Page 21 of Cruel Russian Monster
The others laughed.
Had they been watching Jaroslav’s house?
And did they even know who the hell I was? They had only mentioned Jaroslav, so they probably didn't.
I didn't know if letting them know I was a Rykov would make things better or a hell of a lot worse. So, I stayed silent.
The second guy reached for my breast, and I slashed the car keys across his face. An angry mark rose on his cheek.
He swore, clutching his face. I barely had time to smirk before the first guy slapped me hard, and I stumbled backward, straight into the arms of one of the men behind me. He caught me and yanked my arms behind me.
The first guy grabbed my jaw and snarled, “You’ll pay for that, bitch.”
He leaned in closer, and I held my breath. “After we’ve all had our fill, maybe we’ll drop you back off for him. A washed-up whore, for a washed-up Safin.”
He eyed the other men.
“Let’s get this bitch in the car.”
“I'm sitting next to her. I can't wait to get my hands on that full rack of hers,” the fourth man said.
Oh, hell no.
I fought like my life depended on it, because it did, as they dragged me towards their car. With my hands still behind my back, I kicked, head butted, and screamed, hoping that someone would come to the rescue. I barely felt the pain that rushed through my body with each movement I made.
Just as the first guy flung the car door open, a gunshot exploded across the parking lot, and I screamed.
I was horrified.
The first guy’s eyes went wide, then rolled back. Blood trickled from the bullet wound that was dead-center in his forehead. He dropped like a stone.
The others froze for a moment, stunned…then everything happened all at once.
One of them spun me around, placing me in front of him as a shield. I gasped, struggling for air as his arm crushed my throat. He whipped out his phone and called for backup while the other two opened fire at the shooter.
Jaroslav.
And he looked pissed.
Whether it was because I had tried to run away or because I was being used as a human shield, I couldn’t tell.
The man who had me in his grasp hadn’t reached for his gun yet, and I used that to my advantage. I reached up behind me, grabbed his head, and drove both thumbs into his eyes. He screamed, dropped his phone, and his arm loosened just enough for me to pull one hand back and slam my elbow into his ribs.
He cursed but recovered fast, yanking me down to the ground. In seconds, he was straddling me, one hand locked around my throat, squeezing and blocking off my air supply.
Then his free hand moved behind him, reaching for his gun.
Before he could draw it, a burst of bullets tore through his body. His eyes went wide, then blank, and he slumped forward onto me.
I grunted as I shoved his weight off and staggered to my knees, sucking in air greedily.
A strong hand gripped my arm and pulled me to my feet.
“Get up, Vera. It’s time to go.”
I pulled my arm away and glared at Jaroslav. “I don’t need to go with you.”
Jaroslav’s eyes darkened, his breathing hitched.
