Page 41 of Sold to My Ex's Brother
There’s nothing I can do.
If I try to run after them, then I will drop Iris, who seems hardly able to stand on her own two feet right now. No, the best thing I can do is make sure that at least one of them gets out of here in one piece, if nothing else, and send one of my men after that car to make sure it doesn’t get far.
Behind me, Jakob, the other enforcer I had on this case, steps out from behind the door. I jerk my head towards the car.
“I need you to get after them,” I tell him. “And call in medical for Leon.”
“I’m okay,” Leon grunts, as he drags himself upright, leaning heavily against the wall as though his legs might give out from underneath him at any moment.
“No, you’re not,” I reply. I ease away from Iris, seeing if she can stand up yet, but she looks as if she might collapse if I try to move away from her. “And neither is she. We need to get you somewhere safe, Iris. Is there anyone who knows you’re here, anyone we can call...?”
She stares at me for a moment, gripping on tight to my shoulders, as if, when she lets go, she might just fall to the ground. And she shakes her head.
“No,” she murmurs. “No, I... Tt’s just me.”
Her voice is heavy with the weight of that statement, the confession that there is nobody here looking out for her. Fuck, it hits me like a knife to the gut, more than I can take.
I know a little about her, enough to understand that she has been through hell. She came from a wealthy family, but that family turned their backs on her the moment she succumbed to her pill addiction. No attempt to help her, to understand what the fuck happened to push her to the point where she needed to lose herself to complete and utter oblivion every single day, just casting her out like she is nothing more than a pain they want nothing to do with.
And that’s exactly why my goddamn bastard of a brother did what he did, chose her as the target for his latest auction. Because nobody would come looking for her.
“Come on,” I tell her, as I put an arm around her, leading her towards my vehicle. “Let’s get you out of here.”
“Where... where’s Kyra?” she asks. I don’t reply. We can deal with that part later. What matters right now is getting her to safety, and doing everything I can to make sure that she doesn’t succumb to whatever bullshit Sergei fed to her with that cigarette.
And pray to God that I can get to Kyra before he hurts her in ways that she will not be able to recover from.
19
MAYA
The airin the apartment is still and quiet, and I can feel my heart thumping against the inside of my chest as I look around. I don’t know how long I have here before I’m interrupted, but I need to take whatever chance I can get to try and find whatever freedom I can.
Anton and three of his guards left hours ago. Considering the interrogation he put me through earlier about Ruby, I know exactly why. Artem has found his next targets. The thought of what those girls are being subjected to makes me sick, and sitting here completely useless is driving me insane.
I’m trapped in a gilded cage, reading, watching TV, and just existing. When I worked at the bar, I would have killed for this kind of rest.
Now, the quiet is suffocating.
I need out. Not forever—Anton would hunt me down before I made it past city limits—but long enough to grab a few of my own things. Just enough to make this place feel less like a cell. With whatever chaos is pulling their attention tonight, I have theperfect cover to slip out and sneak back before anyone realizes I’m gone.
I reach the door, which is currently standing unguarded; the new guard will arrive in a few minutes, I’m sure, but right now, it’s empty. I push it open slightly and peer out into the corridor beyond. It’s practically the first time I’ve seen out of this place, and my pulse is racing as I look around, trying to figure out if there is anyone here who is going to stop me.
But it’s silent. Quiet.
Whatever is going down outside these walls, it must be serious, for Anton to have left this place low on guards. I guess, after the attack on his mansion, his numbers must have taken a hit. I feel bad exploiting such a thing, but he has left me with little choice, given that he so completely refused to let me help him in all of this.
I inhale deeply, and dart out of the door before I can think about it any further, reaching the elevator and slamming my finger repeatedly into the button. I glance around again, the back of my neck prickling, feeling like I’m going to be caught at any moment, but then the elevator doors slide smoothly open in front of me.
And I hop in before I can think better of it.
It whisks me downstairs, my stomach lurching with the sudden movement, and I try my best to recall what the reception area looked like when I first arrived.
he elevator doors part, and I dart out, pressing myself flat against the cold marble wall before the lobby guards can spot me.
Scanning the room, my eyes lock onto a nondescript door at the far end—a service exit. I hurry over, twist the handle, and practically collapse with relief when it gives. I slip into the alley, easing the heavy door shut behind me so it doesn’t click.
I pull my jacket hood low and hurry down the block, sticking to the shadows. It’s not just Anton I have to hide from out here. If his brother Artem finds me—and figures out I’m pregnant—he’ll twist it to claim the baby is his. The thought alone makes my stomach violently churn. I’d die before I let that monster anywhere near my child.
