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He’s got balls, showing up here. He doesn’t know I’m aware of his interest in Sara, but still. If he so much as looks at her the wrong way, he won’t live to regret it.
That is, assuming she ever shows up for anyone to look at her in any way at all.
I wait five more minutes, checking my Sara-tracking app every thirty seconds, and then I call Danny, who’s part of Sara’s bodyguard crew today.
“I need you to go up to the apartment,” I say when he picks up. “Hand your phone to Sara and do not leave until she calls me.”
“Got it.”
He hangs up, and five minutes later, my phone lights up with a call from Danny’s number.
“Sara?”
“Peter, I…” She swallows. “I’m so sorry. I just need a little more time.”
My worry intensifies. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“No, nothing. My stomach is just unsettled.”
“Do you need me to send for a doctor? Get you anything?”
“No, it’s just…” She stops, then says carefully, “Look, Peter, I know this is awful timing, but—”
“Are you trying to back out?” My voice is soft, betraying nothing of the fury blazing to life inside me. “Is that what this is about?”
“No, not at all. I just need a little more time. Your return, the wedding—it’s all happening really fast. I’m not saying we shouldn’t do it, but maybe this is too soon, maybe we can just live together for a bit, see if this is even—”
“Even what?” The hard metal of the phone cuts into my palm. “Even possible? Do you really think this is how it’s going to go?” The rage is white hot within me, but I keep my tone gentle and my expression pleasant as I step behind a little patch of trees, away from curious eyes and ears.
“Peter, please. I’m just asking for a little extension. We can tell people the truth—that I’m not feeling well—and then—”
“Let me tell you how it’s going to go, ptichka,” I say in an even softer voice. “You can either go with Danny right now, coming straight here with no delays, or I’m going to come get you. Only we’re not going to come back here in that case. In fact, there will be nothing here to come back to, because I intend to leave no witnesses to this unfortunate event.” I pause, then ask gently, “Do you understand what I’m saying, my love?”
There’s dead silence on the phone. Then she says in a broken whisper, “You wouldn’t.”
“No? Try me.” I wait a couple of beats, then add, “Of course, your parents don’t fall into the witness category. I know how much they mean to you, so we’ll just take them with us when we leave. How does that sound? They’ll enjoy an exotic getaway, don’t you think?”
She’s silent for so long I’m almost certain she’s going to try to call my bluff. Except I’m not bluffing. I don’t give a fuck about any of these people, with the exception of Sara’s parents. If she pushes me, I will carry out my threat, even if it means giving up the amnesty I’ve fought so hard to get.
Without Sara, none of that bullshit matters.
If I can’t have her, I might as well burn down the whole fucking world.
“You’re insane,” she whispers finally, and I smile darkly as I hear the capitulation in her voice.
“Yes, I am, ptichka. Don’t forget that. I’ll see you here soon.”
And hanging up, I stroll back to mingle with the guests.
65
Sara
I’m still shaking as I emerge from my bedroom, clutching Danny’s phone in one hand and smoothing the soft lace of the dress with the other.
“I’m ready to go, Mom,” I tell her when she rises from the couch, clearly surprised to see me.
“Are you sure? Darling, you look really pale.”
“No, I’m fine, Mom.” I manage a small smile. “The medication is finally kicking in.”
My mom returned with the medicine just as I was coming out of the bathroom after being sick, so I immediately took a couple of pills and told her I had to lie down for a few minutes. I thought she’d accepted that explanation, but as her eyebrows pull together, I know I was just fooling myself.
Mom knows me far too well.
“Sara, darling… you know you don’t have to go through with it, right?” she says, stopping in front of me. “If you’re having second thoughts, you’re allowed to change your mind. Everyone would understand. You don’t have to marry him if you’re not ready.”
She’s wrong. I’m not allowed to change my mind—not if all our friends are to survive the day. I have no idea if Peter would actually do what he implied, but I can’t take that kind of risk.
Not with a man who’s capable of such monstrous things.
If the agent’s goal was to make me feel lower than a squashed bug, he succeeded admirably. Every word he threw at me felt like a bullet, because all of it was true. The crimes Peter has committed are awful, unforgiveable, and I know it. I’ve known it all along, yet I let myself fall for him.
