Page 144 of The Cute Psycho

"Gentlemen, you're early!" I hear Vlad's voice as he greets the men. There's an echo resounding, so I'm guessing it's a large room.

Some shuffling and I'm thrown to the ground.

"Oh and you brought a present too?" he asks in that amused voice of his.

I wiggle my feet, hoping he'll notice my shoes, but it's in vain as the men continue to address him.

"We couldn't resist after we got your gifts," one speaks, "especially given that Ilya was my brother-in-law." I can hear the tension in his voice and for some reason I'm sure Vlad's gifts had not had any good intentions attached to them.

"Well, it brought you here, did it not?" he asks, moving around the room. "You'll have to excuse the lack of entertainment. I wasn't expecting you until..." He trails off, and I can just imagine him checking his wristwatch, "Two hours from now. The girls I hired for tonight don't start their shift until midnight." He sighs audibly and I smile against the gag, his theatrics never failing to amuse me.

"Good thing we brought something, too. We can use her in the meantime," the younger one whose voice I have memorized by now says, yanking the bag from my body.

I blink twice, trying to accommodate my eyes to the light as I notice we're in a warehouse. A huge warehouse. There are two rows of tables around, all adorned with food and drink, an altar of sorts at the end of the space, a huge, gilded icon of the Virgin Mary gracing the wall. Everything seems almost regal, from gold cutlery and plates to silver and gold chalices, it looks like the feast of a tsar.

Vlad is standing maybe a few feet away from me, his eyes looking at me intently before he turns to the others, smiling.

"Wonderful," he says, not betraying any emotion.

Besides the five men from earlier, there's no one else in the vicinity, and for a moment I fear that Vlad may be outnumbered. Even Seth, who should have been here protecting Vlad, is nowhere to be seen.

But then I remember his acrobatics from the restaurant and I realize I shouldn't worry too much.

"You don't recognize her?" one man asks, mildly peeved at Vlad's reaction.

Vlad walks toward me, looking at me from head to toe.

"Nope. Should I?" He shrugs, gazing up at the men. His act is so flawless, even they start doubting whether they got the right person or not.

"Then why don't I start?" Vasily drawls, coming next to me and placing his hand on my breast.

Vlad's gaze darkens, and a sinister smile appears on his face.

"Yes, why don't you?" His voice is low, but you'd have to be deaf not to hear the unmistakable danger reverberating from it.

Vasily unties the rope around my torso, freeing my arms. But I don't get to enjoy my newly found freedom as he rips the bodice of my dress, the entire front tearing along the seams, my breasts exposed.

I still, my eyes widening as I'm unable to react to the sudden assault.

"Sisi, move back!" Vlad yells at me, his entire body stiff and on the verge of erupting. I make to move, but Vasily has me firmly in his grasp, his greedy eyes fixed on me as he glances at my exposed chest.

He doesn't get to touch me again as a knife embeds itself in his throat, his expression shocked as he clutches at the bleeding wound with his hands.

I scurry to the back, managing to avoid another man as I run to where Vlad directed me.

"So she does matter. Kuznetsov, we'll have so much fun with her once we've dealt with you," an older man says, not reacting in the least at the bleeding Vasily, or the fact that Vlad had barely moved a finger to mortally wound him. "Maybe we'll keep you alive so you can watch," he continues.

A loud noise erupts in the warehouse as Vlad starts laughing, bending low to grab his stomach as more and more laughter spills out of him.

"You?" he asks, pointing at the four men still standing. "You?" he asks again, barely containing his laughter.

The men are already in position, raising their guns to aim at Vlad, an entire arsenal at their disposal. For the first time, I'm scared.

Because yes, Vlad is a wonderful fighter and could theoreticallytake those four old men. But he's also defenseless, and for all his claims to the contrary... he's just a man.

"Sisi, get behind the altar," he commands, the switch in his voice immediate.

With shaky fingers, I try to untie the rope around my feet, frustrated when it doesn't give way immediately.

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