Page 75 of Depraved

The guard unlocks her cuffs, and Sokolov finally withdraws the blade from her throat. She stumbles, limbs still weak from the shock of the taser. The man simply lifts her over his shoulder and carries her away, following orders.

I bite my tongue to hold in an agonized roar. It’s the last time I’ll ever see her.

When the metal door clangs shut between us, I slowly lower my rifle to the floor.

The surviving men train their guns on me.

I’m completely at their mercy now.

If it weren’t for the pact I made with Sokolov, I’d have a decent chance of taking at least two of them out before they managed to kill me.

As it is, I don’t move a muscle.

“Sit.” He gestures at a metal chair that’s bolted to the floor.

I walk to it on leaden legs, each step taking me farther away from her.

But she’s already hopelessly out of reach.

She always has been.

I deluded myself into thinking I could have her, but I was never worthy. I’ve always known that.

I drop down onto the chair, and one of the survivors quickly cuffs my wrists behind my back. The metal bites into my skin, but I know there’s much worse pain to come.

I’ll endure anything for her.

The metal door bursts open with a bang, and my heart stops.

“No,” I moan in disbelief.

Karolina is running back into the room.

The guard with the scratches on his face grabs her from behind. “Dumb bitch! Do you want to live, or not?”

“Get her out of here!” I thunder.

“I’m not leaving you!” she cries. “I won’t leave you to die again.”

She elbows the guard in the face, and he drops. She grabs his gun and scrambles towards me.

“You have to leave,” I beg.

“Never,” she vows, fierce green eyes flashing. “I love you. I can’t live without you. I can’t do it again.”

My heart swells painfully in my chest.

She loves me.

She loves me, and it’s going to get her killed.

“Karolina, no!” I bark uselessly as she points the weapon at one of the bastards who dared to bid on her.

Her body jerks, and her scream pierces my heart.

Sokolov flung the blade at her, and it’s embedded deep in her shoulder. She drops at the same time as the man she shot.

The four men left standing converge on her, wrestling the gun from her hands.