I reveled in the power, and I let it fuel my dark soul.
Walking up the stairs, I paused for the briefest second. I should turn to the left, to where my room was. But I found myself turning to the right wing.
Where my woman lived and breathed.
I imagined her flush cheeks and her breathy sigh…her timeless beauty. I thought of the beat of her heart under my hand. How loud it sounded in my ears when I rested my head on her chest.
It belonged to me.
Fuck. It really was the most beautiful thing.
Valerie had changed my priorities, and the craziest part was…I didn’t fucking mind it. Not even one bit.
My steps faltered when I saw Yegor coming toward me. His eyes widened and my heart stuttered for the briefest second. I saw the fear in his gaze, the look of horror and the helplessness.
“You are home,” he said and then shook his head. “Nice timing.”
“What is it?” I walked past him, my feet taking me faster to Valerie’s room.
Something was wrong.
I felt it.
In the marrow of me…I felt it.
“Valentin wants to meet you.”
My fists clenched, and I tried to inhale, but my lungs seemed to collapse.
“Viktor, wait—”
I cut him off. “Where is Valentin?”
He was silent for a moment, and my skin started to crawl.
No. No. No. Please no.
“In Valerie’s room.”
His whispered words traveled to my ears, and my heart sank to the pit of my stomach. I almost tripped over my own feet and then I was running. Without thinking…
Without realizing the consequences.
There was a pain in my skull, my head was hurting…my body was going numb…
I couldn’t breathe.
The world was tilting…
I wanted to roar out. The urge to hurt something was strong.
The need to rip off Valentin’s limbs was intense.
An arm caught me, and then I was being pulled back. “Viktor!”
Yegor pushed me against the wall. He was breathing heavily, but he begged me with his eyes. “You can’t…you can’t do anything right now. Look.” He nodded toward Valerie’s door.
It was so close to me.
So so close…only twenty steps away.
I could reach her. I’d save her. I’d steal her out of this fucking hell right now.
I blinked, and that was when I noticed the danger. Four heavily armed men were standing outside her room. They were huge. And I knew…I just fucking knew.
These men were no normal bodyguards.
They were trained assassins.
One wrong move and I was simply a dead man.
Yegor made a choked sound in the back of his throat. He knew what this meant.
We were powerless.
This battle had just turned into a damn bloody arena.
Yegor pulled my attention back to him when he spoke in a low voice. “Valentin ordered you to leave all your weapons at the door before entering the room. You will be checked thoroughly before you step inside. No weapons. None at all. There are more men like them downstairs and outside. They are waiting for a fight, Viktor. Do. Not. Give. Them. A. War.”
A snarl threatened to escape past my throat. Valentin was a fucking coward. He knew he would never win against me singlehandedly. So he brought his assassins…his fucking slaves in.
“Listen to me carefully. When I left the room, Valentin was fully dressed. It didn’t look like he was…” Yegor trailed off. He took a deep breath, his expression twisting before he continued. “He’s trying to play with your mind, and you need to be in control. Maybe…maybe he won’t hurt her. At least not in front of you. Just think rationally. You can’t win in this moment. You are without power right now. Do you understand, Viktor? Trying to kill Valentin is suicide, and Valerie will only end up getting hurt.”
I forced myself to nod…forced myself to fucking think.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed Yegor away and walked forward. I stopped in front of the men. They were death.
So was I.
But I couldn’t…
Think of Valerie.
I stared at the four men dead in the eyes and stripped off all my weapons. My two guns and my knives.
“That’s all I have,” I said, raising my arms up and silently giving them permission to check me over.
They quickly patted me down. Satisfied that I was with no weapons and powerless in this situation, they stepped away from the door.
My heart thundered and my veins roared, as if acid had been poured directly into them. There was a bitter taste in my mouth, and I almost choked on it.
Every fiber of my being was fueled with the need to rage inside and save Valerie. Protect her. But I was stuck.
Weak.
Helpless.
Tick…tock…tick…tock…tick…tock.
What was behind the door?
Tick…tock…tick…tock…tick…tock.
The devil on my shoulder was back again.
His appearance came with the sickest feeling in my stomach.
Tick…tock…tick…tock…tick…tock.
Every essence of me vibrated with the need to go to her.
Tick…tock…tick…tock…tick…tock.
The devil laughed.
Tick…tock…tick…tock…tick…tock.
The devil mocked me. Weak, he said. I was weak.
Tick…tock…tick…tock…tick…tock.
I opened the doors and walked inside.