Page 64 of Between Us

She shoved at his chest half-heartedly. He didn't budge an inch.

“I think I’ll survive half a day without you just fine,” she said in an overly-sweet voice, pushing him again. This time, he took a step back, but not before slapping her almost naked ass because her sleep shorts barely covered it.

“That's very comforting,milaya.”

By the time he was gone, Alessandra was already in the swimming pool, washing away her bad mood. She swam a few laps before taking a shower and changing into a maxi summer dress and platform sandals. She considered calling Tatyana to ask her to come along to the mall, but changed her mind at the last second.

At a few minutes after eleven, a back sedan sat in the driveway, its slightly tinted windows hazing Andrei’s profile as he appeared to be looking at something in his lap. It was a different car than she remembered, and he was a little early, but she was already dressed, so there was no reason to wait. She closed the window above the sink then grabbed her purse from the kitchen island. Locking the front door behind her, she headed to the car.

Ivan looked up and met her eyes in the rearview mirror as she slipped into the backseat.

“I thought Andrei was coming?” she said, taken aback by this change in plans she wasn’t aware of. Her fingers idled on the handle, the door still partially open.

“He's busy,” the man replied in a gruff voice, his sharp, cold gaze making her uneasy instantly. Alessandra had the feeling he didn't like her very much.

Reluctantly, she closed the door all the way and settled into her seat, adjusting the chain of her small purse across her chest. Thinking Roman must’ve forgotten to tell her about Ivan coming, she decided not to dwell on it.

Andrei was usually nice—sometimes downright chatty when he was in the mood—which was something that couldn’t be said about Ivan. From her brief interactions with him in the past, Alessandra already knew that he wasn’t one for unnecessary conversation, and she was fine with that. She couldn’t say that she really liked him much either. She took out her phone and busied herself with her Instagram feed.

It took a few minutes until Alessandra’s brain registered the unusual quietness inside the car. There was no Russian music she didn’t understand a word of; only the quiet, incessant pings of Ivan’s phone as he received text message after text message.

Before her eyes even lifted from the screen in front of her, a shiver was already making its way down her spine, despite the lack of air conditioning and the seventy-eight degrees outside. She glanced at the back of his tattooed neck then immediately outside her window, and that was when she noticed they were heading down south, in the opposite direction of the mall.

“Where are we going?” she asked, her voice soundingas uncertain as she felt. When Ivan didn't answer, she spoke again, more loudly, even as her heart shrunk inside her chest. “I need to get to the mall.”

The only answer she got was the revving of the engine as the car gained speed and Ivan’s knuckles turning white as his fingers tightened on the steering wheel. Panic quickly flooded her system, and as her fight-or-flight response kicked in, she hit the back of his seat with her palm, demanding his attention. “Hey!”

“Shut up, girl,” he growled menacingly, swerving a hard left. The sudden change in direction threw Alessandra’s body into the door. She braced both hands against it in an effort to avoid hitting her head, and dropped her phone in the process. It bounced against the seat before dropping on the floor and skidding under the passenger seat.

“Ivan,” she choked out, the lone word catching in her throat. “What are you doing?”

Again, no answer came.

Now in full-blown panic mode, Alessandra looked down, trying to locate her phone. She pushed away from the door, intent on finding it, but the car swerved violently again, and she was thrown like a ragdoll across the seat.

She hoped with all her being that someone was going to stop Ivan, seeing as he was driving like a madman. She’d seen police cruisers enough times on the streets to know there was a good chance of running into one. If luck were only on her side today.

As she struggled to find her phone, she pushed herself onto her stomach and reached under the passenger seat, moving her hand around blindly.Desperately.

Roman. She had to call Roman and tell him. She had to.

That was when her fingers brushed against something, and she knew she’d found it. Before she could grab the life-saving device, the car took a right turn, and the phone slipped away, sliding in the opposite direction.

“No,” she moaned, digging her nails into the rubber mat covering the floor. She pushed herself backward across the seat, trying to get to the phone. A moment later, the car came to an abrupt stop, and she froze, her brain trying to catch up with what was happening around her.

Adrenaline pumping through her veins, Alessandra sat up and lunged for the door, not even thinking about what she was doing or where she was going. She needed to get away. She’d almost grabbed the handle when the door swung open from the outside, revealing the bulky form of a man she’d never laid eyes on before.

The man climbed inside, forcing her back and toward the other end of the backseat.

Survival instinct spurred Alessandra into action once more. She threw herself in the opposite direction, trying to reach the other door. Rough hands grabbed her waist, dragging her back as if she weighed nothing.

“Let me go!” she screamed, her sharp nails scratching whatever skin they could find, drawing blood. Her body fought against the resistance, tear-filled eyes set on the few pedestrians walking on the sidewalk. “Help! Please, help me!”

“Zatknis,”a deep voice hissed from behind her just as a large hand covered her mouth.

She struggled to get away, but to no avail. Hercaptor was too strong. Cruelly, his thumb and forefinger pressed against her nose, cutting off her airflow. Nails still digging into his forearm, she tried to breathe through her mouth, but his calloused palm pressing against her lips made it impossible.

The car set into motion again, and the brute holding her removed his hand from her face, though his other arm stayed firmly coiled against her waist. Alessandra drew in a few greedy breaths, relieved he hadn’t intended to make her pass out. The heavy, unpleasant scent of his cologne reached her nostrils, and she refrained from gagging. He smelled of poorly chosen perfume mixed with the stench of hard liquor.

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