Page 87 of Sweet Obsession

My senses flared, this wasn’t a random spot. I could feel it, hear the waves crashing somewhere nearby, smell the salt in the air. We were at a cliff.

Chernov’s men pulled me out of the car, the cold air biting at my skin. They didn’t even remove the blindfold, didn’t think I could fight back. They were wrong.

“Here we are, my dear,” Chernov’s voice purred, smug and certain. “Your new home.”

I didn’t need to see to know what was around me. I felt the wind picking up, the sharp scent of the ocean mingling with the cold earth beneath my boots. The men surrounding me moved, and I knew, this was the moment.

I couldn’t wait. I wouldn’t.

Suddenly, I twisted my body, using my bound hands to wrench one of their arms toward me. With all my strength, I elbowed the man in the ribs and grabbed his wrist, snapping it with a brutal twist. He stumbled backward, and I didn’t hesitate, I was already moving.

My legs burned, but I ran faster than I ever had.

The shouts from behind me grew louder, but I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. I could hear the dogs too, their frantic barking drawing nearer, but I didn’t stop.

Gunshots rang out. I flinched at the sound, but my legs didn’t falter.

A sharp turn, and I found myself on the edge of a cliff. The wind whipped at my face, carrying the scent of salt and earth, and below me, a steep drop. The ground was rocky, uneven, and it was clear, there was nowhere else to go.

I stopped for a breath, and then they were upon me, dozens of men, each one moving in to surround me. They had no idea what I was capable of. I gripped the baton I’d snatched from one of them, my fingers slick with sweat as I steadied my stance.

“Stay back,” I growled, though my voice shook with exhaustion.

They didn’t listen. Of course, they didn’t. The first man lunged at me, and I swung with everything I had. The metal of the baton crashed into his skull, and he crumpled to the ground with a sickening thud.

But that was just the start. More men came at me, their weapons drawn. Knives, batons—tools of force.

My body moved on instinct, dodge, strike, block. A punch to my ribs, a kick to my side. But my strength was running out. My breath came in ragged bursts, the adrenaline starting to fade, leaving me heavy with fatigue. Still, I didn’t stop.

I took down another man with a swift blow to the throat, but it didn’t slow them. One tried to swing his knife at me, and I sidestepped just in time, bringing my baton down on his wrist with a sickening crack. He screamed, but I didn’t pause to watch him fall. There was too much happening. Too many of them. Too many dogs.

My arms trembled, numb with exhaustion. I staggered on unsteady legs.

I had to keep going.

Chernov stood at the top of the cliff, his form looming like a shadow. His face was eerily calm, too calm, like he was speaking to me in a way that had nothing to do with the situation at hand.

“You don’t have to fight, Luna,” he said, his voice a taunt, coaxing me like a child. “Give in to me, and I’ll give you everything you want. Misha can’t give you what I can.”

A cold chill settled in my bones. I wanted to scream at him. Tell him how sick he was, how I would never be his. But my body was exhausted, and I was so close to breaking.

Chernov stepped forward, closer now, his eyes locked onto mine like I was a prize to be claimed.

His fingers brushed my cheek like a lover’s. I flinched.

“You will fall madly in love with me, Luna,” he murmured. “You just don’t know it yet.”

I spat in his face.

“Bind her,” he commanded. His men rushed forward, grabbing my arms, pulling me to the ground.

I fought. Kicking. Screaming. My mind was desperate. I couldn’t let them win. Not like this. But it was useless. They were too strong, too many.

And just like that, everything quieted. I stopped struggling. I didn’t have a choice anymore. My vision blurred as I let go of the fight, my body betraying me as the men bound my wrists with painful tightness.

Then... boom.

Gunfire cracked the air, and chaos erupted.