Page 100 of Konstantin
“Aren’t you coming with me?”
“Of course I am. But this is yours. I’ve been meaning to give you your own card.”
“Oh. That’s generous.”
I could refuse, but I know he’ll just insist, so I reluctantly take theblack card from him.
“We’re married, remember? What’s mine is yours.” His mouth curls in that insanely sexy way that has me getting all goo-goo-eyed for my husband too.
When his phone starts ringing, he stares down at the screen, his face hardening.
“If you have to take it, go. I’ll be fine in the store alone.”
He hesitates, but whoever it is on the other line calls again. “Alright. One of my guys will stand by the door.”
“Okay.”
I step out of the SUV and head inside, getting lost in the aisles as I pick up drinks for him and me when someone approaches from behind. My fight-or-flight instinct rises when I glance back to find a tall, thin man who was definitely just staring at my ass.
I head for a different aisle, but he follows me, and all my thoughts zero in on either killing him or running out before I do.
“Hey there,” he says, leaning into me from behind.
Instinctively, I step out of his way, but the man isn’t deterred.
“You look good enough to eat.”
Ew.
His hand reaches for my waist, brushing against it, and I flinch, my mind instantly taken back to my days as a child and the men my mother brought home.
I flip around and step into him. “Get the fuck away from me, asshole, before I kill you.”
Instead of retreating, though, he laughs, which is pretty much how every one of her boyfriends treated me. A helpless little girl they could do whatever they wanted with.
When he touches my hip, I’m suddenly not in a convenience store anymore. I’m back in my mother’s house, with men I didn’t want trying to touch me in ways they shouldn’t.
Before I can stop myself, I grab his throat and flip him over,slamming him into the shelves while everything falls to the floor. My heart pounds, my exhales quick and ragged, but I don’t let go. My arm stays wrapped around his throat, cinching until his airways are cut. His arms flail in panic, trying to break free, but I’m stronger.
Not talking now, are you, bitch?
“It’s okay, malyshka,” someone says.
I don’t realize it’s Konstantin, not at first. Not until he says it again, his gentle hand on my arm, coaxing me to relax.
“It’s okay, malyshka. I’m right here.”
Gradually, my mind begins to clear and my breathing eases, a little less frantic.
“Good girl.” His voice is soft and soothing. “I’ve got you now.”
When I release the man, he stumbles to his feet, inhaling with quick spurts. “You-you-you fucking psycho bitch!”
But before I can react, Konstantin is on him, grabbing him by the throat.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” He lifts him off the ground. “Do you know who this woman is?”
He doesn’t even raise his tone. He doesn’t need to. This calmer version is more terrifying.
