Page 65 of Deceitful Promises

“I thought you were bad people—Bratva scum.”

“And now?”

“It’s hard to hate a man who’d kill or die for somebody you …”Love. Is that what I was about to say? “… care about.”

“Yeah. Tell me about it.” He gives me a significant look.

The timer goes off again, and we do another round. Afterward, I have to sit down, my whole body aching.

“We should rest,” Mikhail says, sitting next to me. “If Roman Kozlov is stupid enough to push the issue, we’ll need our strength.” Mikhail takes off one glove and throws it to the floor. “We never should’ve reached out to those pricks.”

“You were worried about Ania.”

“Still, what if she’d gotten hurt?”

Hasn’t he been listening? “I would never let that happen.”

He nods. “More has happened in this crazy couple of months than in the last ten years. It’ll be good when things settle down and life can be normal again.”

“What’s normal for you?”

“Working on video games. Shooting some ball. Caring as little as possible about things that don’t matter.”

A smile touches my lips. “That doesn’t sound like a bad life.”

“No.” I don’t turn, but I’m sure he’s smiling, too. “It’s not.”

I mean to go straight to bed, but I end up walking to Ania’s room. I sayend uplike I’ve got no choice. Weirdly, that’s how it feels, but not in a bad way, not like I’m being forced to do anything. It’s more like my feet automatically take me there, and I’d have it no other way.

Pushing her door open—we don’t lock her in anymore—I walk over to her bed. She’s got the blankets completely covering her, pulled right over her head. She’s wearing her ballet shoes, poking out the bottom of the sheets. I sit down next to her as quietly as I can. I should move the sheets off her face, but I don’t want to disturb her.

“Ania,” I whisper, hoping she can hear me, hoping she can’t. “It’s true. I’ve wanted kids for a long time. I know it’s too soon for usto talk like this, but I saw how scared it made you at dinner. I need you to know something. I want kids, but Ineedyou. So if you tell me you never want any, I’ll accept it. It’ll hurt. I won’t lie, but you’re what matters.”

I stop, realizing I can’t hear her breathing, and the sheets haven’t moved once.

Tearing them back, I stare at the bundle of cushions.

A moment later, I hear Dad yelling, “Molly? Molly?”

“Dad?” I roar, rushing into the hallway.

He stares at me with wide, terrified eyes.

“I can’t find Molly,” he says.

“She must be with Ania; Ania’s gone too. She arranged a bunch of pillows to seem like she was asleep.”

“Fuck.”

CHAPTER 26

ANIA

“We really should head back soon,” Mom murmurs as we walk through the park.

It’s so peaceful this late at night. The air is sofresh. It reminds me of walking around the compound when everybody is asleep. Not when I’m in sleepwalking mode, but when I can’t sleep, I walk, think, and enjoy the nothingness.

“Just a little longer,” I say, sitting on a bench and leaning down to remove my shoes.

---