Page 25 of The Russian Retribution

“Oh.” She sighs. “I was about to give that guy a piece of my mind. What kind of men are you training that I get manhandled in here for trying to leave my own home?”

Kicking the door closed behind me, I snort softly in amusement. “Well for one, you shouldn’t be trying to leave without me.”

“I left you a note.”

“Anastasia, you can’t be serious.”

“What?” She throws one hand out toward the window. “I had other members of your team in the car. What’s the problem?”

“You were the one who chose me, remember?” I lift one brow. “You don’t go anywhere without me.”

“Bit obsessive,” she mutters.

“If it keeps you alive, I don’t care. Don’t you understand? I’m not leaving your side even for a second, okay? The risk is too high. It’s for your own safety.”

“Look, fine, okay? I have to be somewhere and you didn’t pick up, so I figured a note would be fine and you could join me later.” She sighs, dragging a hand through her hair and causing the strands to ripple across her shoulders. “Why is your hair wet?”

“I was showering and then… It doesn’t matter. It’s so late.” I glance down at my watch. “We have no meeting scheduled for tonight. What’s the rush?”

Anastasia’s gaze falls away and she takes a step back. “It doesn’t matter. Look, can I go?”

“Not without me.”

“I don’t have time for this. Fine. Can we please go?”

“Not until you tell me where you’re going.”

“You could have told me we were going to the hospital.”

Anastasia glances across at me as the elevator sweeps upward. “I didn’t know I could trust you.”

“Excuse me?” My gut tightens immediately.

“I only told a handful of our people about my construction plans and that bastard still found me. So someone is talking. I don’t know who I can trust.”

“You think it’s me?” Despite the flames that burn inside me for her, a sudden coldness spreads through my chest. I haven’tforgotten my orders from Viktor, but if I don’t stay close to her, I will lose all chance of learning the truth. And at this rate, the more I learn, the more I’m certain I’ll have to prove her innocence.

“It could be anyone,” she mutters, turning her attention to the gold numbers highlighting each floor above us. “Besides, this is personal.”

Confusion knots my gut for the rest of the ride.

When the doors open, Anastasia leads the way out. I follow her down the corridor, trying to ignore how the antiseptic stink of this place drags me right back to my days as a child waiting to hear if my mother made it through surgery. That sensation of impending doom haunts me to this day. She eventually stops at one room and slips inside, turning into a shadow in the dull light.

A woman with black hair stands near the window, dressed in a paper gown with her thin arms wrapped around her body.

“Tanya?” Anastasia speaks with more softness than I’ve ever heard coming from her, and my stomach knots tighter.

The woman glances over her shoulder. Her tired look immediately hardens into hate when she locks eyes with Anastasia. “The fuck are you doing here?”

“I got a call that you’d been admitted. What happened?”

“The fuck you think happened?” She spins to face Anastasia, and venom drips from her tone. “Are you surprised? Do I disappoint you, huh? Are you here to fucking judge me?”

“No,” Anastasia replies, her voice still soft. “I’m here to help you. You know that.”

“Why can’t you just fucking leave me alone? Haven’t you done enough? I don’t want you here. I don’t want anything to do with you! Can’t you get that through your thick fucking skull?”

The hairs on the back of my neck bristle. No one in their right mind should be speaking to Anastasia that way. People have died for much less when it comes to disrespecting thePakhan—or Godmother, in this case—but Anastasia doesn’t seem angry. Her face saddens and she remains where she is as Tanya stomps back to the bed.

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