Raze & Reap (63 page)

Tears fell, and I realized this was him telling me he loved me, too. “You like to say that better?” I asked, my voice breaking in happiness.

He nodded firmly, his harsh face straightening in conviction. “You
are
 … for me. No other male. Just me. And
me
 … for
you
. This is my,
‘I love you.'
These are
my
words from
my
scarred soul. They are not borrowed words, but words from my full heart, and my heart only.”

Those four simple words,
“You are … for me
,
”
were the most meaningful words that could ever be spoken.

Zaal leaned down and peppered soft kisses over my face, murmuring, “You are for me, you are for me,” repeatedly, until I thought my body would burst with light.

With my hands on his face, I lifted his face to meet mine. Gazing into those green eyes that had taken me captive all those weeks ago, I replied, “I am for you, Zaal, eternally. I am forever for you.”

The expression that set on Zaal's face, one of disbelief and pure adoration, stole my breath. He swallowed the heavy emotion built between us, and took my mouth in the most gentle and sweetest of kisses. I wrapped my hands around his wide body, his warmth keeping me safe, making me feel so incredibly safe.

This was perfection.

This was my paradise—

Suddenly a loud crash sounded downstairs. Zaal's mouth ripped from mine. Gunshots sounded. Loud pain-filled shouts echoed into our room.

I recognized those voices—Savin, Ilya.

“No,” I whispered, terror washing through my body.

Zaal froze when a rush of feet pounded up the stairs. His hand found mine, and just as he was about to pull me from the bed, the door burst open, the wood cracking off the wall. I screamed as men flooded into the room; men with rifles all aimed at our heads.

Zaal shook with rage. Releasing my hands, he ran at the guards. But just as he was about to fight, a man pushed through the door. A dark man with inky black hair and soulless eyes. He was dressed impeccably, and as soon as he laid eyes on Zaal, Zaal ground to a halt.

The blood drained from my face—Jakhua, his master.

Zaal's face tore apart with agony as he stood before Jakhua. I could see how conditioned he was to obey this man.

Jakhua, with a heady confidence, glanced over to me and his lip curled in disgust.

“221,” he said in cold greeting. Zaal's body stiffened. I could see his eyes squeezing shut repeatedly at Jakhua's voice. My heart lurched. He was trying to fight the hold, fight the twenty-year-long leash Jakhua had on him.

Jakhua walked forward and, clicking his fingers at his guards, ordered, “Take the Russian whore.”

White-hot fear spiked through my body as two of his guards walked forward. I shuffled back along to the headboard of the bed, trying to get away.

Zaal had begun to pace, holding on to the sides of his head. But Jakhua's eyes never left mine. I could feel the repulsion. My stomach rolled in response.

A guard reached out for me, but I kicked out, landing a strike to his stomach. He grunted at the hit, but a second guard was suddenly behind me, and he rammed his fist straight against my cheek. Dazed from the blow, I was unable to fight the guard from wrapping his hand in my hair, using the painful purchase to drag me from the bed.

And then I heard a blood-curdling roar tear from Zaal. Managing to glance up, my vision blurred by the pain, I saw Zaal run at the surrounding guards. He was lethal in his execution.

My desperate gaze sought out Jakhua, and I smiled at the pure look of fear on his face. His personal guards pushed him back, as Zaal knocked Jakhua's enforcers to the ground.

Jakhua looked my way, and with a smug grin, signaled something to the guards. The guard holding my hair dragged me to my feet. In a rush, my naked body was pushed through the melee and down the stairs. I could hear Zaal snarling, and crashes against the wall, but I couldn't get free.

The guards pulled me down until I hit the hallway, where they then wrenched open the basement door and pushed me inside.

My blood coursed through my body when I was pulled down the stairs. Footsteps followed behind.

I fought my screams. I needed to be strong. I thought of my father and mother, of Luka and Kisa, and what they'd endured. I wouldn't give these bastards the satisfaction of hearing or seeing my fear.

I was pushed against the wall, the wall only weeks before I'd watched Zaal slump against. The guards held out my hands and made quick work of shackling me. The chains were heavy on my limbs and they tightened them until my arms hung above my head.

I almost passed out from the pain, but I gritted my teeth forcing myself to fight.

Suddenly I saw feet and when I looked up Jakhua was standing in front of me, his face betraying his rage. Unprovoked, he struck me across the face with the back of his hand. I closed my eyes at the blast of pain slicing through my head. I felt a wetness drip down my chin.

I tasted the iron taste of blood as it hit my tongue. My lip throbbed. My shoulders ached as the chains kept me suspended, the pain too much to bear.

Jakhua moved back, and he gripped my cheeks. His furious dark eyes met mine. “You're the Tolstoi bitch who's sunk her claws into my dog, huh?”

I felt anger, white-hot anger. The feeling was new but not unwelcomed. Gathering the blood in my mouth, I spat the contents in his face. Jakhua froze for a beat then struck me again, my cheek pulsing with the impact of the blow.

Suddenly the door to the basement smashed open. I saw Zaal run down the stairs, his huge body tense, his muscles rippling. His hair fell from the topknot and his green eyes burned with rage.

As he hit the bottom stair, he turned to face us. His flushed face instantly paled when he saw me chained to the wall. “Talia…,” he murmured, and raced my way.

The guards raised their rifles, but Zaal kept coming. Looking like a savage animal unleashed, Zaal stormed toward Jakhua. But in a split second, Jakhua had pulled out a long sharp knife from his jacket. Ripping my head back by the hair, he held the knife right against my exposed throat.

Zaal skidded to a halt. Suddenly losing all his anger, his fear was evident in his expression.

“Come any closer, I'll slit the fucking Russian whore's throat,” Jakhua taunted through gritted teeth. I met Zaal's eyes. He had no idea what to do.

“Don't fucking hurt her!” he hissed. The knife pressed further against my skin. I could feel the sharp cold metal draw blood. A muffled cry slipped from my throat.

The sound prompted Zaal to step back. He repeated, “Don't hurt her.”

Jakhua laughed a humorless laugh. “The animal fucking talks!” I shivered at the disdain in his voice. Zaal's jaw clenched.

“The Volkovs have cost me a fucking lot of money. That cunt, the new
knyaz,
taking you from me has lost me tens of millions in Type A sales.”

I closed my eyes, trying to breathe calmly. But when the knife pressed against my throat even closer, I gasped for breath. When I opened my eyes, Zaal was pacing, hands fisting at his sides.

Jakhua pulled on my hair, my head snapping back until the pain shot down my spine. “And this bitch, this fucking whore is going to die. I'm going to kill them all.”

“No!” Zaal thundered. When his green eyes met mine, my body went limp. His expression had changed, but his eyes, they told me something new. They were telling me “good-bye.”

“No!” I said desperately.

Jakhua ripped at my hair. “Shut up, bitch.”

Zaal tensed, then dropping to his knees, quietly said, “Take me.”

My heart stopped. I felt like it frosted over inside my chest. “Zaal! No!”

But Zaal wasn't looking at me, he was looking straight at Jakhua. “Let her live, and I'll come with you, willingly.”

I could hear Jakhua's heavy breathing in my ear, a heavy breathing that turned to relief as Zaal spoke those words.

“I have to make my money back,” Jakhua said. “I need one hundred percent obedience. You are to go back on the drug. I need you back for demonstrations of its effectiveness.”

I held my breath as he spoke those words.
No!
I tried to tell Zaal with my eyes, but his eyes were firmly focused on Jakhua.

Several seconds passed in silence. Zaal then got to his feet. He took a step closer. Then his eyes met mine. I couldn't stop the tears from pouring down my cheeks as I read the resignation in his face.

Without taking his eyes from me, Zaal agreed, “I'll come with you. I'll go back on your drug. And I won't resist, just let Talia live.”

My face contorted with the same amount of pain I felt crash through my body. Jakhua abruptly stepped back, the knife removed from my throat. “Your papa would be ashamed of you, 221. Fucking a Tolstoi. Like some fucked-up
Romeo and Juliet
shit.”

Zaal stepped forward, ignoring Jakhua, and I shook my head. “No!” I cried, my throat rasping with the rawness of my cries. “Please! You can't go back. You can't let him do that to you again!”

Zaal's nostrils flared. His face paled with sadness. He stepped closer. I pushed his warm palm against my cheek. “I will gladly go, to save you. To let you live.”

I shook my head again, but I could see the deep resolve in his eyes. “No, Zaal. They'll take away your thoughts. They'll steal your memories again. They'll make you kill again. You'll be back living in darkness! I can't, you can't, please…”

“But
you
will live,” he whispered. My heart tore as I heard the break in his deep rasp. He didn't want this. He wanted to be free, he deserved to be free.

“Zaal—”

“I will happily give up my life for yours.” His eyebrows pulled down in devastation. “I cannot imagine a world without you in it, you brought me the sun. I can live in darkness again knowing that you are shining here on the outside.”

Racking sobs tumbled from my mouth, their severity bruising my empty lungs. Zaal closed in, and with the gentlest of touches, he pressed his lips against mine. The pain from my split lip hit my face, but I didn't care. I never ever wanted to break from this kiss.

Zaal pulled back, pressing his forehead to mine, as if he was committing this touch to memory, a memory he would lose as soon as he was injected with that fucking serum again. I couldn't stand the thought.

“You deserve to live,” I whispered.

Zaal's lips spread into a sad smile. “I have lived, Talia. In the short time I have known you, I have lived more than I could ever have dreamed.” His eyes stared at mine. “I have lived only because of you. I have … I have gained a full heart, a full heart for you.”

I closed my eyes at the pain of this moment, of his acceptance of this fate. Suddenly he was ripped away. Snapping my eyes back open, I watched in horror as the guards dragged him away toward the stairs.

I thrashed in my chains, trying to get free. Zaal shook his head, telling me to stop. Stilling, and unable to breathe, I stopped. I watched as they approached the stairs.

Mustering the last of my raspy voice, I shouted, “Zaal!”

He turned his face as he reached the bottom step and, with his hand on his heart and tears in his eyes, he said, “You are … for me.”

With those words the final dagger pierced my heart. I knew I'd be ruined for life. As Zaal began his ascent, I met his eyes, and declared in a hoarse voice, “I am … for you.”

Zaal swallowed, closed his eyes, and as the guards forced him up the stairs he disappeared from view.

All energy drained, a crippling grief sweeping through my body, I sagged in the tight chains, sagged and cried, cried until darkness claimed me, and I could cry no more.

 

18

TALIA

“Down here!”

I stirred from sleep on hearing a male voice shout upstairs. I heard the rush of feet. Footsteps stormed down the steps to the basement.

I was aching, in pain, and my head throbbed.

“Shit! Talia!” I heard. Cracking my bruised eyes open, Luka ran my way. Luka and Mikhail, and
byki,
lots of
byki
.

“Luka.” My mouth formed the word, but my throat felt like it was filled with razors.

“Get her down!” Luka ordered. I smiled in my head, my lips too weak to make the gesture. He sounded like a leader, finally like the man he was born to be.

A sudden pain shot through my body as I was freed from my chains. Every muscle in my body screamed as the blood began to fill them, forcing them back to life.

Strong arms held me and lifted me off the floor. Something was put to my lips. Cool water immediately filled my mouth. I struggled to swallow through a raw throat, but I forced myself. I had to tell Luka about Jakhua, about Zaal. I had to save him. Luka had to save him.

“Get her robe!” Luka called. I heard footsteps on the stairs as someone obeyed his order.

Luka poured the water over my face. A towel followed as he cleaned my face, the soft material feeling like stabbing needles.

Luka's hand pushed my bloodied hair back from my face, and he asked, “Talia? Are you okay?”

My eyes widened and filled with water. My body jerked. I tried to move. I needed to move. We needed to save Zaal.

“No,” Luka said as my body arched with pain. “You need to wait. Your body needs time to adjust.”

Looking into Luka's brown eyes, I cried, and rasped, “He took him. He came and took him from me.”

Luka's face darkened. He pulled me to his chest. “I'll get him, Talia. This I promise you.”

“But he is going to drug him again. Zaal agreed to be the prototype again, to save my life.” Luka lowered me until I could see his face, his face torn with pain. “He saved me, Luka. Traded my life for his.”

Just then, a
byki
came with my robe. Luka ordered them all out of the basement. My eyes widened, and I asked, “Savin and Ilya?”