Page 19 of Savage Pakhan

“You can’t carry me, Alek. Your shoulder⁠—”

“—will be fine. I’ve had a lot worse happen to my body. This is nothing.” I study our surroundings, nothing but trees in my view. The sweat stings and blurs my vision.

I pinch my eyes, wiping the sweat away the best I can, and lean against a tree trunk. I need a few seconds. The adrenaline is crashing and the exhaustion and aches from the car accident is hitting me.

I’ve be shot, stabbed, beaten, and tortured, yet I feel more exhausted now than I did then.

“What are we going to do? You don’t have to stay with me. I can figure out how to get to the state line. Don’t be suck here when you have an entire life to get back to.”

An entire life.

I scoff at that.

My entire life is sitting right in front of me in a wedding dress that wasn’t meant for me.

And I mean this with so much disrespect to my son…

I’m not fucking going anywhere.

Ever. Again.

5

MIA

“I have a safehouse about an hour driving distance from here. It’s about a half hour drive after hitting the state line. If we start now, we can get to the car you left. I need to know the story behind that. Where did you get a car? Considering my son doesn’t seem like the type to help you get away,” Alek seethes the last sentence as if he is spitting every word onto the ground. “Nikolai should already have men searching for us, too. He’ll know to check the safehouse. We just have to get there.” Alek winces, rubbing his shoulder to ease the pain.

There’s no way he can carry me, but he’s right, it hurts to take a deep breath in still. I can’t walk. Especially bare foot.

“He gave me an allowance every week and I saved enough to go to a junkyard and buy a car. It’s a junker. The engine starts and that’s all I care about. It isn’t luxury so if that’s what you’re expecting, you’re going to be disappointed,” I tease.

But Alek doesn’t smile. His dark green eyes become hard and narrow. He sets his elbows on his knees, anger setting his square jaw. “He gave you an allowance? A fucking allowance?” His voice is calm. It isn’t loud. It doesn’t echo, but it’s filled with the quiet rage ready to be set free.

“He didn’t allow access to the bank accounts,” I explain.

He reaches for my hand, an electrical current pulsating between us as our palms tough. His thumb grazes the tops of my knuckles as he blows out a slow breath.

“We have plenty of money, Mia. There’s no reason for you to ever be on an allowance. He should have given you a card so you can spend how much as you want. You could shop all day, every day, and not make a dent in the family funds. You shouldn’t have to struggle like that. The entire point of this marriage was to secure the Roswells with funds. You’re part of that.”

I shrug a shoulder and stare out into the beauty of the woods. I know at night it’ll be terrifying. Everything always is at night. The sun peeks through the trees, the rays splitting between the branches. Squirrels scurry up the long trunks, the slight scratches of their movement paired with the singing of birds has me relax.

It’s the sound of the chains falling from my wrists. I’m free and if it means I live in the damn forest, then that’s what it means. I’d rather be here than go back to that prison.

“I knew my purpose, Alek. From a very young age I knew I was meant to be Ivan’s wife. I knew what my future held.”

Pain slashes across his face and he tightens the hold on my hand. “This isn’t the future I saw for you or Ivan when your father and I agreed for you two to be married. I know I wasn’t around a lot when you and Ivan were growing up. I was busy traveling, connecting, and growing my business. But when I was around, I saw how you and Ivan were. You were friends and I had no doubts that you would fall in love and be happy. I wanted that. For both of you. I didn’t want you in a heartless marriage. I just never thought it would be my own son who was heartless.”

“And now, it’s for nothing.” He slams his fist on the ground. “Your father is broke. Did you know that? He hasn’t spoken to me recently and he didn’t show up to the wedding, by the way. Your entire family has gone dark and the few connections I have on the East Coast tell me he’s fucked a lot of people over. I was, you were, his last option to save himself.”

I shrug a shoulder again. I don’t care how bad my family is doing. After everything I’ve endured with Ivan, their behavior doesn’t surprise me. I knew the situation was bad, but I didn’t think my father would fuck over Aleksandr Bykov. You’d have to be a fool to do that.

Alek, while very kind to me, doesn’t give everyone else the same courtesy. Actually, I think I might be the only one he saves his kindness for.

I’ve seen him hold a gun to a man’s head and I know if my father were in front of him, he might just pull the trigger.

“It’s sad, but I really don’t care. The only person who I could ever count on is myself.”

Alek looks away, ashamed. “I apologize for being part of the problem.” His thick Russian accent sounds harsher than it really is. Others might think he isn’t being sincere, but I’ve known him long enough to know better.