Page 4 of Unleashed

My mother was married at nineteen and knew her future before my parents even exchanged vows. She was destined to be the matriarch of the Romanov family, with no hope for a college education, a career, or anything more than being the wife of a Romanov. I know this, and I believe it’s probably more for her sake than even mine that I feel such a strong need to find my place.

In the past years, since my brother took over as the head of my family, I've tried midwifery, criminology—yes, the irony was not lost on me—and even women’s studies. None of them suited me or felt appropriate for the youngest daughter in a family of powerful, old-fashioned Russian men.

Maybe I should've studied finance.

"You do you, babe," my sister-in-law Harper says, winking at me from across the room. She lifts a decanter of amber liquid and pours some over a glass full of ice.

"Drink?" she says with a smile. I shake my head. I don’t like to drink. Since so much of my life whirls out of my grasp, I clutch at whatever modicum of control I can maintain.

"I’m good, thanks."

"Are you sure this one is really Russian?" Harper says, winking at my mother. "She doesn’t even drink vodka."

"Are you sure this one's really Italian?" I quip, rolling my eyes. "She doesn’t even eat cheese."

"You know that I love cheese," Harper whines. "It just doesn’t likeme," she adds sadly.

"I like you just fine," my brother Aleksandr says as he enters the room and walks up to his wife. He slides an arm around her waist, tugs her to his chest, and plants a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Ugh," I say sarcastically. "Get a room.”

"Jealous much?" Aleks says with a sly smile. Like my other brothers, he looks nothing like me. Unable to have children but determined to build a family legacy, my parents adopted. Whereas I’m fair and so blonde my hair is nearly white, my brother Aleks is classically tall, dark, and handsome. His gorgeous Italian bride, Harper, stares at him as if he hung the moon.

"I’m not jealous of you lovebirds," I lie. I am totally jealous of those two lovebirds. "I just think that sometimes?—"

The study door opens with a bang. Harper startles, and her glass crashes to the floor, but nobody moves. Mikhail, my oldest brother, stands in the doorway, and we all know instantly that something is terribly wrong.

My mother is on her feet, but her voice doesn’t waver. Ekaterina Romanova is never ruffled. I swallow and rethink my decision on the vodka.

"Misha," Mom says softly, the one word holding a world of questions. She only calls him his pet name—Misha—when she's afraid. We all know it could be anything. Over the past few years, as my family has risen to power, we’ve encountered formidable rivals and formed dangerous alliances.

We’ve also practiced self-defense when we were attacked.

I make a quick mental tally of the weapons I have on me.

But Mikhail doesn't look at my mother. He doesn't look at my brother Aleksandr or Harper. His eyes bore straight into mine.

Shit.

"Polina, you're in danger. You have to go."

The skin at the back of my neck crawls, and a shiver runs down my spine. It's obviously not the first time my family's been in danger. Hell, we've been in so many dangerous situations, I'm damn used to it by now. But it's the first time I've ever seen fear in Mikhail's eyes, and I've seen the man go through a lot. And it's definitely the first time his fear was for… me.

"What is it, Mikhail?" I ask, thankful that my voice doesn't waver either. I will face whatever this is head-on. I will not cower.

"You have to go away. Aria’s discovered something, and you're not safe here anymore." Mikhail’s wife Aria, a world-class hacker, misses nothing.

"Be more specific, please," I say. Outside the window, storm clouds rush in. The gray of early evening has turned dark, anda half-moon illuminates the garden outside my mother's family home. I almost expect a werewolf to howl. I shiver, clutching the ratty hoodie I’ve strewn over my shoulders closer around me.

"Manuel Soloto, head of the cartel in Colombia. He's after you. Remember that Isabella said you weren't safe here anymore?"

"Yes, but I thought she said?—"

Mikhail shakes his head. "You thought he changed his mind? That he got married and forgot about you? It was a lie. A ploy. He's not forgotten about you. He's coming after you."

I try to laugh it off, but I fail. "But you guys… You always protect me. We have a whole team of bodyguards. This house is practically a fortress. And you're telling me?—"

"Polina," Aleksandr snaps. He never raises his voice to me, but now he almost sounds like our father. I turn and stare at him. "Don’t you know that if Mikhail is telling you you're not safe, you can trust him? You know that he would do everything in his power to protect you. If he's telling you you're not safe, you have to go… quickly. This isn’t the time to talk back."

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