19. Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Nineteen
Sasha
F ear spikes through me but I can’t let it win. I can’t let Giovanni win.
So I work up all the strength I have and I bite down hard on his hand. He yelps but before I can scream, he smacks me across the face.
“What is your plan?” I gasp out. “Rape me right here, in my hospital bed? Nico is outside. He’ll find you. He’ll kill you. And how did you find me here anyway?”
“It wasn’t hard to find where Nico lives.
I went to his place but neither of you were home.
I managed to find out you were hurt by the Irish and had gone to the hospital.
It’s a wonder what people will say when you torture them.
One of Nico’s guards is very talkative that way.
So here I am.” His eyes flick over me. “And judging from the bandage around your leg, you can’t run. ”
“I can still scream.” I work up my voice to get out a tiny scream before Giovanni clamps his hand back over my mouth.
“If you bite me this time, I’ll stab this dagger right into your throat.” He pulls the dagger from his pocket and places it right under my chin. “So be quiet and silent.”
I glare at him but I do remain quiet when he removes his hand.
“I’ll be quick,” he says. “I just want a taste of you and then I’ll be gone. That’s all I ever wanted. Just a night.”
My body recoils in fear as he pushes my hospital gown up to my hips. All the memories I had when he did this to me before come rushing back. I let Nico have my body because I care for him. Even love him.
But I never wanted anyone else to have me, not even when I hated Nico so much. It was always him that I wanted.
Giovanni shoves his hand between my legs while he keeps the dagger to my throat. His hand is not Nico’s. It’s not warm and strong and sexy. I know for a fact that it’s Nico I love because he would never do this to me. Has never done this to me.
Giovanni smirks down at me like he’s won. He came all the way from Italy just to take me because he was denied me. The insanity in him is certifiable.
“I bet I’ll be better than Nico,” he says, removing his hand from between my legs and unzipping his pants.
“You’ll never be,” I hiss. “I love Nico. And I hate you.” Those words just feel right on my tongue. No more pretending I hate Nico. I’m all in on him.
The look of pure anger on Giovanni’s face is almost comical. “I’ll show you.” He takes out his penis and starts stroking it, growing more erect.
I try to move away but I’m stuck on the bed. My leg is still numb from the medicine they gave me. The fatigue in me is too much.
I shut my eyes and just hope that Nico returns to save me. He’s always done it before.
…and he doesn’t disappoint.
“Step away from her,” Nico growls. I open my eyes to see him standing in the doorway, his gun pointed right at Giovanni.
Slowly, Giovanni raises his hands and backs away from me. But in a flash, he throws the dagger at Nico, making Nico dodge out of the way and Giovanni takes off running out of the room.
Nico turns to me. “Are you ok?”
“Go get him.”
His hesitation means everything to me. Nico wants to stay to comfort me but he also wants to chase Giovanni. The Nico I first met wouldn’t have hesitated. He would have just gone after the bad guy.
Now, he’s concerned for me.
“Go,” I tell him. “Go.”
He nods and takes off running. Even though my heart is pounding from fright, I can’t help but smile. Nico came to protect me like he’s always done.
Nico
I run out of the room and make eye contact with Mikhail. He comes over to me. “There’s a man here. Giovanni Ricci. He tried to attack Sasha. Help me find him.” This is a true test of our alliance. Can we actually work together?
I’m expecting him to say he’d rather die than help me but Mikhail takes in a deep breath and nods. “Ok. I’ll help.”
I’m startled by it so much that it takes me a moment to move. “Ok then. Let’s go get him.”
We run in the direction Giovanni went. A security guard yells at us to slow down but we ignore him. Turning the corner, I see Giovanni fleeing down the hallway. I pick up my speed and reach him before he can get too far. I throw him to the ground.
“Here,” Mikhail says, grabbing Giovanni and dragging him into an empty room. I lock the door behind us.
“Why did you come here?” I growl.
Giovanni only smiles.
Mikhail punches the other man square in the face. “Answer him. Why did you come here?” The fact that Mikhail doesn’t even fully know the details of everything and yet he’s still helping me… that’s an ally.
Who fucking knew?
Giovanni still doesn’t answer even as Mikhail beats his face over and over again.
“Enough,” I say. “I’m just going to kill him. He tried to rape Sasha back in Rome and he tried to hurt her again. He needs to die.”
“I agree.” Mikhail steps away from Giovanni, giving me the honors. “If any man tried to rape Natalya, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill them.”
“Then we’re in another agreement. Who knew our wives would bring us together?” I grab the dagger that’s in Giovanni’s hand and press it to his throat.
“Wait,” Mikhail says. “If you kill him here, it’s going to be too messy. Take him outside.”
“I can’t leave Sasha.”
Mikhail sighs and extends his hand. “Then I’ll kill him. I’ll take him outside and do the deed so you can be with your wife.”
“How do I know you’ll really kill him?”
“You’re going to have to trust me, aren’t you?”
Fuck. He’s right. But can I truly risk this? I have no other choice.
Slowly, I hand him the dagger. “Get it done. But I better see his body when I leave this hospital.”
Mikhail yanks Giovanni to his feet. “This is a test of trust. If we’re going to be allies, then we have to do this.” He leaves, pushing Giovanni forward.
I return to Sasha. “Hey. How are you?”
“Is he dead?”
“Mikhail is taking care of it. We’re trying to be allies.”
“That’s good. That means I can still have Natalya in my life. But Irina and Ana…”
I sigh, taking her hand. “We’ll get them out at some point.”
She tightens her hand on mine before I can pull away. “Nico. There’s something I need to tell you. I realized when Giovanni was in here that… that how I feel for you is much deeper than I ever thought possible. That I feel safe with you and you’re my new home. That I… love you.”
Her words hit me right in my cold fucking heart, making it turn warm. “Hell, Sasha. I love you too.”
“You do?”
“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it,” I tease, throwing her a wink.
She shakes her head with a rueful smile. “You’ll never change, will you?”
“No. But you don’t want me to change. You like me for me. Though… I will admit, I have changed a little. I never knew I could love someone and now I do. Before it was about obsession with me. Now it’s love.”
“That’s the good kind of change.”
“So, it took you getting attacked multiple times and me saving you for you to realize you love me?”
“Pretty much.”
I can’t help but laugh as I lean down and give her a gentle kiss. It’s not a consuming one. It’s a loving one.
“I can’t wait till you’re out of this hospital and I can get you all to myself again.”
She touches my cheek. I think it’s the most gentle touch she’s ever given me. “I can’t wait for that either.”
After I know Sasha is ok, I go outside to find Mikhail by his car. “So, is it done?”
He opens his trunk and points. Looking inside, I find Giovanni’s dead body.
“You did it,” I say.
“Don’t sound so surprised,” he says, shutting the trunk. “We’re allies now. We look out for each other. But you better not fuck me over, Nico.”
“Hey, you’re the one who shot me in the back. Literally.”
“And you survived.”
I roll my eyes. Working with Mikhail is going to be interesting. “So, there’s one more thing we have to go deal with.”
Mikhail and I show up at Denis’s house.
Denis’s eyes widen when he opens his door, seeing me and Mikhail together. “What do you two want?”
“We wanted to let you know that we’re working together now,” I explain. “And we have our sights on you, Denis.”
He scoffs, even though its weak. There’s fear in his voice. “You two won’t last a day working together.”
“Seeing as Mikhail already killed one of my enemies for me, I’d say we’re doing just fine.”
“So, Denis,” Mikhail says, “you better sleep with one eye open. Because we’re going to save Irina and Ana from you. We’re going to kill you one day.”
With a shaky movement, Denis slams the door shut.
“That scared him shitless,” I comment.
“It did. Now we just have to wait and see what Denis does.”
I stare at Mikhail for a moment. “You know, being allies won’t be so bad.”
“I had that idea first when I came to you a year ago to make a deal.”
“Sure. Rub it in. God, you’re annoying,”
“And so are you,” he fires back.
“Is Denis right? Will our alliance actually pan out?”
He considers it, then nods. “I believe so. Our wives will ensure we remain allies. That’s a stronger bond than anything else in this world.”
Once again, I agree with Mikhail.
Fuck. I really have changed.