Page 81 of Lethal Legacy

I unfold the brief biography attached to the photograph.

The original article had three other thumbnail images below the larger one of Alexei, one each of Papa, Mama, and me. I didn’t cut those out when I took the article. Even though the photo of me was taken when I was fifteen, it resembled me enough to make me uncomfortable. The article itself gave me nightmares for weeks. Whoever wrote it knows much more than they should about our family history.

I trace my little brother’s features. Despite the five-year age gap between us, Alexei and I were always each other’s best friend. It was inevitable, really, given the cloistered life we led. I try not to allow myself to think of him, because when I do, the guilt is overwhelming. But sometimes I miss him so much it feels unbearable. Times like now, when the memories come in a flood that can’t be held back.

“I’m not coming with you, Darya.” Alexei stands in the shadows, his face hidden from me.

“What?” I look at him in blank shock. “You have to. We escape together or not at all.”

He shakes his head slowly. “This isn’t your decision. And I won’t change my mind, so there’s no point trying.”

“Look where we are!” I gesture angrily at the small tin boat tied to a jetty just down from our own. “They’ll find that tunnel the moment they know we’re gone. They’ll know you helped us escape—”

“No, they won’t.” In the pale reflection of the city lights off the water, Alexei’s mouth is a grim line. “The guards outside our bedrooms were both paid enough to keep quiet until dawn. That gives me at least six hours to kill them both and get rid of their bodies. More than enough.”

My mouth falls open. “Kill them? Are you mad? You’re not a killer, Alexei. This isn’t you.”

“It has to be me.” He steps forward, gripping my shoulders. “I need to become a killer, just like you need to become invisible. These are our lives now, Darya. If we want to survive, if we don’t want to lose everything Papa worked for, this is the only way. I stay here and make peace with the Orlovs. You go and save Papa. You must.”

I shake my head slowly. Reaching up, I touch the jaw that only recently sprouted the first signs of a beard. “They won’t believe you. They’ll torture you—”

“Worse than they already have?” Alexei gives a harsh laugh. “Pain I can take, Darya. Watching them torture you and Papa is far worse. You’ve been flirting with the guard on the gate for months. They’ll believe it was him who bribed the other guards and let you go, just like we planned.”

I look down at Papa, who is watching us in silence. “You don’t agree with this, Papa. You can’t.” But I already know, looking at the faded eyes that are full of pain, what his answer is.

“You worked this out together.” I look between them in shock. “You were just waiting until I was safely out to tell me. You always planned to go back.”

Alexei nods grimly. “I’m sorry, Darya. But we knew you’d never agree otherwise. And this is the only way. Papa will die if we stay here. And it’s only a matter of time until they decide to rape you, for fun if not for answers. The only surprise is that they haven’t done it already. If we run together, the three of us will be caught before the day is out. But this way, you have a real chance. The Orlovs won’t hunt you as hard if they still have me to answer their questions.”

There’s a hard determination in my brother’s face that both breaks my heart and shows me the first indication of the man he is about to become. I can’t bear the thought of him having to murder to protect me. Of him enduring Orlov’s brutality so I don’t have to.

I feel physically sick with guilt and shame.

“Go, Darya.” Alexei kisses Papa on both cheeks, gripping his hands. “Please.” It’s then that his voice cracks, and I realize what it’s costing him to do this, to force his father and me into the unknown night, armed with little more than some cash, a map, and an address in Argentina.

Every moment I delay is only making it harder.

“I love you, Alexei.” I put my arms around his neck, trying not to cling to him.

“Keep running,” he whispers, hugging me fiercely. “They won’t ever stop looking, Darya, and they have money. It won’t just be the Orlovs searching—it will be everyone who wants whatever reward they offer. Don’t trust anyone. And never, ever tell anyone who you are. I’ll find a way to defeat the Orlovs, eventually. And when I do, I’ll come and find you. That’s my promise to you.”

“And I promise to become invisible.” My whisper cracks, but I force myself to keep going. “I promise to keep Papa safe. To keep him alive. I’ll disappear so completely nobody will ever find our trail, and I’ll stay lost as long as you need me to be.”

Iwipe my eyes, staring at Alexei’s face. Letting Roman in is one thing. Betraying the promises I made to my family is another.

I owe Roman the right to take care of his family. But I can’t, and won’t, endanger my own.

I will tell Roman some of the truth. Enough for him to make an informed decision.

I fold the article and slip it back inside my phone cover.

I just have to hope that doing so doesn’t mean betraying everything I ran to protect.

23

LUCIA

By the time the children get back to the apartment, Maria has already set the table for lunch.

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