Page 42 of A Sinner's Virtue
“No, not in trouble. I just need to get away. Clear my head. Think about things, because everything with Marcel is… intense,” I tell her.
“Okay, but I’m getting Dom to go grab your passport. If we stop by your place, I guarantee Marcel will be there looking for you before you even step through the front door. So, if you’re trying to escape without him catching up, we need to move quickly.”
Lucy dials Dom’s number and puts the call on speaker. “Little Bee, did you take my car?”
“I did, but it’s still in one piece… for now. I need you to go to Zoe’s and pick up her passport,” Lucy says before turning to me. “Where is it?”
“Top drawer in the office,” I tell her.
“You okay, Zoe?” Dom asks through the speaker.
“I’m good. I just need to go back to New York for a week,” I reply.
“Dom, get the passport and meet us at the airport. And if Marcel asks, you don’t know where Zoe is.”
“Sure. Meet you at the airport,” Dom says before disconnecting the call.
Walking through arrivals in JFK, I turn my phone back on and then quickly silence it when the notifications start rolling in. I have twenty missed calls from Marcel. I’ll call him back soon. I sent him a message as I was boarding, explaining that I was going home for a bit.
I felt guilty for just walking out on him. He hasn’t done anything wrong. This is totally a case of it’s not him; it’s me. I don’t have the energy to talk to him right now, though. I have a few missed calls and messages from Izzy and then two from Mikhail as well.
As I’m about to call Izzy back, I hear my name being yelled out. Looking up, I find my adoptive mother waving at me as she pushes her way through the crowd very unapologetically.
“Zoe Petrov, get your ass over here,” Izzy shouts as she barrels right into me. Her arms wrap around me so damn tight it’s hard to breathe. I don’t move, though. I need this. I need her. Probably more than I thought I did. My eyes burn with unshed tears. And when Izzy pulls back, she looks me up and down. “I’m going to kill him. What’d he do?”
I shake my head and force a smile. “He didn’t do anything. I just missed you guys.”
“Bullshit. You haven’t been back here since you left, so what did he do?”
“Honestly, nothing. I just… I got scared. It was supposed to be fun, a one-night thing, and now its… Well, it’s just a lot.”
“You love him?” Izzy asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know. I just needed a breather.”
“Well, take as long of a breather as you want. Because I, for one, am glad to have you home. You have no idea how much I need some adult conversation in my life,” she says. “I spend all day talking to toddlers and babies.”
“You have Mikhail,” I remind her.
“Like I said, I need adult conversation,” Izzy deadpans, and I can’t hold back my laugh. She has a way of making me feel like everything is going to be okay. I remember when she first found me, and I clung to her like the lifeline she was.
“I’m really sorry I sprung this on you guys and didn’t give you notice,” I tell her.
“Nonsense. This is your home, Zoe. You don’t need to give anyone notice to come home. Now, come on, let’s get out of here before Mikhail sends in the Bratva search team.” Izzy links her arm with mine and leads me towards the exit.
“There’s a Bratva search team?”
Izzy lifts one shoulder. “No idea, but if there is, they’d never be able to find me if I wanted to stay hidden.” She smirks.
“I have no doubt.”
“So, lover boy? Does he know you’re here?”
“I sent him a message, and I’ll call him later. How are the kids?” I ask, changing the topic.
Izzy is a great mother. She can talk about her kids for hours and never run out of things to brag about. As she starts telling me everything the three Valentino-Petrov heirs have been up, I look around the busy airport and it hits me. I’m back in New York. There’s a reason I haven’t been back here. I’ve never felt safe outside of the Petrov compound. Thankfully, Izzy doesn’t stop talking when I step closer to her, or when my hand clings to her arm just a bit tighter.
I focus on her voice and on breathing as we walk out to where there’s a blacked-out SUV waiting for us. One of the Petrov soldiers holds the back door open. And as soon as I’m in the car, I take in a lungful of air. I didn’t even realise I was holding my breath.
