31. Valentin
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
VALENTIN
The soft texture of Lexi’s skin sends waves of nostalgia coursing through my heart. Despite all I’ve put her through, her body still responds to my touch with soft goosebumps. I can’t grasp what that means, but I hope that one day, she will find it in her heart to forgive me.
“Lexi,” I whisper, cradling her in my arms. “Wake up.”
Her head shakes, yet her eyes remain tightly shut.
I prop her against the wall and bind her wrists with rope—not so tight that it causes pain, but just firm enough to convince Petrov that she’s been secured.
I close my eyes for a brief second to inhale her scent again. It might be the last time I ever get close to her.
Petrov kneels beside her. “Pathetic,” he scoffs, his fingers gliding across her cheek.
My stomach knots at the sight of him touching what is still mine.
She mumbles something, her words escaping in a shallow, broken wheeze.
Her eyes flutter open, and fear obviously washes over her as she realizes her hands are helplessly bound behind her back.
“Please don’t do this,” she pleads, her voice trembling as she desperately struggles to free herself, flailing.
His laugh is like broken glass. “I don’t blame you, Valentin, for tasting her.” He rubs his thumb over her lips.
A wave of fury rises within me, and I tighten my fists at my sides, battling the urge to lunge at Petrov and rip his throat out.
Lexi’s eyes shimmer with tears, but she remains transfixed on me, even as his fingers graze her skin. “Valentin,” she whispers, her voice filled with a desperate plea. “Please. You won’t allow him to do this to me, you won’t …”
Petrov’s intense gaze locks onto her, his expression growing more ominous as he scans her body. “Did she beg when you had her tied to your bed, Valentin?”
“What I do with my toys is none of your business,” I hiss, a sharp edge to my voice.
Petrov meets my gaze, a malevolent grin curling his lips. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you to share your toys with your friends?”
I stiffen, my hands in my pockets. “You disappoint me, Petrov.”
He hisses, “I’m the one who put this plan together. After tonight, Elise will be dead with her sister.”
I take a breath. “You’re letting your obsession with one little whore cloud your judgment,” I say, letting my voice drop.
Petrov’s composure cracks for a split second. “I’m just playing around, Valentin. You know that.”
A gentle sob escapes Lexi, and it shatters my heart. I can almost feel the weight of her fear deep within me.
Outside the warehouse, I hear the footsteps of men shuffling around, only hoping Lev has arrived.
Petrov advances toward me, his weapon held tightly in his grip, but I stand my ground, refusing to flinch. “If we’re going to kill Elise, we’ll need more men.”
Do I catch a flicker of doubt in his eyes?
Petrov narrows his gaze, letting the weapon hang loosely at his side. “Seems we’re on the same page.” His men materialize from their concealed spots, creating a solid wall near the door.
Their presence weighs heavily. I maintain a calm exterior, but my gut is twisting.
A thunderous bang jolts us, and his men shift around uneasily.
Petrov gestures toward the door, and one of his men swings it open. Lev strides in, seizing Elise with a firm grip. She desperately fights against him, but he strikes her across the cheek, her anguished scream cleaving through the silence like a knife.
I steal my voice, forcing a level tone. “Looks like the plan worked. She came running to save her sister.”
Lexi’s cheeks are wet, and she clearly can’t tear her gaze from Elise. In contrast, Elise remains utterly expressionless, her scowl indicating that she may already be planning our downfall.
“Look what we got here,” Petrov snaps, grabbing Elise from Lev by the hair and throwing her on the ground next to Lexi. Then Petrov shifts his weight, arms crossed tightly over his chest. “You expect me to believe that you came here all alone?”
His gaze shifts downwards, landing on Elise.
“I’m never alone. But that bastard killed Ivy!” Elise retorts fiercely, her eyes blazing with intensity as they narrow on Lev.
Petrov exhales sharply, the tension crackling. For a moment, I think he almost believes her. But then he jerks his chin at his men. “Go outside, and you’d better return with a dead assassin.”
“Well, we might as well get this over with,” Petrov snarls, fixing his intense gaze on Elise. Slowly and deliberately, he stands and aims his gun directly at her.
Elise nods stiffly, then lifts her head toward Petrov. “Andrei won’t let you get away with this.”
Petrov’s mouth curls in contempt. “I’m counting on it.”
I put my hands in the air in a surrender.
“We might need her to negotiate,” I caution. “Keep her alive.”
Petrov maintains his calm demeanor, but I can sense the simmering anger in the fists clenched at his sides.
“You think you have everything all figured out, don’t you, Brigadier?”
Petrov’s gaze darts to Lexi, his eyes shadowed with an unsettling gleam as he notices the tears glistening on her cheeks. It’s the way he observes her, as if he’s concocting some devious scheme in his mind, a dark agenda lurking beneath the surface.
Then, Petrov’s bloodshot gaze shifts to me and he barks a harsh laugh. He’s quick to move over to Lexi, pulling her hair and yanking her face to meet my eyes.
He grips the weapon tightly, the cold steel of the barrel pressing firmly against her forehead, sending an obvious chill of fear through her.
Lexi’s scream stretches endlessly, and her eyes widen with a suffocating sense of fear.
I’m seething with anger. My nerves are frayed, and my stomach is in knots. “Don’t you fucking touch her,” I spit out my words, my fist clenched so tightly that my knuckles are cracking.
He lets out a cruel laugh.
“You almost had me, Valentin.” His jaw clenches, and he gives me a disdainful sneer. “I actually thought Andrei fired you and believed it when you said you wanted your revenge.” The gun remains trained on Lexi’s head. “You exposed yourself when you made me think this girl was nothing to you.”
My heart pounds in my chest as I cry out, desperate and hoarse. “Please, don’t hurt her.”
Lexi wasn’t supposed to be part of the plan to lure out Petrov. I despised the notion of using Lexi as a lure, but Andrei insisted, and Elise, though reluctant, ultimately complied with his orders.
It tore me apart to pretend she meant nothing to me when the truth is I love my Krasotka. Now, I’ve put her in grave danger, and this motherfucker is controlling her fate. She will never forgive me for this. She has every reason to feel betrayed by me.
If he pulls that trigger, it will destroy me, and I’ll unleash my fury, tearing him apart without a second thought, even if it means sacrificing my own life.
His lips curl into a wicked sneer. “I saw the way you danced with her at your birthday party.” He sticks out his tongue and licks her cheek. “That was the touch of a man who has fallen in love.”
Petrov’s eyes flash with a cruel darkness as his finger tightens on the trigger.
A wave of dread roils across my stomach.
Suddenly, the sharp crack of a gunshot pierces the air.