Page 96 of Vitaly

When I walk him to the door, I hesitate to open it, spinning to face him as my heart quickens. “What if we just left?” I ask, my ears grating at my words.

His brows pull together slightly. “You mean…”

Leave.

Desert.

Abandon.

I cringe thinking it. My stomach twists.

I don’t know this person I’m becoming. I don’t recognize her. Tomorrow, if Vitaly somehow agrees and I wake up somewhere in another state, I’ll hate her.

But…

“Vitaly.” My eyes begin to water again. “If things go wrong Saturday… If I lose you…” I inhale a shaky breath, my hands tingling. “I told you power was the thing I wanted more than anything in the world. That’s no longer true.”

He steps up to me so our chests brush. Tucking hair behind my ear, he looks at me seriously. I can’t tell what he’s thinking.I’m not sure he’s thinkinganything. It’s more like he’s digging deep inside me, penetrating my soul to find something.

I know when he finds it. The skin between his eyes, once wrinkled with concentration, loosens as he sighs. He leans in to plant a kiss on my forehead before whispering in my ear.

“Alekseevs don’t run.”

He squeezes my shoulders, holding his grip for a few seconds before releasing and stepping around me for the door. He leaves without a proper goodbye, and I’m grateful for it. I think he knew I would say more things that would only make me hate myself.

I flatten my palm against the door and close my eyes. I know he’s right. I know we can’t leave. It isn’t who I am. I wonder if he knows it isn’t who he is either, or if he believes it was truly Roman who lured him here instead of fate.

I know this is the choice we must make.

I just hope it’s the right one.

26

VITALY

Twenty cars.

That’s how many are waiting for me when I arrive at the lake house.Twenty. I know because as I sit in the parked Honda, the hairs on the back of my neck standing at attention, I count the headlights shining in my eyes. More blind me in my rearview.

They weren’t supposed to know about this place.

No onewas supposed to know about this place.

It hasn’t felt right being at the mansion, so I’ve been here, communicating with Roman via a burner phone and laying low from Nikita. Pretending nothing was wrong didn’t seem to make sense anymore, not after our talk yesterday. It felt too stupid to merely wait around in a house full of his men for them to strike at any moment, so I came here after our talk in the garden and haven’t been back.

I figured he could think I ran away. Or he could think I’m plotting against him. As long as he doesn’t know who I’m plotting with or that Mila is alive, I didn’t suppose it mattered.

But now…

“Get out of the car!” a pony-tailed blond man yells, pointing a machine gun at my windshield. “Hands where I can see them!”

Why do they sound like the police?

I check the cars, just to make sure I have this right, but I know I do. Pony-tail Dick was standing at the front gate of the mansion yesterday.

Do they know where Mila is?

No. No, if they did, they would’ve grabbed me there.

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