AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Well. I have a history of failing to meet very large expectations. And if people remember who I am, they’ll remember that too.
We’re alone in the hallway. Scurrying feet scuff the floors in a nearby room, but as far as our tour guide goes, she disappeared into the woodwork.
It’s just me and Mikhail and his infuriating gaze.
“Why did you say those things about my grandmother?” I cross my arms over my chest as my anger starts bubbling back up to the surface. “You have no business being so cruel to her.”
“I haven’t laid a finger on her,” Mikhail deflects, holding both hands up in front of his chest.
“But you will. You said so. She won’t be part of the living anymore,” I recite, more or less remembering the expression he used. “What the hell do you have against my grandmother?”
Is it something Bratva related? Or is he just mad that I spent the last five years with her, instead of here, under Andrei’s thumb?
When Mikhail doesn’t answer, I get angrier. “Tell me.”
He clenches his jaw. “I...” For the first time since I met the man, he looks away from me. “I can’t.”
Betrayal cracks like a whip against my ribs. “You can’t?”
What happened to all those pretty words he told me on the beach? What happened to no secrets between us?
What the hell could be so bad that he can’t tell me?
“Not yet,” Mikhail clarifies, his voice pitching. The note of desperation sounds odd coming from Mikhail, and I already hate it. “But I promise you, Valentina, I don’t make pointless threats. You’re going to have to trust me on this. Your grandmother is...” His expression falters, and he sighs. “Everything will become clear soon. You have to trust me. Trust us. We’re doing this to protect you.”
I fail to see how that’s possible.
“Killing my grandmother,” I clarify harshly. “That’s what you mean. Killing my grandmother is somehow supposed to protect me.”
He looks me straight in the eye and nods. “Yes, malyshka. Yes, it is.”
Chapter 17
Mikhail
The tension in the car is stifling.
I’d planned to take Valentina for a fun little spin around town to hear her laugh as I take turns too fast, but she’s too preoccupied with being mad to even look at me. I bet if I so much as try to burn rubber, she’ll yell at me for it.
It’s tempting either way, honestly.
We were supposed to stay at the orphanage longer, but Valentina’s entire mood shifted the moment I let something slip about her grandmother. It’s not my fault the woman came up during the tour—and then Valentina just had to get offended that Francesca thought the old woman was dead.
Why couldn’t she have remained silent and taken the damned tour without comment?
Because then she wouldn’t be Valentina, the voice in my head taunts. She’d be a remnant of the silent wallflower she used to be.
Not that there’s anything wrong with being a wallflower. It’s just not who Valentina is anymore.
We have a few hours before we’re expected back at the estate, so I push the brake and slow our speed to cruise through the streets.
Valentina might be mad now, but she’ll see reason once she realizes her grandmother is the one keeping secrets from her.
Dangerous secrets.
My blood starts to boil as I think of Liam taking pictures of Valentina while she slept. When she was passed out and defenseless, the bastard was taking fucking pictures of her. Who knows what else he’s done, or if he drugged her drink to get her to pass out in the first place.
Fake boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. Dead man.
