Page 81 of Cruel Honor

“I learned from our father.” I turn to Evie, who still hasn’t moved a muscle. “Evie?” I slowly approach her and lay my hand on her arm.

That wakes her up. She gasps and jerks away from me, backing against the wall. Before I can even do anything, she crumples to the floor and begins crying. Then panicking. Then crying and panicking at the same time.

I have no fucking clue what to do. When I decided to marry Evie, I thought she was sexy and smart. I thought it would all be fun. But then Abram happened. Dima. Tatiana. They’ve all gone after Evie and made her life hell.

Tatiana is dead, and she’s still making Evie’s life hell.

All I can think to do is sit down next to her and wrap her up in my arms. Evie immediately sinks into me and cries harder.

“I’m not sure this is helping,” I murmur.

“It’s helping,” Katya responds because Evie can’t.

EVIE

Everything is numb. Everything is on fire. Everything is overwhelming.

I killed Tatiana.

There’s no going back from that. I have officially become the dark thing I’ve been running from. I may be different from Abram and Dima, but I still let Tatiana die when I could have helped her. So, how am I any better than those men? How am I any better than Dimitri?

His arms tighten around me. He’s never held me like this before. Dimitri’s hands either held me when we danced or lightly touched my arms to get my attention.

But this hold—this all-encompassing hold that makes me feel safer than anything ever has—is brand new.

For the first time, I can see myself staying in Dimitri’s arms. It’s the only place that has felt like where I belong since I met him and my entire life changed.

“Let’s get you out of here,” he says.

I burrow deeper into his arms. “Don’t bring me back to Juno’s.”

He’s silent for a moment. “You want to come back home with me?”

I know it’s probably foolish. I know I should want to leave Dimitri behind.

But he has a hold over me, and I don’t want to let him go, both literally and figuratively.

“I do,” I whisper.

“I need you to be safe,” he says. “Once Abram finds out Tatiana is dead, none of us will be.”

“I don’t care.” I finally meet his gaze. “I just want to go home with you.”

A determination fills his eyes, and he nods. “Ok. You’re coming back home with me.”

Dimitri helps me stand. My legs still feel like noodles, and I lean against him heavily.

“I can’t carry you,” he says. “It would bring too much attention to us.”

“What are we going to do?” Katya asks.

“We wait.” He pulls out his phone. “The moment my cleanup crew is here, we’ll leave. But we have to wait for the fire alarm first. If people see us coming out of the bathroom, it’ll only look bad for us.”

I see Tatiana on the floor and avert my eyes. I did that. The blood around her. Her lifeless eyes. That was because of me. I’m a killer.

That’s what the Bratva has turned me into.

It was naive of me to ever think I could leave Dimitri’s world behind. I’m firmly planted into it, and I’m not going anywhere.

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