Chapter 16
Abbie
I’ve decided to take it easy on Nikolai. Maybe if I’m patient and I give him time, he might actually consider being in a relationship with me.
But until that happens, I’m keeping my heart under lock and key and enjoying the ride. Literally.
My father will lose his shit if Nikolai wants a relationship with me.
The thought makes me chuckle as Aurora and I walk out of the castle.
I give Elio a nod while he and Aurora greet each other. He’s her personal bodyguard who always ends up babysitting my ass by default. It’s no secret I don’t get along with the man. He’s too overbearing for my liking.
We climb into the backseat of the armored SUV and wait for the guards to get in.
“Ready?” Elio asks from the driver’s seat.
No. I really don’t want to leave the grounds after last weekend’s attack.
I wonder if my father even knows it happened. “Yes,” I mutter.
Aurora looks just as worried as me, and I reach over to give her hand a squeeze. “We have an army with us.”
Smiling, she says, “You’re right.”
She takes out her phone and is probably texting with Misha while I stare out the window.
Nikolai surprised me yesterday. Not only did he apologize, but he instigated the intimate moment between us.
I wasn’t lying when I told him he’s an enigma. I’m struggling to figure the man out. Since we met, he’s been guarded.
Okay, I understand he runs a billion-dollar diamond empire, and his family runs the bratva. You don’t live long in our world if you trust random people.
And that’s what I am to him. Just a random girl.
Maybe I should ask him to join me for a romantic dinner where we can get to know each other?
I let out a snort.
Something slams into the SUV, startling the ever-living shit out of me.
“Get down behind the seats,” Elio roars.
I quickly slide down between the seats, my eyes darting to Aurora’s ashen face.
When the SUV is hit by another spray of bullets, she screams, “It’s an attack!”
I hope she’s on a call with Misha
Fuck, I knew I should’ve stayed at St. Monarch’s!
When more bullets hit the SUV, I cover my head and let out a desperate
cry.
With the hit on Aurora canceled, it’s clear they’re after me.
I don’t want to die.
We’re shot at again as Elio swerves around other cars, trying to lose our
attackers.
“Misha,” Aurora whimpers as the SUV swerves again. “I’m scared.”
I look at Aurora’s terrified face and hate that she’s in this nightmare because of me.
They won’t kill her because she belongs to Misha. It’s just me they’re after.
The SUV shudders and lurches as something slams into us, and Aurora screams, “I love you!”
She shoves the device between her breasts, then grabs hold of my hand. Our eyes lock for a moment before there’s a hard slam into the back of the SUV. The vehicle lifts into the air for a second before it swerves badly and flips over.
A blood-curdling scream tears from my chest as horror washes over me. I’m tossed around like a rag doll before everything comes to a sudden stop.
“Jesus,” I groan, pain zipping through my body like bolts of lighting. The SUV is upside down with us still in it, and I’m lying near Aurora,
able to see she’s out cold.
Lifting my head, I shake it to rid my mind of the daze, then terror bleeds through me.
ShitShitShit!
I hear footsteps rushing toward the SUV, then men yelling in a language I don’t know.
Metal screeches as the door is yanked open, and I feel hands grab me. “NoNoNoNoNooooo!” I scream as I’m pulled out of the vehicle. I claw
at the doorframe, but it’s no use. A man flips me over, and for a split second, my eyes lock with his merciless ones before a fist is repeatedly slammed into my face.
The pain is jarring and so intense I drift in and out of consciousness. Blood fills my mouth, and I hear two shots being fired. Unspeakable fear shudders through me before my mind shuts down, and not sure whether I’ve been hit, I lose the battle as I pass out.