Page 9 of Captive Union
“No,” Elena shouts, scrambling on her knees to grip the back of my dress as she tries her best to pull me back. Arina and Ana help, coming forward to grab my arms.
“Funny,” Erik murmurs. “But you girls are no match for me.” He lets me go and holds up his gun, pointing at the three of them. “Now, do you want to die tonight? Because I could kill you three, and it would cause so much pain to Maxim and Alexei. But that wasn’t my intention. So I’d prefer to take what I came here for and not kill you.”
Using Erik’s distraction against him, I start to crawl away. I don’t know why he wants me, but I’m not going to let him get me.
Unfortunately, I only get a few feet before he grips the back of my dress and tugs me into him. I still can’t scream since my vocal cords feel too tight. He wraps an arm around my waist as he points his gun at my family.
“Please,” I whimper. “Please.” I meet my mom’s eyes. “Mom.”
She looks like she wants to help me, but Erik’s gun is a reminder to keep back.
“Mom, please.”
Erik chuckles, his breath tickling the top of my head. “Yes, Mom, please help your daughter.” He points his gun at her. “But if you do, it’ll be the last thing you ever see.”
“Mom,” I cry.
She gives me a lingering look before turning away.
“Well, there you go,” he says, pulling me in closer as he stands up.
“No, don’t take her!” Elena screams, scrambling forward to hit Erik’s leg. He kicks her in the shoulder, and Elena falls back, crying out. Arina checks on her.
Erik starts to drag me away as I hear the cries of my sister and sisters-in-law, yelling at him to stop.
“Please, stop,” I beg. He drags me from behind the bar and into the chaos of the rest of the room. I can see Maxim and Alexei facing off with a couple of men. They’re clear across the room, too far to come to my rescue.
“I’m not going to stop, princess,” he says hotly into my ear. “You’re mine now.”
As Erik begins walking us to the doors, I suck in a breath of air and push past the strain in my vocal cords to call out for Maxim.
He pauses in his fight and looks at me. His eyes widen when he sees me in the arms of his enemy.
I feel some relief as he starts running in my direction. He doesn’t try firing a shot at Erik, probably because he doesn’t want to hit me by accident.
Erik picks up his pace as we reach the doors. But before he can get through them, Maxim slams into his side. I fall to the ground as the two men fight.
After catching my breath, I push myself up, wincing as I do. My body has taken a beating tonight. I rush into the hallway, searching for an escape. I see more men at the end of the hall; all dressed in black, guns in their hands. They probably work for Erik. I can’t get caught by them. I rush into the restroom off to the side and lock the door behind me before going into a stall and locking that behind me, too.
If Erik wants me, for whatever reason, this might slow him down. But I don’t have a weapon, no way to defend myself. All I can do is curl into a ball on the floor and hope Maxim kills him and comes to my rescue.
My body is shaking so badly it almost hurts, and my heart is pounding so fast I feel like it’s going to burst out of my chest. My lungs feel like they can barely catch any air, making me so lightheaded.
Why in the world does Erik want me? I figured if Erik ever wished to seek his revenge again, he’d do what he did last year and try to kill my brothers. But instead, he sought me out. He wantedme. I don’t even want to consider why.
The gunshots from the party quiet down. I wonder if everyone I love is dead or if the evil man who’s taunted my family for the past few years has finally been dealt with.
I jerk up when the bathroom knob is rattled. I hold my breath as a loud bang hits the door, and the door swings open with a squeak. Shutting my eyes, I whimper as footsteps get closer and closer to my stall. The feet under the door are decidedly masculine.
The stall door rattles, making me gasp. Whoever’s on the other side pauses. Are they going to leave? A foolish thought.
Instead, the man bends down and tries to grab me from underneath the stall. I kick at his hands and back away. I scramble under the stall to the other stall and under the stall door. I get up, running so fast to the door that I can barely think.
I only make it a few steps before arms wrap around me.
“Gotcha,” Erik’s deep voice says.
I cry out, bucking against him. “No, no.”
