Chapter 56

Ivy

The cold steel of the knife pressed against my throat, and I could feel every beat of my heart pounding in my chest. I've never been this close to death before, and it terrified me.

I thought I was afraid before. When Aidan kidnapped me the first time, or when he damn near raped me, or even when Slava picked me up. But no, this was way more scary, especially when Ellie had that crazed look in her eyes.

"Ellie," Aidan said, his face hard. "Let Ivy go."

"Let her go?" Ellie scoffed, the venom dripping from her words. "You think It's that easy?"

My vision blurred as tears gathered in the corners of my eyes, but I fought them back. I needed to be strong.

"Please, Ellie," he nearly begged, taking a step forward, his hands raised in surrender. I was surprised at how desperate he sounded. It was almost as if he was scared for me. "We can work it out. I will make sure to make everything right. Just... just put the knife down."