Page 95 of Vengeful King

“I haven’t forgotten,” I say, smiling. I want to taunt him more than anything else. “Coward. You sent me to do your dirty work in the first place.”

I can see him react tocoward.I can see him get close to erupting over that word, infuriated by my accusation. What I say shouldn’t matter to him, but it does. I can see it.

I can see the hatred in his eyes. He’s angry because I’m right.

“You were obviously scared of him,” I continue, laughing shortly. “You were scared of Lachlan. You must’ve been so afraid that he would finish the job he started last time. When you betrayed him.”

I don’t even have time to blink before he hits me again. Pain explodes in my head; I can feel nausea start to set in. I know I don’t have long if I’m going to survive this.

I’ve been slumped, but suddenly, a fresh wave of anger hits me. I’m not going to lose this way. I’m not even going to entertain the thought. I have to fight, until the very end of it all.

I jerk again, tugging free from the guards. I don’t know how I do it; maybe they loosened their grip, thinking I was done. Maybe I had a burst of strength brought on by anger and a refusal to die. Whatever the reason for it is, I’m free.

I lunge at Yuri again. One of the guards gets close and I elbow him in the chest, hard. I can hear him grunt at the sharp jab and it sends triumph flooding through me.

For a second, I think that I’m going to make it. I think that I’m going to do it, I’ll get him, I’ll finally end it. It won’t matter if they kill me once I get Yuri. I can die happy knowing I did what I came to do.

But the few seconds I gain are lost almost immediately. The men get control of me again; I can feel their hard, wide hands shoving me away from Yuri. I practically go flying into the concrete.

I’m slammed against the wall, vulnerable again. Yuri doesn’t even bother glaring at me this time. He doesn’t stare, doesn’t speak.

He just pulls out a gun.

My heart freezes as I stare into the black hole at the end of the barrel, braced for death to come.

A shot cuts through the air, and I flinch, my body tensing in expectation.

But the bullet didn’t come from Yuri’s gun.

More shots ring out, and then I hear voices rising, shouting and yelling. Confusion. More gunshots.

It isn’t happening in this room, I realize. It’s echoing all around us, seeping in through the concrete. The building is under attack. Yuri’s under attack.

“Handle it!” He screams, suddenly distracted, no longer intent or focused on me. He’s frenzied, spinning away, scrambling to react.

I don’t think. I bolt.

I sprint for the nearest doorway, hoping there’s another way out. Anything. I run thoughtlessly, trying to keep my feet under me, and I can hear the noise of the fight echo through the building as I go.

The sound of footsteps follows me. I don’t know who it is, but I don’t trust it. No one calls after me; I know it must be Yuri dogging my steps, hoping to catch me alone and off guard. But I won’t give him the chance.

I take as many turns as I can, forgetting where I came from, sprinting through room after room. Soon enough, I’m slamming through a door and directly into a staircase.

The only way to go is up. The only other choice is the way I came, back into the gunfight that’s happening.

So I run up the stairs.

Several stories up, I burst through the door before me and onto the roof, immediately pulling back from the shock of cold wind blasting in my face.

My instinct is to turn back, but I can hear the thud of footsteps racing up behind me. I don’t know who it is yet. I just know there’s nowhere to go.

I don’t have far to go, and I’m afraid to get too close to the edge. I don’t want to fall. So I skirt around the entrance, along the wall and around the side. Maybe if I see who’s coming, I can get back to the door first.

But the door slams open just as I turn the corner and I know from the angry growl that it’s Yuri. I hold my breath when he stops short; I try to will him to turn around and go back. But it’s too late.

He comes around the side of the building to where I’m hiding. He’s too fast, or I wait too long. He has me cornered.

I’m about to turn when he steps into sight, gun leveled at me. He’s breathing hard from running, face red and eyes burning with fury.

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