FALLEN SAINT (All the Pretty Things #2)

One-3

Just as his brother did, he makes my skin crawl. However, while Kazimir wanted to defile me, I get the sense Adrian wants to defile my insides as he murders me.

Without bothering to argue, I walk over to a bench seat, away from my captors, and turn my back to them to look out the window. I still have no idea where we are, but I’m not worried about the journey. The final destination and what’s in store for me when we arrive in Russia are what have me lifting the hair off my neck and twisting it into a high topknot. I’m burning up in panic.

When the room falls silent, though, I wonder if I’ll even make it to Russia. If Zoey has her way, I’ll be overboard come nightfall. The men mumble under their breath, clearly hoping to see a catfight when Zoey marches down the stairs. But I am not competition. She can have Aleksei.

The fridge opens, and the sound of a water bottle opening cuts through the static. I keep my eyes up front because even though I would give my right arm for a sip of cold water, I remain quiet. Zoey, however, doesn’t share the sentiment.

When her bare feet pad across the floor, announcing her arrival, I brace myself for World War III.

“You may have my brother fooled, and Alek may be excited with the shiny new toy”—I curl my hands into tight fists to stop myself from slapping her—“but make no mistake, I am always going to be their number one.”

I couldn’t care less about Aleksei. But what she says about Saint turns my stomach.

“Know your place and we won’t have a problem because my brother will always put me first. Don’t you ever forget it.”

Unable to hold my tongue any longer, I turn over my shoulder, pinning her with a glower of my own. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Zoey’s bowed lips tip into a malicious grin. “It means if you even think about taking Alek away from me, I will give my brother what he’s always wanted. The sweet, innocent sister he still thinks I am.”

Wide-eyed, I gape at her.

“The fact he protected you means you’ve gotten under his skin. But it’ll only take some tears and hollow promises of going home for his protective big brother mode to kick in. I will wedge a wall between you by filling his head with insecurities, like he isn’t the only man you want, and he’ll believe me because he doesn’t see himself as good enough for someone like you. Then he won’t be so quick to protect you when I kill you with my f*****g bare hands.”

I thought I’d seen it all. I was wrong.

She steps forward, and with nowhere to go, I turn around to face her. “I will lie, cheat, and kill to get you out of my life. So if that means lying to my brother, then so be it. I know Saint. Even though he’s loyal, his jealousy will make him weak.”

“And what are you then?” I spit, refusing to back down. “Isn’t this little pep talk because you’re frightened Aleksei will throw your sorry ass to the curb?”

Furious, she advances forward but then abruptly stops and takes a calming breath. “I’m the person you don’t want to f**k with,” she threatens. “You may think you’re safe with Saint here, but he has to sleep. And if I don’t get to you first, the other men on this yacht will.”

“I don’t want Aleksei,” I clarify in case she missed the memo. She simply chuckles, and it’s not a pleasant sound.

“That’s what they all say. But Aleksei is like heroin.” Her face turns tranquil while I wonder where she’s going with this analogy. “You become hooked with the very first taste, and you don’t know you’re addicted until it’s too late. All you need is a little bump to get you through the day, but before long, you can’t survive without it.”

“Lucky for me,” I say, coming to a slow stand, “I’ve always said no to drugs.”

Zoey looks surprised by my wit. “I wouldn’t be so sure.” She’s a few inches shorter than I am, but like her brother, she oozes control. “Isn’t Saint your heroin?”

My cheeks instantly blister because she’s caught me off guard. But I squash down my embarrassment. “If you think that, then why are you so concerned I will come between you and Aleksei?”

She takes another step forward, almost pressing her nose to mine. “Because he will worm his way into your soul and make you forget a life before him existed. Believe me, I know.” When she traces over the track marks on her arm, I almost feel sorry for her.

“I don’t want to be here. I hate him,” I spit, wanting to make that very clear.

But she reveals just whose show this is. “Didn’t you hate my brother as well?” My silence says it all.

I don’t know how she can tell, but she’s right. And she knows it. And then she says the most frightening thing she could ever say.

“Who do you think taught him everything he knows? So just as you once hated Saint, you may hate Aleksei now, but sooner or later”—she rips the air from my lungs when she presses her lips to mine and whispers—“he will become your heroin too.”

She seals my fate with a chaste kiss—the kiss of death.

She pulls away with a smug smile because she’s won this battle. I’m too shell-shocked to move and watch with wide eyes as she saunters away from me. My knees threaten to buckle, so I slump onto the seat, needing a minute to catch my breath.

What the hell just happened?

Zoey has struck a nerve because she’s right about Saint. I did hate him, and now…I don’t. But Saint is nothing like Aleksei.

“Who do you think taught him everything he knows?”

Zoey’s words haunt me.

A master manipulator, Aleksei clearly loves to play mind games with people. But so does Zoey. She made it clear she would put Saint against me if I didn’t play by her rules. I want to think he’d see through her lies, but knowing she’s the reason he’s done all this, I’m not so sure.

But the fact she thinks I would ever feel anything other than utter hatred toward Aleksei reveals that I’m stronger than she is. He may try to fool me, but you can only fool me once, and Drew was a lesson learned. And I will never be like Zoey—hooked on the most potent drug of them all.

“He will be your tormenter, but he will also be the person who makes the pain go away.”

Saint’s words echo loudly in my head, seeming to confirm what Zoey just said. Suddenly, I’m more fearful for my soul than my virtue. And when I hear Aleksei’s voice, my body breaks out into a cold sweat.

Saint walks down the stairs, instantly seeking me out. When he sees me stooped over, he raises a brow but quickly shrouds any emotion when Aleksei trails him. His men stop what they’re doing, some even standing at attention, while Zoey leans against the wall watching me.

Taking a deep breath, I won’t allow her words to affect me. I need to have a clear head because it’s the only way I’ll survive this.

“I almost didn’t recognize you.” I know he’s talking to me, but I can’t look at him. The scissors burn my flesh, screaming at me to use them against this vile man. When his shoes come into view, my breathing mounts, no matter how hard I try to keep calm.

“After everything you’ve been through, you must be exhausted. Saint told me that for most nights, you slept outdoors?” Hearing his name has me lifting my eyes to meet Aleksei’s gaze.

I don’t know what he expects of me, so I simply nod once.

“Now that doesn’t sound very comfortable.”

Neither is being held against your will, you asshole, I think to myself.

“Well, hearing all about your adventures has left me tired. I’m going to have a lie down.”

I exhale in relief, but it’s in vain.

When Zoey pushes off the wall, no doubt armed and ready to ease all the fatigue from his loins, Aleksei stuns us all. “You can stay here, Zoey. I don’t require your presence. Willow?”

Even though I’ve just heard my name and see his extended hand, my brain can’t comprehend that he requires my presence. Every part of my body protests, beseeching I don’t follow the lion into his den.

But what choice do I have?

I’m thankful I haven’t eaten because when I slip my hand into his, the need to throw up almost winds me. His hand is warm, soft, but when I think of all the lives these hands have destroyed, Saint’s included, it turns cold.

“You look absolutely beautiful, by the way. Red is your color.” He accentuates his comment with a wink while a small piece of me dies.

Standing, I attempt to pry my hand from his, but he holds on tight. I’m a true prisoner.

When we turn around, I want more than anything to make eye contact with Saint, but he stares straight ahead, his jaw clenched and his eyes cold. Zoey, though, doesn’t mask her emotions as well as her brother. She looks seconds away from ripping out my spleen.

Aleksei doesn’t seem bothered by anyone as he leads me toward a door, a door which no doubt leads to his bedroom.

This is my last chance to make a run for it. But when I look at a rigid Saint, it’s clear we’re all prisoners and pawns in Aleksei’s game. I follow him with my chin downturned in shame. Memories of being face first against that dirty carpet with Kenny’s heavy weight pressing into me rob me of air, but I squash the memories down because I refuse to be a victim again.

Aleksei opens the door, leading me into an elegant bedroom draped in gold velvet and silk. Turning around quickly, I lock eyes with Saint, and his tormented expression tears a hole straight through me. Aleksei closes the door but not before Saint steps forward, primed on saving me as he always has.

Aleksei leans against the locked door, a reptilian smile spreading from cheek to cheek. I back up, only for my legs to hit the king-sized bed. He watches me with hunger. “I think it’s time we got to know one another without all the…distraction.”

Distraction? He means Saint.

I gulp, the walls closing in on me.

Feeling behind me, I walk my way slowly around the bed, never taking my eyes off Aleksei as I cower in the furthest corner of the room. He watches on amused, a true cat and mouse game.

“And to do that, I need to see you.”

My heart begins to pound against my rib cage. “You can see me just fine now.”

Aleksei’s animated laughter slashes the air. “Suit yourself.”

When he pushes off the door, I frantically scan the room from left to right, searching for an escape route. But the man intent on trapping me forever has blocked my only way out.

Feelings of helplessness surround me, and the stench of Kenny’s soaked breath crashes into me. But another smell overrides that weakness, and that’s the combination of spicy, sweet, and floral—Saint’s signature fragrance.

Thoughts of him and his belief in me that I’m the bravest woman he knows have me refusing to surrender. I will do him proud when I save us this time.

It’s time I showed Aleksei my real worth.