novelxo Dark Obsession: Chapter 28
I’m furious.
I’m tied up in some dark, damp, disgusting room.
All I want is Grigori—the one man who could walk into this hellhole, crush anyone standing in his way, then tenderly pull me into his arms.
Just thinking about him, how he kissed me like he couldn’t breathe without me… I know I love him. And I haven’t even told him yet.
Hell, I only just realized it myself. Now here I am, bound and gagged, hoping to survive long enough to say the words out loud.
I scan the room again, searching for some angle of escape, but if there’s a way out, I haven’t found it yet. Every second I spend here feels like torture. I should be out there, fighting with my brothers, with Grigori. The thought nearly makes me scream.
I hear footsteps, deliberate and slow, and my skin prickles. The door swings open, and there stands Molina in all his slimy glory.
I mumble every swear word I can think of into the gag. He pauses a moment, clearly amused, then strides over and pulls the gag from my mouth.
“Well, then,” he says, smirking, “care to repeat yourself?”
“Oh, gladly. You’re a pathetic coward, Molina,” I spit, defiance firing through me. “Kidnapping me because you’re too scared to face my family like a real man. Grigori’s coming for you, and I hope he takes his time and makes you beg to die.”
He chuckles, clearly entertained. “You definitely have your family’s fiery spirit; I’ll give you that. Those are bold words coming from a woman who’s tied up and helpless.”
Molina settles into a chair across from me, all smug satisfaction and unsettling confidence. His gaze drags over me, making my skin crawl. I glare back, giving him nothing. I refuse to show any fear, no matter what he says.
“What do you want?” I demand, struggling to keep my tone steady while my heart feels like it’s about to burst out of my chest.
He smiles coldly. “Oh, I have plans for you, sweetheart. Very simple, standard cartel procedure. I’m going to send your brothers bits and pieces of you, a message they can’t ignore.”
I stifle a shudder and raise my chin in defiance. “Why don’t you get on with it then?”
His grin widens, and he leans forward, his dark eyes gleaming. “I’ve come up with a new idea, something that’ll hurt a hell of a lot more. I’m going to keep you alive.”
I snort, rolling my eyes. “Great. You want me to applaud your restraint?”
He chuckles, ignoring my sarcasm. “I’ve decided I’m going to keep you as my own. You’re going to be my little prize, a personal reminder of my victory over the Ivanovs. Imagine their humiliation, knowing their precious princess is my pet.”
A laugh escapes me, sharp and mocking. “You think I’d ever let you do that to me? You think I’d ever let you get close enough?”
“I always get what I want,” he says, his voice smooth and venomous. “Breaking you will be the final insult to your family, to the man who took everything from me.” His mouth curls into an evil grin. The thought of being trapped here with him, of him touching me, sends a horrifying chill down my spine.
I draw back, seething, then spit right in his face. “You’ll never have me, you sad little man.”
Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, he wipes his cheek then laughs, a low, satisfied sound. “Oh, you’ll come around,” he says. “They always do.”
Before I can snap back, his phone buzzes. His gaze never leaves me as he picks up, and though I can’t hear the other side of the conversation, whatever is being said seems to thrill him. His expression twists with malicious pleasure, and a sick feeling settles in my stomach. This news, whatever it is, can’t be good for me.
Molina slips his phone back into his pocket, smug and self-assured. He leans back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other with a casual air that only makes me hate him more.
“To be honest, I haven’t worked out all the details yet,” he says, almost conversationally. “Who I’ll kill, who I’ll leave alive and broken—those choices are still up for debate.” His eyes darken as he leans forward, his voice dropping to a whisper. “But one thing is certain, I’m going to make Grigori suffer. And you, princess? You’re going to be right there to watch every second of it.”
I let out a hollow laugh, not caring if it infuriates him. “Wow, small and pathetic.”
Molina’s face shifts, his playful arrogance vanishing, replaced with something cold and lethal. For the first time, his expression is deadly serious, his eyes as empty and dark as a grave.
He’s silent as his eyes drill into me, and I feel the weight of real danger settling in.
“You think you’re so clever. But you don’t know anything about loss. My daughters were innocent. And he murdered them.”
My stomach twists, but I don’t let it show. I meet his stare, cold and unwavering. “Maybe your daughters would still be alive if you hadn’t pulled them into your filthy business. If they hadn’t been in that den—”
His hand shoots out before I can finish, slapping me hard across the face. The sting is immediate, sharp enough to make my vision blur, and I taste the blood trickling down from my nose.
Molina leans in close, his mouth twisted into a snarl. “One more word about my daughters and I’ll do things to your face that will make children cover their eyes in fear when they see you. Entiende?”
I glare back, refusing to show any fear, but my pulse is pounding. He stares at me for a long moment, then straightens, letting his cruel words hang in the air.
He raps on the door, and two guards enter, their faces blank as they move to my side. One of them roughly ties my gag back in place while the other yanks me up out of the chair.
Molina watches, a small, pleased smile on his lips as they lead me out of the room and into the dim hallway, his gaze on me like a predator scouting its next meal.
The guards shove me down the hall, Molina strutting ahead, practically glowing with his twisted pride. He rambles about his grand plans, his voice full of sick excitement.
“My soldiers are already stationed, waiting for my command,” he says, glancing back at me, his smile oozing with malice. “I’m going to erase the Ivanovs from this city, erase everything they’ve built. I’ll come down so hard and mercilessly that no one will even think about standing against me.”
I grit my teeth, every word from him making my blood boil. If only my hands weren’t tied…
We reach a room that looks like something out of a cheap cop drama—a single chair facing a large pane of glass. The guards throw me into the chair, binding my arms and legs to it. Molina walks over, takes out the gag, and steps back with a smug grin.
“What’s this?” I demand, fury lacing my voice. “Think I’m here for story time, you sadistic bastard?”
He chuckles, shaking his head. “Oh, Elena, I didn’t take that gag off to listen to your barbs. I took it off to listen to your screams.” With that, he raps on the glass. The room on the other side lights up, revealing a horrific sight—Grigori, tied to a chair, his face battered and bruised, blood staining his shirt. My heart clenches, a painful knot tightening in my chest. He’s alive, but it’s clear he’s been through hell.
I whip my head to Molina. “What the hell are you doing?”
He just stands there, grinning, as if my horror is the highlight of his day. “You wanted to see him, didn’t you? Well here he is. The man who took everything from me, who’s going to suffer while you watch.”
I clench my fists, fighting to keep my emotions in check. But then the door to Grigori’s room opens, and in walks Claudio Sanchez, his sick smile stretching as he approaches Grigori. He picks up a brutal-looking pair of pliers from the tray beside him, holding them up like he’s about to conduct an orchestra.
Sanchez sneers through the glass, eyes glinting, his voice piped in through a speaker system. “I’m just getting started with your boyfriend here. I’ve got a whole night planned. Every scream is just for you.”
Grigori catches my eye through the glass, and I see determination, defiance, and promise in his gaze. But he’s barely holding on, and I can’t do a damn thing except watch.
Molina gives a casual nod, and just like that, Claudio swings, his fist connecting hard with Grigori’s jaw. Blood spatters against the wall, and Grigori’s head snaps back, his body tense and straining against the ropes. Claudio lands another hit, and another, like he’s throwing warm-up punches, testing Grigori’s limits.
“Ah,” Molina drawls, leaning his shoulder against the wall, a look of amusement dancing in his eyes. “You know, they say you have to tenderize the meat for the best results.” His gaze slides back to Grigori, and he taps a button on a panel, his voice echoing through the speaker system into the next room.
“Tell you what, Petrov,” he purrs. “This can all stop. I’ll even let you go free. All you have to do is renounce her. Tell me you want nothing to do with Elena. That she’s all mine, and you’ll never look back.”
Grigori’s head lifts slowly, blood trickling from his mouth. He doesn’t even hesitate. “Fuck… off.”
I can’t help the grin that breaks across my face. That’s my Grigori. He’s hurt, barely able to stay upright, but he’s as unbreakable as ever.
Molina notices and laughs, his amusement quickly replaced by something dark and ruthless.
“Enjoy that little moment of pride,” he says, turning to me with a sneer. “It’s not going to last. I know how to make men hurt, how to break them. When we’re done with your beloved Grigori, he’ll be spitting out every Ivanov secret he knows just to make the pain end.”
I lean forward, meeting his eyes with every ounce of defiance I have. “Then you don’t know Grigori.”
He snorts, rolling his eyes. “We’ll see.” Molina turns back to Claudio, giving him a little hand signal. “Let’s give her a taste of what her lover can endure, shall we?”
Claudio goes to work, his fists landing brutally across Grigori’s body, each hit heavier than the last. Grigori lets out a few grunts, low and guttural, but nothing more. He refuses to give them that satisfaction, even as he takes blow after blow.
Molina’s eyes gleam with a sick kind of delight as he watches Grigori’s beating. Then, with a cruel smile, he turns back to me. “Since you’re so keen on being involved, why don’t you help me pick what we start with next?” He gestures to the tray on the table beside Claudio, laden with metal tools, each one designed to inflict pain in its own twisted way.
“Don’t want to choose?” he asks mockingly. “That’s fine. Claudio has his own favorites.”
His finger hovers over the speaker button, his eyes locked on mine, waiting for me to say something.
I look at Grigori. Every bruise, every drop of blood on his face only hardens my resolve. If he’s going to endure this hell, then he’s going to do it knowing exactly how I feel.
Taking a deep breath, I yell as loud as I can, “I love you, Grigori! I always have, and no matter what they do, we’re getting out of this, you hear me?”
Molina’s finger lifts off the speaker button, cutting my words short, but it doesn’t matter. I know Grigori heard me. Even through the pain, he lifts his head, his bruised lips pulling into a small, bloody smile. And for a second, I forget where we are. I forget the whole goddamn nightmare around us because it’s in that moment, I know he’ll be able to withstand anything they throw at him.
Molina breaks the silence with a laugh, cruel and mocking. “Did you enjoy that little confession, Grigori? Because I think it’s time you paid for it.” He glances at Claudio, his grin widening. “Take one of his fingers, one he’ll miss. A nice little memento of this touching moment.”
My stomach drops, my mind racing. I have to figure out a way out of this mess, and fast. Suddenly, both Molina and Claudio stiffen, their hands going to their phones. For the first time, I see a flicker of worry pass across their faces as they read whatever message just came through. Molina lowers his phone, a furious scowl twisting his face.
And then I hear it, a voice faintly crackling through the speaker of one of the guards’ radios in Spanish, sending chills down my spine and sparking a fire inside me at the same time.
“Los Ivanovs están aquí!”
A grin spreads across my face before I can stop it.
My family has arrived.