik said. “What did your mom ask you to do to ‘cement’ the marriage?”
I huffed. “She just wants me to pretend that we’re a normal mother and daughter. She doesn’t want Richard to know that she’s an evil, heartless bitch.”
“You’re not doing a very good job of that,” Kingston pointed out.
“No shit, Sherlock,” I said sarcastically. “That’s why she’s so pissed off at me.”
Kingston looked over at Maverik, as if he was looking for permission. Maverik nodded, and Kingston whipped out a knife to cut my bonds. I flinched as the cold metal touched my skin before the zip tie snapped apart, but rubbed my wrists as soon as they were free.
“Shit,” Kingston said as he grabbed my arm to examine my wrist. “We didn’t mean to actually hurt you.”
Maverik cursed, but I saw a flash of regret on his face. That was shocking, but he should have probably thought this through better.
I
