Page 133 of Emerald Vices

It hurts even to look at her distraught face. So I turn away and Misha is standing behind me, his eyes locked on the dirt at our feet. “I should’ve protected them. I shouldn’t have let him take Grigory.”

I grab his shoulders, hauling him close. “You saw who it was?”

“I recognized him,” he admits. “We crashed and I was dizzy, confused. But the door opened. I thought maybe it was… you.”

My chest aches. It should’ve been me. I should’ve found them. But I shove that thought aside and focus on Misha. “Who was it?”

“I don’t know his name. He used to visit the compound sometimes, but I… I never met him, so I don’t know?—”

“Is this him?” I hold out my phone, a picture of the devil himself on the screen.

Misha’s eyes go wide as he nods slowly. “Who is he?”

“My father,” I answer. “Now, tell me exactly what happened. He opened the door, and then…?”

“He picked Grigory up, and I actually thought he was there to help us.” Fresh tears flow down his cheeks. “Then he looked me in the eye and said…”

His voice breaks, and I clasp his neck, reassuring him with what little strength I have left.

He clears his throat. “He said, ‘An heir for an heir.’”

56

NATALIA

“It’s going to be alright, Natalia. I swear it.”

Andrey’s face hovers in front of me. He cups my cheeks, wipes away my tears. But nothing soothes the ache in my chest. The soul-crushing weight of wrongness that permeates every second.

As if he realizes that, Andrey drops his hands. “Kat, Mila, and Misha will stay with you. I’m going to go get our boy back.”

His lips press hard against my forehead; it has the seal of a promise. Then he’s gone, and my room is empty, and the promise feels like nothing but words.

I stand up and walk to Sarra’s crib because I’m supposed to. I’m supposed to take care of my daughter, and move, and breathe.

But it all feels so hard. My limbs are heavy, and my thoughts are lost to a dense fog.

“Nat?”

I turn to see Katya in the doorway. Mila and Misha are just behind her, watching me like I’m a house of cards at risk of collapse.

“Are you okay?”

For the first time in a long time, I respond. “How can I be okay? He has my son.”

Mila sighs in what looks like relief. “You can talk. We were worried. We thought…”

“That I was having one of my episodes?” I finish for her. “I wanted Andrey to think I was.”

“Why?” Katya breathes.

“So he wouldn’t be expecting me to break into Nikolai’s compound and get my son back.”

Misha is the only one who doesn’t gasp with shock. Instead, his jaw squares. He nods as though he understands exactly where I’m coming from.

“Nat, that’s insane.” Katya grabs my hand. “It’s too dangerous.”

If it’s too dangerous for me, then how much worse is it for Grigory?

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