Page 137 of Manic

“Not at all. You’ll have fun with her,” Manic said coolly, then positioned me in front of him by a hard tug.

I stumbled, eyes flaring as my heart rate picked up. He released my hair and twisted my arm behind my back, my shoulder screaming at the joint. I felt his jaw brush against my temple, then dip into a nod toward their shipment.

“The crates?” Manic asked.

“All there,” Dmitri said. “Would you like to check?”

Manic waved his gun, and Axell stepped in from the shadows. My breathing stalled, my world turning upside down. Axell knew Manic was trading me? Where were the other Crowe members? The crates opened with a low groan on Axell’s approach, a few minutes going by before they slammed shut again.

“All here,” Axell stated, planting himself beside Manic.

“Perfect.” Dmitri smiled. “Now hand her over.”

Manic chuckled and gently pulled my head to the side.

I trembled when his lips brushed the crook of my neck, trailing the column of my throat and below my ear. To my jaw. Panted breaths escaped me as treacherous warmth spread throughout my body.

I hated him. I hated what he did to me.

A whimper escaped my throat, and I held Dmitri’s stare, which darkened into a hateful rage. Manic moved his mouth higher and higher, leaving nothing but a path of heat along my skin.

“Aim true.” Manic’s whisper unfurled along the shell of my ear as cold metal touched my fingertips. The handle of a blade.

My breaths sped up as it all set in—that this was a setup. Not to hand me over, but to free us both.

Then he shoved me.

I yelped, clashing into Dmitri, into a wall of solid muscle and firm hands. Shots rang out behind me—one, two, five—and I locked eyes with Dmitri as heavy thumps echoed off the warehouse walls.

It happened in a split second. And I didn’t think twice as I sank my blade into the flesh below his collarbone.

Dmitri bellowed and lunged for me.

I darted back, but before he could grip my throat, before he could take me down with him, another gunshot cracked the air like thunder. Dmitri dropped to the ground as Manic blew his knee out, his gun held high with confidence. Every inch of his body bled power and strength.

Cold and calculated and absolutely infuriating.

But he was mine, wasn’t he?

Manic stalked forward and shot Dmitri’s hand as he pulled his own gun, and then sank another into his shoulder with a cruel, twisted smile. Fear and relief emerged like lightning, zipping through my bloodstream, and yet I couldn’t seem to catch my breath as I stared in horror.

Axell holstered his gun and swept in behind Dmitri, yanking him to his feet. He pinned his arms behind him as Dmitri glared down his nose, hobbling on one foot. Axell was as tall and large as the Russian.

“They’ll kill you for this. They will hunt you.” Dmitri spat. “You’ve just made a mistake.”

“No I didn’t,” Manic said.

He tucked his gun back into his waistband, moving closer. Dmitri hissed when Manic yanked the blade from his collarbone, his blood a crimson ribbon down the front of his shirt. Manic flipped the blade twice, angling his head to the side as Axell held Dmitri hostage.

Dmitri panted heavily, his nostrils flaring—the cold realization that Manic was about to end his life. I stood with my mouth open, tears blurring my vision and unable to look away.

“That is my future wife, and this…” Manic drove the knife up, beneath Dmitri’s ribs, and right into his heart. Dmitri’s mouth opened on a pained exhale, a low hiss of dying air. “...is for Raven. Did you think I didn’t know it was you who placed the order to kill him? You took Raven, but you won’t be taking her.”

Dmitri only answered with a throaty gurgle, his eyes drifting into nothingness. They glazed over, and I knew he’d died within seconds of the blade entering his heart.

Once his body thumped to the ground, the reality of what Manic had done set in. A low buzz settled between my ears, the world fading around me. I hardly heard the orders Manic barked at Axell, both of them quickly darting outside. Something about five minutes and a car. An order to stay where I was.

I couldn’t move even if I wanted to.