Page 163 of Betrayal and Vows

I watch the familiar landscape blur past the windows.

Birch forests and open fields dotted with small, dark villages. It feels surreal to be back.

Like returning to a nightmare I thought I escaped.

The apartment is on the outskirts of Moscow, in one of those Soviet-era blocks that all look identical.

Gray concrete, small windows, the smell of cabbage and old cigarettes in the hallways.

The woman leads us up three flights of stairs to a door at the end of the hall.

She knocks once. The door opens immediately.

"Mom?"

My mother stands in the doorway, and the sight of her breaks something loose in my chest.

She's alive.

Bruised—I can see the purple marks on her cheekbone, the split lip that's healing—but alive.

I launch myself into her arms before I can think about it, tears already streaming down my face. She holds me tight.

"My baby," she whispers against my hair. "My sweet girl. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry you couldn't get away."

I pull back to look at her face, my hands trembling as I touch the bruises. "Did Dad do this to you?"

Her smile is sad but fierce. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that we are going to finish this."

The woman that delivered us is already gone. It’s just the three of us.

My mother moves to sit on the worn couch, holding my hand in her lap. Anton stays near the door.

I can feel his tension, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

“I never wanted this world for you, Lena,” Mom says. “But Lenoid... he pulled us in, and he never let go."

“Where is he?” Anton asks.

“With Orlov. They are planning. They know you’re returning.”

I’m not surprised.

Of course they know.

“Can you get a message to Orlov?” Anton asks.

I know exactly what he’s going to do.

“No, Anton.”

“Lena, he wants me. I have to get close enough to kill him. I will kill him.”

I understand. The realization settles in my chest like a stone. Anton is going to walk right into Vadim's hands, knowing it's a trap, because it's the only way to get close enough for a kill shot.

It's insane. Brilliant and insane.

"Dmitri will be here soon," my mother says, glancing toward the window. "He was losing a tail. Had to take the long way around."