Page 136 of Fall into Savagery

They both stared out at the busy New York street, playing ‘I Spy’ and sipping their drinks.

Feeling off, I sipped on the mango smoothie Linda had ordered for me.

That woman had looked at me as if she knew me.

But I didn’t know her.

I was sure of it.

A commotion caught my attention then, and I jumped when I felt wetness in the seat.

“Oh, no. I’m sorry, Catalina,” Konstantin said, his bottom lip jutting out. He looked like he was about to cry.

I leaned down and spoke to him softly. “Hey, it was an accident. It’s okay.”

“You’re not mad at me?” he asked, his voice shaky.

I blinked, getting a small glimpse into their past.

Shaking my head, I smiled. “Of course not. Let’s get this cleaned up, and we’ll buy you a new one, okay?”

He rewarded me with a small smile, and I looked over at Linda. “Why don’t I buy him a new one while you get the napkins,” she suggested.

I nodded, moved out of the seat for Linda to take Konstantin’s hand, and walked over to the counter.

“I’ll be back,” I said to Dmitriy. He was too busy looking at his brother to pay me any attention, and I felt a slight burning sensation in my heart from anger at their past.

The boys weren’t very talkative regarding what they experienced before Nikolay found them, and though they seemed well-adjusted, I wondered if the trauma they experienced was worse than they let on.

I walked to a small corner in the shop where they held the napkins and straws. I took a handful of the napkins, turned around, and pulled up short when I noticed the woman standing before me.

I looked up and met her bright blue eyes.

She was wearing very minimal makeup, and despite that, her eyes were arresting.

She smiled. It wasn’t a very nice smile, and something about her eyes made me want to take a step back so she didn’t crowd into my space.

I held my ground and dipped my head to the side in question.

She shook her head. “You really think whoring yourself out to the three heads of the Vasiliev Bratva will protect you?”

I narrowed my eyes at her. At least that answered why she was looking at me like she knew who I was. She did.

The question was, who was she?

“What? Not going to talk?” She laughed. “Oh, that’s right. The famous Mute Princess. You are every bit as they said you are. Mute. Meek. Do you really think you can hold his attention? I had him first, and it’s only a matter of time before he comes back to me.”

Who did she have first?

Because all my men had been with women before me. But looking at her …

My eyes widened.

She laughed again. “Have you finally figured out who I am?”

My fists clenched. Yeah. I knew who she was. The bitch who left her kids at a strip club in Texas. I was looking at Alina.

She was everything I imagined her to be.

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