I’ll be trapped forever in a loveless marriage with a monster who wants me to be nothing but arm candy and a broodmare.
The grip on my arm tightens to painful as my steps slow. My breaths come shorter and lights flash behind my eyes. I’m going to faint. Part of me would rather die than be stuck like I am, but that defeatist attitude will get me nowhere fast. I’ll bide my time and run away. He can’t keep me locked away forever. I’ll escape. So what if there is a certificate somewhere saying I’m married. It is just a piece of paper.
I can and will escape… somehow.
He shakes me, pulling me from my thoughts and panic. “Don’t be stupid. This is an honor.”
“Then you marry him,” I snarl, finally feeling angry instead of just pitiful.
He laughs darkly, marching me down the aisle and to where Dima stands in front of a priest. The room is practically empty. There are a handful of thugs dressed in suits standing around the room, but other than that, any “guests” are absent.
“Ah here is my beautiful bride.”
The delight in his voice and the way his eyes are eating me up makes me want to gag. He’s a psycho. He really thinks he can force this sham of a wedding on me. He grabs my hand and turns us to face the priest. Now that I’m looking at him, he looks like he’s scared out of his mind. He doesn’t want to be here anymore than I do.
“Begin,” Dima barks at him.
The priest jumps, almost dropping his bible. He stutters, then clears his throat before he can start the ceremony that’s straight out of my nightmares.
When he gets to the part where we are to exchange our vows, I refuse to speak.
Dima grabs my hair ruthlessly. “There’s no escaping this. It’s happening. Say your fucking vows before I get angry.”
This isn’t angry?I ask myself.
“Boss,” one of the goons interrupts, stepping forward and speaking in quiet Russian into Dima’s ear. Dima’s face turns red, and his expression is downright terrifying.
“Finish this,” he growls at the priest.
Before he gets a word out, the doors to the church fly open, and men in swat gear fill the church. Relief starts to fill me at this sham of a wedding being stopped, but then Dima grabs me and pulls me against his chest, holding a gun to my head.
“Don’t come closer,” he yells, digging the gun into my temple painfully. “She will die.”
“It’s over, Sokolov,” a man near the front shouts.
“Ah, Detective Jenkins,” Dima growls. “I should’ve known this was your doing.”
“It’s over. Let the girl go.”
“I think I’ll keep her. Insurance and all that.”
I watch as the swat team takes out all of Dima’s men almost effortlessly. The whole thing takes seconds. The priest scuttles away, and I’m left alone with Dima and a gun to my head.
I’m scared half to death. Should I try to fight him? I know self-defense, but what if it makes him pull the trigger? He said I’m his insurance, so he wouldn’t really want to kill me… would he? My breaths saw in and out of my chest as panic starts to take over.
“Put the fucking gun down,” a voice growls close behind me.
Relief floods my system when I see Jasper out of the corner of my eye. Somehow he managed to sneak up behind Dima, and he’s holding his own weapon against the back of Dima’s head.
The gun leaves my temple as I’m shoved away. I stumble and fall to my hands and knees. Dima turns and aims his gun at Jasper. They fire at the same time, and both men fall.
“Noooo!” I cry out.
I rush to Jasper’s side while cops surround Dima’s lifeless form. Jasper sits up with a curse as I run my hands over him, searching for a wound.
Oh my God. He was shot. Jasper’s been shot.
“I’m fine. Kevlar,” Jasper growls, pulling me into his arms and squeezing tight.