Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78511 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78511 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Losing interest, I glance toward the yakuza. There’s no sign of the fuckers or Aurora.
“Baby, if you don’t free yourself, you’re shitting, eating, and sleeping here,” Alek taunts Abbie.
Something tells me to walk toward the crates, and as I take a step, Armani asks, “Where are you going?”
Not answering his question, I head to the back of the warehouse. I come across Seijo and Takaharu, where they’re chilling and smoking.
“Where’s Kazuo?” I ask.
Seijo shakes his head at me, then asks, “You looking for the girl?” He tilts his head. “Is that why you beat me up?”
Giving him a look of warning not to fuck with me, I walk deeper into the crates. If the fuckers think I’m interested in Aurora, they might hurt her to get back at me for the beating I gave Seijo.
There’s a feeling in my gut that something’s wrong, and I pause between two crates to listen.
I hear Abbie cursing at Alek, the Albanians laughing at whatever they're doing to the twins, but nothing else.
I don’t hear Aurora.
Following my gut, I move deeper into the maze of crates, and turning left, I see Kazuo leaning against a crate, but there’s no sign of Aurora.
It takes a moment for me to realize what’s going on.
“Did you put her in a crate?” I snap as I stalk toward him.
Kazuo steps forward, giving me an annoyed look. “Fuck off, Petrov.”
I grab the front of his shirt and yank him closer to me. “Where. Is. She?”
His lips curl up in a cruel grin, then he waves across the crates. “I can’t remember.”
Before I can think things through, my fist slams into his face.
He fucking shoved Aurora into a crate. She’s claustrophobic!
As Kazuo staggers back, I tighten my hold on his shirt, yank him to me and let my fist crash against his jaw.
The blow is so hard it knocks him unconscious. I let go of the fucker, then call out, “Aurora!”
I try to rip a crate open, but it’s impossible without a crowbar.
Blyadʹ!
“What the fuck?” Armani says as he comes around a crate with Seijo and Takaharu right behind him. He spots Kazuo knocked out on the floor, then mutters, “Christ. Not again.”
Armani spins around just as Seijo and Takaharu jump into action. He kicks Seijo back and slams the flat of his hand against Takaharu’s chest, forcing him to stagger back until he falls on his ass.
“Alek!” I shout. “I need a crowbar.”
Darting forward, I take Takaharu while Armani focuses on Seijo.
“What the hell is going on here?” Instructor Yelena snaps.
All four of us freeze, and Kazuo lets out a groan as he rolls his head from left to right.
“They shoved Aurora into a crate,” I explain.
“So?” Instructor Yelena glares at me. “Let the woman figure things out by herself.”
“She’s fucking claustrophobic.”
“Still. She has to do this on her own,” Instructor Yelena argues.
Alek comes running around a stack of crates with a crowbar. I grab it from him and start to pry open the crate Kazuo was leaning against.
A harrowing scream from Aurora has me working faster, and when I flip the front panel off, it’s to see her collapse against the side.
“Khristos!” Crouching, I push my arms beneath her body and lift her out of the fucking box. My heart is beating a mile a minute as I lay her on the floor, then I check if she’s breathing.
Her breaths are way too shallow and fast.
“Come on, moy malen'kiy olen', open your eyes,” I bite the words out.
Her face is ghostly pale, and when her eyelashes flutter, I snap, “Wake up, Aurora.”
As she comes to, her breaths are incredibly fast, and when her eyes open, they’re dark with panic and fear.
Just like that night.
“Breathe, moy malen'kiy olen'.”
Her whole body shudders, and she starts to sob uncontrollably as she struggles into a sitting position. Her hand claws at her chest, and she shakes her head wildly.
I pull her to me, and once we’re face to face, I let my breath fan over her quivering lips. It worked once, and I’m praying it will work again.
Our eyes lock, hers filled with terror and mine with determination. “Breathe,” I growl the order, willing her to listen.
She sucks in a painful-sounding breath, and it makes me want to kill every single member of the yakuza.
“That’s it. Breathe with me,” I murmur while I bring a hand to her face, cupping her cheek.
As soon as she gets enough air in her lungs, a broken sob bursts from her.
Not giving a flying fuck that I’ll get in trouble, I lift Aurora bridal style into my arms and carry her out of the warehouse.
“What happened?” Abbie shrieks from where she’s still tied to the chair.
Aurora whimpers through a sob as she curls closer to me, her arms wrapping tightly around my neck.
“Shh… you’re okay,” I say as I step into the hallway and head for my suite.