Chapter 54

My captor bodily lifts me and tosses me right after it like a piece of lightweight rubbish and as I am
hurled, half running as my legs hit the carpet, half falling and rolling with the force of it. I let out a
muffled noise as I collide with floor again. I can still hear them as I stop dead, flailing like a dead fish
and gather my wits.

I crawl forward and get to my knees in a bid to get to the desk, pushing my minor pain aside. I don’t
know what alarms the button triggers or if the arsehole out there will be alerted, but I am not going
without a fight. Alexi showed me how to trip every silent alarm in this building and it’s my one chance of
someone that Alexi trusts to come and find me.

I hear him stalking in behind me and make a run for it as I get to my feet and kick off my last shoe,
panic overtaking as adrenaline courses through my veins. Dashing forward as he tries to grab me and
almost breaking my ankle with the awkward jolt forward I make, I skim around the desk just out of his
grasp. I slide my hand under as I go, making a quick grab and a fly finger jab to hit the concealed
alarm, a prominent small button under the left-hand side.

I skid past, and he throws me a glare across the desk which turns into a snarl and then a sadistic smile,
revealing a squint of yellowed teeth.

‘’So you like games huh? Fiery little witch who wants to be caught. I like chasing … I like hurting, and
we have a couple minutes to kill.’’ A sadistic scowl on that ugly face and I limber up with a fury inside,
burning so violently with heat that it could compete with the sun. I am not about to take this lying down
and even if he fucks me up, Alexi will come, and this guy will be screwed.

I back up, slide my dress up above my knees so it’s not as restricting to move, and get ready. I have no
idea who or what that button does but I can guarantee that in minutes someone is going to be up here;
I won’t let them use me to get to Alexi, and I won’t die for him when I know he wouldn’t care.



I make a run for it, my head down, and determined as hell, I aim for the door, but I’m not fast enough
and despite adrenaline coursing through my body as every part of me pounds with all I have, he
catches my arm and drags me backwards across the desk. It hurts like hell. Having my body rammed
into a wooden ledge that topples me onto my back and then dragged across it while laptops, desk
ornaments, pens and such scatter to the floor. It’s like being poked and prodded with sharp inanimate
objects all over every tender part of me, and I squeal out despite myself.

What is it with rapists favouring fucking smooth surfaces to control me?

He hauls me across and spins me, so my legs come to his and even though I try to fight with hands
and feet, he holds that gun straight to my fucking throat and pushes it so hard I start choking on both
the protrusion into my larynx and the cold heavy feel of imminent death if he pulls that trigger. It douses
my fight and I choke, my hands immediately moving to try and stop him impaling my neck by grabbing
the barrel and stop it pressing harder.

‘’I like fire. I am going to fuck you hard before I let them take you.’’ He yanks me closer, pinned to the
desk with that steel holding me still, my nose starting to run with what I presume is blood from being hit,
and he starts grabbing at my wrist in a bid to better control me.

I am trying to dislodge the infernal killing machine enough to keep breathing and struggle against him
as he pulls one hand free. He has his back to my escape and try as I might I just need to hold on until
someone, anyone, answers that alarm and bursts in here. I let go, the metal digging in further, so I
cough in pain and tears fill my vision with what he’s doing, but I know help is coming. I have no time to
go weak with panic and fear, even though my body is soaring on adrenaline and shaking like crazy. I
reach out and claw whatever I can get hold of on the arseholes head and face.

I knew fake nails had a purpose beyond prettiness. I get another stinging smack to the face when I
catch his eyes with my nails, muffling a cry. I may be being grappled at by a paid goon with a gun and
hard-on, but I won’t relent.



He pins my whole face to the desk with the flat of his palm on my cheek, crushing my face sideways
until the agony sears through me, feeling like my eyeballs may pop out of my skull, and it stops my
every movement as I struggle to stay conscious. The metal against my throat presses harder, so I can
no longer breathe, and he leans in rasping into my ear as the pressure in my cranium becomes
unbearable. ‘‘We’re going to have ourselves a lot of fun over the next few days.’’ He laughs
disgustingly. Licking my ear as he does, slow and vile so my skin crawls and I buck and gag at the
touch.

There’s a strange almighty cracking noise so sudden and unexpected that my heart lurches in
response. It’s loud, weird and indescribable—like branches cracking underfoot and I have no clue what
the hell it is. It seems to have been right in my face and suddenly all pressure goes limp and the
bastard slumps over me heavily, his hand drops on my throat as does his gun, releasing the pressure
immediately. That is before sliding down my body, dragging my dress as his weight skims me and
slides out of sight to the floor.

I let out an exhale as everything starts to go from foggy to clear once more and blink at the ceiling first
and then look down my body to where he seems to have passed out. Completely confused.

I lift my head, panting and breathing hard to see where the hell he just went and freeze with shock at
the sight before me. Coldness washing over me as I realise why he isn’t on top of me anymore.

Alexi is standing stock still, literally right behind where my attacker was a second ago with a murderous
look on his face that makes all other fear I had for him pale in comparison. He’s looking down, and as I
lever myself up to try and get up, oblivious to the way his men are charging in, like an endless sea of
black, I gasp in disbelief.

He’s staring at the lifeless body on the floor whose head is sitting at a completely unnatural angle with
his eyes wide, glazed in a hellishly horrible way and focused on nothing with his mouth gaping wide
open.



He’s dead.

In a flash of a second, Alexi snapped his neck and now he’s lying on the floor of our office completely
and utterly dead.

Alexi seems to blink himself back to the present and his eyes come to mine with the most
unfathomable look.

‘‘Are you okay?’’ He sounds normal, calm, stable, and yet my heart hammering in my rib cage and eyes
fixed on the dead person on the floor tell me this is not normal by any standard. I flinch when he shoves
the body aside with his foot heartlessly and makes a path to get nearer to me. Recoiling in fear as he
gets closer, and I realise he just did that in literally the blink of an eye.

I’m caught in panic and disbelief that I just saw him murder someone with his bare hands. I don’t know
how to feel about him right now.

I shake my head, as I don’t know how else to respond, and stiffen when he sweeps me up off the desk
in his arms and cradles me close like a fragile child at the speed of light, pulling me up to him and high
from the floor. I don’t fight, just stay obediently still as he carries me to the door and puts me back on
my own bare feet. Mico is by the body now, checking he really is dead I presume, and flashes Alexi a
look of question and dare I say it irritation.

I get the feeling this is not how he normally handles things like this, and the eerie silence of his men in
the room as they stand around waiting for orders adds to the tension. Everyone seems shocked that
Alexi took care of the problem this way and despite feeling shell-shocked I can see the way they are
looking at one another.

Even though he puts me down he still has an arm around my shoulders, sheltering me as his eyes
travel my face, he lifts my chin with a finger to scan the marks and mess left behind from the ordeal.



Oblivious to the obviously annoyed face from Mico and the questioning glances from his entourage as
they move to crowd the lifeless man on the floor.

That little muscle in his jaw tightens, but he says nothing as he surveys the damage. He just looks
angry and brooding as he pulls me close and gives me the first real hug I have ever had in my life.
Wrapping both arms around my body and moulding me to him protectively and securely. I catch my
breath and freeze awkwardly as I don’t know how else to react. No one has ever hugged me for any
reason other than to get sex out of me. No one has been tender to me for any reason, ever, and I don’t
know how to react, especially when it’s Alexi trying to be the consoling one, and despite myself, my
body sags against him as I hug him back.

Creeping arms around that mass of muscled body and the dry eyes turn misty as everything that just
happened comes at me from all angles. Forgetting my fear and numbing out what’s lying on the floor, I
bury my face against his chest and let him solidly cuddle me, drawing strength from how it feels as
tears begin trickling down my face and my body starts vibrating with the first stages of shock.

‘’Get the fucking guard in here … that bastard sat out there and didn’t do a damn thing. I can bet he
can shed some light on who this was.’’ Alexi barks as he rests his chin on top of my head, squeezing
me tighter.

If it wasn’t in the midst of this shit it would be a moment I might actually treasure. A glimpse of a real
human, right after I saw the monster he can truly be.

Just when I think I can’t hate him anymore than I do, he levels the playing field and wipes it all away
with being both my hero and my consoler.

My fight and loathing die in his embrace and I am just left a sobbing mess who needs him at this
moment.

 




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