Page 54 of Cruel Promise

After breakfast, Nikolai is waiting for me in the foyer. The sight of him brings back everything from last night back. My cheeks flush.

If Nikolai notices, he doesn’t comment on it.

“It’s been over a week,” he says on the drive. “Who knows what state her … body will be in.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because I want you to be prepared. For anything.”

I hate that he’s right.

“Why didn’t you do anything?” I ask. “You know everything. Surely, you knew her body was still there and needed burying.”

He sighs. “Despite what you think, I don’t know everything. I didn’t know your father was going to kill your mother to get to you. I didn’t know, Ava.” I want to think he’s lying, but I get the sense he’s speaking the truth.

For some reason, that terrifies me. Because if Nikolai doesn’t know everything, then I can’t blame him for everything.

And it’s easier to blame him than to accept that I feel some sort of way for him. Last night was indicative that my body is drawn to him. Why? I have no idea.

I sneak glances at him out of the corner of my eye. Nikolai is a handsome man; I’ll give him that. Strong and broad shoulders and just … manly. That has to be why my body responds to him. It’s just biology.

Nothing more.

The drive to New Haven takes a couple of hours, and neither of us speaks much. This isn’t a fun road trip for our honeymoon. This is a mission to get my mom’s body so I can bury her.

My old apartment building comes into view, and memories bombard me. My father breaking in. My father shooting her. My father dragging me away.

Nikolai turns the car off. “Are you prepared to go inside?”

“I have to.” I open the door and get out before I lose my nerve.

I don’t have the key to get inside the building, but that doesn’t matter. Nikolai breaks the door open, and we walk down the hallway to my apartment. The door is still broken at the hinges, making it easy to push it open.

The sight of my apartment is still messy from where my father broke everything.

My eyes zero in on the spot where I last saw my mom.

Except … she’s not there.

There’s no one in the apartment. No body. Only a blood stain.

I turn to Nikolai. “Where’s my mom?”

Chapter

Eight

AVA

“Nikolai, where’s my mom?” I repeat, frantically looking between him and the blood stain on the ground.

“I … don’t know,” he admits, which frightens me more than anything. If there’s one thing I can count on when it comes to Nikolai, it’s that he’s a powerful man, and powerful men know everything.

“I thought you did a background check on me. Wouldn’t you have figured out what happened to my mom’s body?”

“I did a check on you. Not your mother. I didn’t know your father shot her. I wasn’t there when it happened. I didn’t have any of my men watching when it happened. I don’t know what happened here, but I can find out.”

“You will?” I ask slowly.

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