Page 54 of Marked By His Touch

She’s furious—furiousat him. And at me? I don't know what to think.

"That was for leaving me in—hole with the Raven,the Cole! For being his makeup girl—for human traffickers. Pfffuuu.” She spits on the floor, the sound sharp and stinging.Anya,right—Smart girl—I did not like it there.”

Her eyes are intense.

“Sorry,mamma,” Nikolai says, bowing his head.

She pulls Nikolai closer, pressing his body against her, her arms wrapping around his waist. "Is okay–missed you, my son."

I want to throw up, but I can't even speak.

Katerina’s words echo in my ears,“Blood is stronger than friendship.”

I watch as she presses a kiss on Nikolai’s cheek, her voice a soft murmur, "You, my son. You—my world.”

My legs feel weak.Everything is so—wrong.

“Let’s go,” Nikolai says. “It is time.”

“Time for what?” I ask.

No one answers. Instead, he grabs my arm and leads me out of the hallway.

“Remember Anya, do not be—liability—or else…”

Stumbling out into the hallway, my eyes catch a crowd of people.It’s them!The other women, Lena, Tatiana, and others, all of them, the women from the safe house, are being led away down the corridor, their faces pale with fear, their eyes filled with desperation. They're being treated like cattle, like property.

They're being handled roughly, their bodies pulled and shoved. The scene makes my blood run cold.

One of the girls stumbles, her thin body collapsing under the weight of a guard’s grip. The guard laughs, a cruel, guttural sound, as he grabs her by the hair, dragging her to her feet. A spark of primal rage ignites within me.

To hell with them.

My gaze locks on Zara, who's also here, her face betraying no emotion, her eyes cold and distant. It's as if she's become a stranger, a ghost of the woman I once knew.

"Zara," I say. "You—you—why did you do it? Betray us?"

I see the flicker of a shadow in her eyes, a hint of guilt, but it disappears quickly. It’s replaced by a blank emptiness, a chilling confirmation of the depth of her betrayal.She's gone.She's just another one of his puppets.

I want to scream. I want to rage. But a deeper, colder feeling chokes my anger, a crushing sense of hopelessness. The world is cruel. I can’t trust anyone. And no one cares about me.

I try to believe that Alexander wouldn’t abandon me, but even that hope is shadowed by the doubt Nikolai and Katerina have planted in my mind.

Nikolai’s voice cuts through my thoughts. He's talking on the phone, his voice a low growl. I can't hear the words, but I can feel his tone's raw power and ruthless authority. He's in control—always in control—and he's the one pulling the strings.

“Yes, kill both of them.”

My heart stumbles. The fluorescent lights blur into a dizzying haze.

“Get the ship ready,” he says. "We leave tonight."

He hangs up the phone, his gaze sweeping across the corridor, landing on me. His eyes are dark, filled with an unsettling intensity.

“Kill who?” I ask.

He looks at me, his eyes cold, stripping away my last hope. "Alexander Bourne and Cole Cohan," he says, his voice cold, emotionless.

I stammer. "But you said—"

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