Page 17 of Vegas Baby

I breathe a sigh of relief when I hear his voice. “Sebastian, I just met with Cliff. He told Andrei I’d be here today. I’m scared. Is there any way you can pick me up?” The words tumble out so fast they are almost incoherent.

There’s silence on the other end, and I’m afraid he didn’t hear me.

“Get in the casino where there are lots of people, find an employee, and wait with them. I’ll call you when I get there.”

The anxiety twisting in my chest lessens. “Thank you.” I hang up and slip my phone back into my purse. I turn down the hall to the casino when an arm wraps around me, followed by the unmistakable cool circle of metal touching to my temple. A gun.

“Ty byla plokhoy devochkoy, Kira,” Andrei’s voice hisses in my ear. You’ve been a bad girl. He doesn’t know the half of it.

“Let. Go. Of. Me,” I grind out angrily. In English. Sending the message: I’m not the scared little Russian girl he rescued from poverty anymore.

“Hm. Let me think,” he says, switching back to English. “No.” He drags me back toward the dressing rooms, likely because he knows they will be empty with no show today. But I don’t intend to go quietly.

“You’re not going to get away with this,” I cry. “If you kill me, where will you run? You can’t go back to Russia, Andrei.”

“Oh, Kira, darling, I’m not going to kill you,” he says with a maniacal laugh. “I’m just going to beat you so badly you’ll never think of leaving me ever again. Because you know I’ll always find you.”

“Then you’ll have to kill me because I’m never staying with you. Never!” I screech the words at him.

“Oh, I think you will. I heard you talking to your new boyfriend. How about I wait for him, tie him up, and make you watch what I do to him?” Andrei hisses in my ear.

Knowing he is capable of doing just as he says, my blood runs cold. But it makes me even more determined to get away from him as quickly as possible. Before he can get anywhere near Sebastian.

“Let —” I thrash violently in his arms “— go —” I stomp my feet, trying to find his “— of —” I throw my head back, finally connecting with him in a sickening crack that sends pain through my skull and neck “— me.” With a cry of agony, he loses his grip, releasing me. Metal clatters to the floor. I whirl around to see Andrei holding his bloodied nose.

“You bitch,” he bellows.

I spare him not another glance, diving for the gun on the floor. His yell cost him time, so even though he dives too, I get my hands on it first.

Unfortunately, he’s close. Too close. He pins me to the floor, his face in mine, my hands uselessly holding the gun over my head as he scrambles with long fingers to pry it from my grip. He’s so much stronger than me, and with his weight pinning me and stealing my breath, I can’t resist. The gun slides out of my hands, tumbling to the ground.

Now his hand goes to my throat before he remembers the brace. I take the opportunity to knee him in the balls. I must miss because he groans but doesn’t move, choosing to press his hand over my mouth instead.

“You want some of those?” He slides his other hand between my legs, and I scream behind his hand. “I’ll give them to you, you little bitch. I’ll fuck you so hard you’ll remember who you belong to.”

His hand covers my mouth and nose as he pulls down my leggings. I scream and thrash and push, but it’s no use. My brain starts to go fuzzy from lack of oxygen. I feel a tug at my panties. It’s the last thing I register before I pass out.

12

SEBASTIAN

I’ve never driven so fast in my life. And that’s saying something. Even though we were only a couple of miles away, the few minutes it takes to get to The Mirage feel like hours. I’m calling Kira before I’m even fully out of the ambulance, barely registering the concern on Ty’s face at my insane driving. Even though I’ve told him pretty much everything he needed to know about what’s going down.

When she doesn’t answer, I almost lose it completely. I turn back to Ty.

“Get me police in the theater now. I’m going in,” I command.

He opens his mouth like he’s going to remind me we’re not supposed to go in first, but he apparently thinks better of it and picks up his walkie talkie.

With a grim nod of approval, I run inside, ignoring the surprised looks of several casino employees as I whip by them. I see no sign of Kira along the way, and when I burst through the theater doors, still nothing. My adrenaline pumping, I try to remember the layouts I’ve been shown before to remember where the offices are.

From behind the door at the back left of the theater, I hear a man yell. My legs move even before my brain can register, my EMT training so deeply ingrained to move toward danger.

I burst through the doors, and halfway down the hallway I see a man with light brown hair on top of a woman with dark hair, either in the process of or about to rape her. Kira. Something inside me snaps. My vision turns red as I let out a roar, sprinting for the bastard.

I tackle him hard, sending us both flying. I land on top of him and hear his head crack against the cement floor. The sound snaps me back to reality.

“Shit,” I curse, climbing off him. He’s out cold. But I don’t tend to him first. I rush back to Kira. She’s also unconscious, her leggings torn off but her underwear still intact. Thank God.