Page 104 of Mission Shift

“And you know how I like breaking wild things.”

I spat a curse under my breath.

His men laughed again.

Malinov grinned and pulled away, dragging the knife’s edge along my jaw and down my throat—just enough to intimidate, not enough to break the skin.

The door slammed open again.

At the same time, a scream tore through the air, raw and desperate, before breaking into a ragged sob.

I struggled so hard to turn it hurt.

I knew that voice.

No!

The metal cuffs dug into my wrists as I twisted against them. I yanked, wrenched, trying to force my head around, desperate to see, my shoulders screaming in protest.

Boots scuffled as a struggle ensued. Then there was a harsh smack followed by a whimper.

Not her. Not her.

I fought harder—just enough to see a form being dragged into the room between two men.

A mess of dark hair. A black and white servant’s dress.

Svetlana!

A sharp breath shot through my nose. My heart slammed against my ribs.

Her wide, frantic eyes locked onto mine, and terror cracked through me like lightning.

Two of Malinov’s men dragged her closer to me. Her hands clawed at the arms holding her.

“No—please,” she choked, her breath shuddering. “Please—I did nothing!”

Malinov’s men moved toward me and unlocked the cuffs. My arms dropped, fire racing through my shoulders as blood surged back into my hands.

I’d seen men burned alive, women killed in the street, children screaming for parents who would never return. I’d witnessedevery horror imaginable. But this—this cracked open something in me I thought had turned to stone.

Not her!

I lurched forward, preparing to strike, but Malinov grabbed me by the back of the neck and wrenched me to him.

“You thought you could make a fool of me?” he bellowed. “You and your little rat?”

The bastards holding Svetlana threw her onto the floor, and she landed in a heap, struggling to lift herself up onto her knees.

“I don’t know anything!” she gasped. “Please—”

Malinov squeezed the nape of my neck, hard enough to make my spine scream.

“She gave you the knife,” he hissed. “She put a weapon in your hands to kill me.”

Svetlana’s breath hitched. “No, I—”

“Don’t lie,” Malinov snapped. “You lived by the sword, girl. So shall you die by it.”

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