Page 84 of Forbidden Vows

I don’t like the sound of that. I don’t like the sound of him. And I don’t like the look of Ian, passed out and pale, bleeding from what appears to be two gunshot wounds—one to the leftshoulder and one to his side.

“Oh, Ian…” I whisper.

“Worry about yourself, Mrs. Karpova.”

I’m taken to a structure somewhere on the other side of town, far outside the suburbs, by the looks of it. It’s quiet and dark at this hour. I’m gagged and bound as I am unceremoniously dragged out from the back of a black van and up the front steps of the house.

It’s a two-level building with white marble flooring and huge, French-style windows. Based on the state-of-the-art security system and over a dozen Kuznetsov goons present, I’m guessing I’m in a Kuznetsov safe house.

“You’d better not scream or do anything stupid,” my giant kidnapper says as he removes my gag. “Or I will put this back and add a black eye.”

“You’re too kind,” I mutter, my mouth dry and my blood boiling as I look up at him. “You’re a real gem, threatening to hit a pregnant woman.”

He shrugs and gives me a sneer. I notice a long scar on one side of his face. “I don’t care that you’re pregnant, and I don’t think the boss cares either.”

“Sergei? He should care. He just declared open war against the Karpovs,” I reply.

“It’s a new age, Mrs. Karpova. We will rule soon enough,” he says, pushing open a door behind me.

He gives me a shove, and I stumble into the room where he locks me in. Immediately, I turn around and start banging on thedoor, determined not to go down quietly. “You son of a bitch! Let me out! Now!”

“Quiet!” he shouts, pounding a fist against the door, causing it to shudder.

It startles me, and I take a couple of steps back. This is not where I’m going to die. No way in hell I’m letting Kuznetsov win. There has to be a way out of this mess. There’s always a way out.

“Eileen?” A weak, familiar voice causes me to spin around.

Ciara sits in a chair by the window.

“Oh, my God,” I whisper, stunned by the sight of her.

Her face is bruised. There’s not enough concealer in the world to hide the vibrant red and blue splotches around her eye, stretching down her cheek, all the way to her chin. There are bloodstains on her white blouse. Her lip is split and cracked, and clearly tender whenever she tries to speak. She looks so weak, so pale.

“Ciara,” I breathe as I rush over and kneel in front of her. “What happened?”

She gives me a pained look. “He caught me snooping. He beat it out of me… the plans we made… I’m so sorry.”

“It wasn’t you texting me, was it?”

“No.”

“You called me, though.”

Ciara shakes her head slowly. “No, he forced me to say those things, to ask you to meet me at the café.”

“That son of a bitch.”

She nods, wincing in pain. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

“Itismy fault.”

“No, Ciara, it isn’t.” I gently tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. It pains me deeply to see her like this. She may not be the world’s greatest stepsister, and her mouth and ego might often get the better of her, but she didn’t deserve any of this. We each did the best we could with what we were given.

She sobs quietly, barely able to look me in the eyes. “I should’ve been more careful. I should’ve rejected Sergei’s offer, Eileen. Dad said I could say no, that he’d find me another match.”

“But you said yes. I know why and I understand. I don’t like it, but, hey, we’ve all made mistakes, right? I mean, look at me,” I laugh nervously, and she glances down at my bump. “Don’t get me wrong, I love these babies with everything I’ve got, and I can’t wait to bring them into the world, but this wasn’t exactly planned. We make mistakes, Ciara. The trick is we need to learn from them.”

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