Page 123 of Blood & Snow
The line goes dead.
I look at my sister, seeing the exact moment her heart breaks.
The hope dies in her eyes, replaced by a cold disappointment that severs any hope she had left in me.
"I'll be back," I whisper, but she only stands there crying softly as I gather my coat and bag.
Irina doesn't watch me leave.
She sits at the kitchen table with her cold tea, staring at her hands as I slip out into the December night.
The car waits at the corner, an upgrade from my shuttling around by taxi.
Xander says taking public transportation of any kind is a risk, so I have to use his driver and car.
The driver doesn't acknowledge my presence as I slide into the back seat, or comment on the tears that streak my cheeks.
I don’t remember his name but I've seen him before, so I feel confident that he'll get me where I need to be.
We drive through Moscow's night streets, and my heart breaks open as the car bumps over potholes.
The city blurs outside my window, while I rehearse Irina's words. She doesn’t want me around her children.
She doesn't think I’m safe anymore.
It's heartbreaking, because she's right.
I'm not safe.
I'm a monster just like Xander.
The jewelry store sits in an upscale district where tourists browse expensive trinkets during daylight hours.
Now the windows are dark, the security grate pulled down over displays of diamond necklaces and gold watches.
Xander waits in the shadows beside the rear entrance, his pale eyes reflecting streetlight.
He moves toward the car as it stops, pulling open my door before the engine fully dies.
"What happened?" I ask, stepping onto pavement that gleams with ice.
"Complications."
He leads me toward the store's back door, which hangs open on broken hinges.
"Our intelligence was wrong."
The interior is dark except for emergency lighting whichcasts red shadows across overturned display cases and scattered jewelry.
Glass crunches under my feet as we move deeper into the store.
A man lies behind the main counter, his face destroyed by close-range gunfire.
Blood pools beneath his head, spreading across the floor under him that is scarred by more broken glass.
My stomach lurches but I press a hand to my belly and hold it back.
"You broke into the store?" I ask, looking up at him in confusion.
