Page 143 of Wicked Vows (Suvorov Bratva 2)

“It was.” I look at her, almost recoiling at the disappointment in her eyes. “It’s better than for him to be chased by Cardona and his men, or to fall into their hands.”

She plays with the wedding ring on her finger. “Is that what you really think?”

I stare at her for a long time. She’s full of fire right now, brimming with the kind of indignation that came from Mr. Austin earlier this morning. She’s pissed. But there’s something else—something that makes me feel uneasy.

I hold her gaze and nod. “It is.”

When she blinks, she seems surprised. Her eyes drop to my lap, glaze over, and then she snaps her head to look out the window. Stepan is quiet in the front seat. The sound of traffic around us invades the car.

Liya flattens herself against the seat. Her mouth is a line again. She continues twisting the ring now, toying it over her knuckle.

Then she pulls it off.

“If that’s what you believe—” She drops the ring in my lap. “Then, when you kill Cardona, that will be the end of us.”

My world shatters.

The ring rests on my pants, glinting in the sun leaking through the windows. “You don’t mean that.”

She crosses her arms over her chest, saying shakily, “I do.”

“Lisichka.”

“Don’t call me that.” Her voice is cold. “I don’t want to hear it, Pavel.”

“You’re stressed.” I wipe my mouth, ignoring the knot forming in my throat. “You’re worried about Willow. You’re not thinking straight.”

“No, Pavel. This is the one time where I’m absolutely certain of my decision.”

“Liya…”

“You’re going down a dark road, Pavel.” Tears brim in her eyes. “And I can’t follow you.”

“You’re my light,” I blurt. “You are what keeps me out of that darkness.”

“No. I’m not.” She shakes her head, fighting to keep her voice even. “I wasn’t able to stop you from killing my brother. I wasn’t able to stop you from killing Bill. And one day, you’ll do something worse. And nothing you say or do after will ever redeem it.”

I slump in the seat. Her words slice through me like a knife. She keeps staring at me, keeps tightening her jaw and hugging herself. I can’t help staring at the tan line the ring left on her finger.

My wife. My love.

Have I lost her? Is this really the end?

“Liya,” I start. “Don’t do this. Please.”

She swallows hard and then closes her eyes. The tears decorating her lashes stream down her cheeks.

“When you do finally do it, Pavel.” She licks her lips and shivers, lips parting shakily a few times. “When you finally do that one thing you can never come back from…”

When she opens her eyes, I don’t recognize the amber pools staring back at me.

They’re hollow.

They’re hopeless.

The love that I had grown so accustomed to seeing has evaporated.

She whispers, “I don’t want to be there to see it.”

---