Dean really does think he's doing this to help me. I can see in his eyes that he believes it with every fiber of his being. He might bedelusional, but he truly believes everything he's saying. He truly believes he's helping me.
“Can't you get me out of here now? You're right. I'm sorry I left you. I guess I just needed to see how much better a man you were than anyone else.”
Dean peers at me, tilting his head slightly.
“I know,” I add hurriedly, “I know I haven't admitted it, but you really are showing me how much you love me. You're trying to take down a mob boss for me, and you only kidnapped me to keep me safe. That really shows how much you care.”
Every word out of my mouth feels like acid, burning my tongue and making bile rise in my throat. But this is my chance, and I have to take it.
I'm willing to do just about anything right now.
“Do you really mean it?” Dean asks.
“Of course, I do. Look at everything you've done for me. You tried to warn me about Dmitri, but I didn't listen. Why did you team up with Andrey, though?”
Dean shrugs. “He offered me the chance to take down Smirnov, to help get you back. I told him you wouldn't listen to reason because that asshole had you under his spell, and he gave me a way to get you out of there. Plus, the money. He's paying me a lot of money for this, and it's going to set us up for life: you, me, the baby, and all our future kids. But we're going to get Smirnov first, and I'm the one who will be taking him in. I get to be the hero. I’ll finally get the commendation and the recognition I deserve. Maybe they'll promote me to sergeant, or hell, even captain.”
I highly doubt thatI think, struggling to keep the disbelief off my face.
I'm pretty sure the higher-ups can smell a rat a mile away. At some point, his dealings with Andrey will come out, and if they don't fire him, they'll demote him to desk duty in a tiny precinct on Staten Island until he retires.
“I have our future all worked out, Clara. I'm going to show you how much better I am than that mobster billionaire. I'm going to show you that you don't need all that money, that I can still give you everything you want without it.”
“You’re right, I don't need all that money.” It’s true. It was never about the money. It was about the man.
“But Dean, Andrey is a criminal, too. He’s the worst kind. He’s so much worse than Dmitri, you have no idea. Are you aware he killed Dmitri's first wife when she was pregnant?”
Dean blinks. I'm guessing Andrey completely left out that part.
“He's not going to just let me go, Dean. You have to get us out of here now.”
“But then I won't get the money.”
“You're never going to get the money, Dean. Andrey is a psychopath, not just a Russian mobster. What he tells you and what he's actually going to do are two different things. You have to believe me.”
Dean watches me closely, and for a moment, I think I’ve gotten through to him. But then his eyes narrow into a heated glare.
“Do you really think I'm that stupid? Do you really think I'd let some fuckingRussian get one over on me?”
“Dean, no?—”
He rises from his chair and stalks closer. I can see the rage in his eyes, twisting his face into something ugly and frightening.
“Dean, please. I'm telling the truth, all of it is?—”
The back of his hand flies at me so fast, it takes a second to register what happened until the pain, sharp and stinging, blossoms across my cheek.
I stare up at him defiantly, my hand against the side of my face.
“I was going to give you everything, Clara. I was going to give you everything you ever wanted.” He backs away from me. “You’re going to stay here. Be good until Andrey's done with you, and then we'll go. Don't try anything like this again. I'm watching you, Clara. I know your tricks.”
Dean storms across the room, his footsteps heavy, and yanks open the door. I hear him answer his phone before the door slams shut and locks.
I'm alone with a throbbing cheek, the tears starting to fall, wondering what the hell my plan B is.
37
DMITRI
