Page 80 of Shackled

“We could send them to a safe house,” Ollie says quietly, his arms crossed over his chest behind Mikhail. “I had them prepared.”

“I am not going...” a powerful wave of nausea suddenly washes over me, unbalancing me abruptly, I almost pass out. With sheer willpower alone, I force myself to regain my composure, stand straight and start again, “I am not going to the safe house,” I snap.

Lev’s jaw clenches.

“Polina.” He jerks his head at his sister.

“Mmm?”

“Test her.”

Polina stares. “Lev, I?—”

“Do it,” he snaps.

I stare at him, my jaw unhinged. “Test me for… what?” The others are staring at us. Lev doesn’t meet my eyes. Heat flares across my chest as they begin to disperse.

“Everyone in the dining room,” Mikhail orders. He lowers his voice. “We’ll leave you two alone.”

What the hell is going on here?

Lev’s jaw clenches and unclenches. The smoke from the bomb has dissipated, and we’re left reeling, covered in blood but otherwise unharmed. I stare at him.

“Talk to me.”

He rifles a hand through his hair. Why does he look so guilty?

“I took it every day on the island.”

He swallows hard. “You didn’t, though.”

“Yes, I did. You said I wouldn’t need it anymore, but I still took it, because?—”

My voice trails off when his face grows grim.

“It wasn’t birth control. I got rid of that shit. You haven’t been on birth control since then.”

I stare at him, hardly believing what he’s telling me. “You fucked around with my birth control?” My voice is a low whisper. I feel like I’m choking. I shake my head from side to side, not believing he’d stoop so low. “And I know what you did behind my back, too.”

I watch his brow furrow. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You left in the middle of the night. You think I don’t have spies, too? How did I know anything about Javier, hmm? What the fuck, Lev? I thought you liked being with me.”

He walks over to me and brushes his hand across his face as a medic rushes over to us. “Sir, sit, please. We’ll tend to you both.”

Lev has a hushed conversation with them.

“Excuse me! I’m sitting right here. What the hell?”

But they don’t respond.

I watch as they clean Lev. I watch as Polina leaves and comes back a few moments later, her eyes wide and her face pale.

“You need to pee in this,” she says in my ear, handing me a small paper bag with a cup in it. Thank God she’s got a medical background because I would literally die.

This can’t be happening.

“I’ve got this.” I take the bag from her. I’ve never taken one of these tests before, but I need to know.

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