Page 42 of Dark Obsession

I roll my eyes. If only he knew that Alexei already suspects what’s going on between us. But I’m not about to spill that just yet. “My brothers aren’t my owners, Grigori. I can be with whoever the hell I want. And I wantyou.You know that. And you know you want me, too.”

“It’s not about what Iwant.It’s about what’s best for the Bratva, for the family.”

I scoff, narrowing my eyes at him. “That’s a convenient excuse, isn’t it?”

His eyes flash, his expression hardening. “Excuse for what?”

“For how scared you are,” I say, not backing down. “You’re scared, Grigori. Scared of what this could be, of what it already is.”

His silence tells me everything I need to know. He’s terrified, not of the war, not of the bloodshed, but of us, of me.

I don’t hold back. “You opened yourself up to me, and now you’re pulling back because you’re scared of what it means.”

His jaw clenches, eyes hard. “We’re all in danger, Elena. This is no time for romance, for sex, or any of that.”

“I’m not a little girl who needs you making decisions for me,” I snap, refusing to let him off that easy.

He grits his teeth, the tension radiating off him. “It’s not a good idea for me to be involved with the woman I’m supposed to protect. Do you not get that?”

“It’s too damn late for that!” I shout back. “We crossed that line, and we both know there’s no going back. We’ll never be what we were before, Grigori. And you need to accept that. Stop trying to shove everything back into the boxyouopened.Weopened.”

He stays silent, his gaze locked straight ahead, refusing to meet mine. It only fuels my anger. “Say something,” I demand, my voice cutting through the heavy tension between us.

“Just be quiet for a moment,” he says.

I freeze, the audacity of him telling me to be quiet making my blood boil. “Excuse me? Howdareyou—”

“Elena,” he interrupts, his tone sharp, his eyes still fixed on something outside. He’s not looking at me—he’s staring at something beyond the window.

I turn to see what it is.

“There,” he says. “That car.”

It takes me a second but then I see it. A big van, speeding through the parking lot, weaving in and out of spaces like it’s looking for something—or someone.

The van barrels toward the hospital’s main entrance, picking up speed. It’s going way too fast, and a pit forms in my stomach,twisting tight.

“What’s going on?” I ask, my voice quieter now, though I already know whatever’s happening is bad. Very bad.

Grigori doesn’t respond. Instead, he grabs my hand, his grip tight, and pulls me closer.

The van is aimed straight at the hospital entrance directly below, like it’s about to plow right through.

“Shit,” Grigori mutters, eyes flashing. “Getdown!”

Before I can react, he yanks me hard, dragging me over the conference table. In one swift motion, he flips it onto its side, creating a shield between us and the windows.

I barely have time to brace myself before the squeal of tires and the sound of shattering glass, followed by a deafening crash. Screams erupt from the distance, filling the air, then—

Boom.

Chapter 18

Grigori

The explosion rips through the hospital’s main entrance, shattering glass and making the whole building tremble with the force of it.

Holy shit.

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