Page 71 of Immaculate Deception (Romanoff Bratva)

And the next.

Until my fiancé’s livelihood was swimming in the Hudson River and he couldn’t hurt anyone else.

Then I ran from him.

For so long, I thought I’d gotten away. Turns out… I was wrong.

Suddenly, I hear footsteps just outside the door of the cell. I’m hungry and aching, but I push myself to standing and then back up until I’m flat against the cement wall, as far as possible from the door.

A shiver moves down my spine as it opens. “Lukas!” My eyes move to him instantly, homing in on my son being carried in someone’s arms. A cry lodges in my throat, and I reach my arms out, desperate to hold him.

Then—Brigitte.

She’s the one holding my son. The expression on her face stops me cold. I’ve never seen her look so callous, so unfeeling. Her red-painted lips are pinched in a scowl and she wrinkles her nose at the sight of me. As though I actively disgust her.

“You stink,” she says.

“Where am I?” I demand, taking a step towards her. “How did I get here?”

She holds out a hand to stop me and then reveals the gun just inside the waistband of her jeans. “Don’t come any closer.”

“Brigitte, what—”

“Don’t come any closer,” she repeats, her tone lashing out like a whip. “I’m only here so you’ll stop screaming. You’re going to wake Lukas.”

His eyes are open. He’s already awake. “Where am I? Why am I here?”

“Because your past catches up with you, Arya.”

“This is for Jorik?” I shake my head in confusion. “You’re working for him?”

“I’m workingwithhim, you stupid bitch,” Brigitte snaps, laying her hand protectively over Lukas’s bundled head.

I want to break her fingers for touching my baby. But I force myself to stand still.

For now.

“I saw him first, you know,” she reminisces casually. “Before you. I met him at the bar and I liked him, but he was drawn in by you. By your...” She gestures to me, her hand tracing half of an hourglass shape in the air. “He learned his lesson and came to me after you betrayed him.”

My mind can’t wrap around what my best friend is saying.IbetrayedJorik? That isn’t what she said night after night when I sat on her couch, drunk on wine and fear, recounting the horrors of the monster I’d escaped. Horrors I’d buried, hoping to forget.

I told Brigitte about Jorik coming home, high and angry. About him slapping me around. I told her about his moods and his temper. The way he threatened me to do things I didn’t want to do.It’ll be easier if you just say yes.

ButI’mthe traitor?

“You two are partners, then?” I ask, still not fully understanding.

“Christ, you’re stupid. Do I have to spell everything out for you?” Brigitte drawls scornfully. “We’re together.”

My stomach roils. I’m not sure if it’s from pain, hunger, or shock. Probably all three. The world doesn’t seem to be right side up anymore. I’m not sure if it ever will be again.

“When you left him, he asked me to keep an eye on you. To monitor your movements. So I let you stay at my house.”

I squeeze my eyes closed, as if I can block out the reality of what she’s saying. But I can’t.

She keeps talking. “When you moved into your new place, I gave Jorik the address. I told him where you worked. I showed him every text, every voicemail, every picture you ever sent me. All of it went straight back to Jorik. So he could keep an eye on you.”

“So why wait?” I spit, my shock giving way to anger. “Why let me go on living my life for years without doing anything? Why act now?”

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