Suddenly feeling nauseous, I scurried to the edge of the bed and puked all over the floor, my head thudding like a drum.

I could barely see a thing.

An incessant ticking made me wince, the tinny pings shattering my brain. I slowly rolled my head left, only to see an old clock on a battered bedside table. I stared at the face, reading the time, knowing it meant something to me.

I tried to focus on what that was, my cheek lowering to the soiled sheets. I watched the second hand tick around, my eyelids lowering with every stroke, when, suddenly, The Dungeon flashed into my head and I stilled.

The Dungeon Championship!

My chest heaved as I stared at the time. Alik and Luka were about to fight!

Forcing myself off the mattress, working hard to breathe calmly through the pain, I managed to get to my feet. Reaching down, sobbing through the excruciating aches, I slowly fixed my dress and spotted my shoes and jacket flung haphazardly on the floor.

It was a struggle, but when I had everything on, I stumbled to the door, using my hand on the wall to guide my steps and keep myself upright.

I had no idea where I was. I knew I was near the docks, but I had no idea where.

Luckily the door unlocked from the inside. Alik obviously planned that I wouldn’t be able to move through his punishment or else he would have bolted me in. But I needed to get to The Dungeon. I had no choice.

Opening the front door, the hot, salty breeze immediately smacked at my face and I cried out as it stung my wounds. Ducking my head, I kept walking forward, praying to find a phone. I walked and walked for what felt like an age, my body exhausted, the apex of my thighs burning with every single step.

That sensation almost had me crying again… Alik had raped me, beat me… My fiancé had nearly killed me.

All these years defending him, submitting to him, when I—when we all—knew Alik was disturbed… Alik was a psychopathic murderer. The fact that he was an heir to the great Russian Bratva could no longer disguise that truth.

And when my papa saw me like this—if Luka didn’t kill him in the cage—my papa would, and I was now resolved to that.

As long as Alik lived, I would never be free.

“Miss? Miss? Are you okay?”

I lifted my head to the side to see an older man walking toward me. He looked like a fisherman or something, or a worker on the docks.

“Miss, are you okay?” he asked again. Then his face paled when he took in the sight of me. “Jesus Christ! What the hell happened to you?”

“Do you have a phone?” I asked, my voice barely audible through my severely bruised throat.

“Miss, I need to get you an ambulance!”

“No!” I argued. “Just… do you have a phone I can borrow?”

The man nodded and pulled out his cell, handing it over. “Miss, I don’t feel right not calling you help.”

“This will be my help,” I said and weakly dialed Talia’s number.

She picked up on the third ring.

“Hello?”

“Talia?” I said as loudly as I could manage.

“Hello? Kisa? Is that you? I can barely hear you.”

“It’s me,” I replied. “I need you to come and get me.”

She paused. “Why aren’t you at the fight? It’s about to start!”

“Talia, please. I need you to come and get me… now, please—”

“Okay. Okay. Where are you?” she asked, and I could hear her moving, keys rattling in her hand.

I turned to the man. “Where are we?”

He told me the address and I relayed it to Talia.

“Kisa, what the fuck are you doing there?”

Pressing my hand to my forehead, I said, “I’ll explain everything when you get here.” My stomach rolled in nerves, “I… I have something big to tell you. But you need to hurry.”

“I’m on my way.”

*****

A while later, headlights glared on the road to the dock, the bright beams blinding. Lifting my hand to my face, I watched the man who had helped me wave Talia forward.

The car came to a stop and Talia lurched out the door and headed straight for me, her hand over her mouth.

“Kisa…” she whispered, and I caught her brown eyes shining, filling with tears. “What’s happened to you?” she said and tried to reach out her hand, but she pulled it straight back for fear she would hurt me.

I pushed off the Sea-Can, and Talia caught me in her arms as I struggled to walk. “Alik… Alik did this… to me,” I said breathlessly as I made for Talia’s car.

She stopped. “Alik?” Her eyes widened. “Shit! I knew he wasn’t right, but I never thought he’d ever hurt you.”

“Talia, please, we have to go! I’ll… I’ll explain everything in the car.”

Talia led me past the old man, and I laid my hand on his arm and said, “Thank you.”

Talia helped me into the passenger seat, and I slumped back against the warm leather. It felt like paradise to my exhausted body.

In seconds, my best friend jumped into the car, and beneath the car’s interior light, I watched her truly take in my injuries. I hadn’t seen my reflection, but I could feel how messed up I was, how bad I must look.

“Kisa,” Talia said quietly and a sob escaped her mouth. I lifted my hand to land on her knee, and as if it snapped her to action, she turned on the car and began pulling away from the docks. “I’m taking you to Dr. Chazov. Then I’m calling Papa Kirill to tell him what Alik did to you. He’ll gut the fucker!”