His tone takes on an icy chill. "A complication. You said the doctor cleared her."
"She wasn't kidnapped. She was sold. Her father handed her off and took payment."
A beat. "That's impossible."
"She told me herself."
Another pause, longer this time. "Lebedev is one of my most trusted men. You're telling me he sold his own daughter to traffickers?"
"I'm telling you what she told me. And I believe her."
Volkov's exhale is sharp. "If that's true—ifit's true—he'll be dealt with. But Polina comes home."
If? Ifit's fucking true?
This motherfucker won’t take her word for it?
"No. She's not going back to him. Not until you've handled it."
I can practically hear the steam shooting from his ears. "She's Bratva."
"She's under my roof and my protection at the moment."
The silence stretches taut as a wire. When Volkov speaks again, his voice is sharp and cutting. "You have two days. Get her healthy enough to move. After that, I'm coming for her myself."
The line goes dead.
Two days.
I pace the length of the hallway, trying to think.
The smart play is obvious. Return her to Volkov. Smooth over the diplomatic nightmare. Maintain the peace I've worked so hard to build.
The Bratva will handle Lebedev however they see fit. Polina goes back to her world, I stay in mine, and everyone walks away.
Except.
Except I can't fucking do it.
The thought of putting her in a car, driving her back to that world, handing her over to people who failed to protect her—it makes my vision go red around the edges.
She's not going back.
Not to her father. Not to anyone who might hurt her. Not ever.
Which leaves me with a problem, because Volkov is not a man who takes "no" for an answer. And refusing to return his officer's daughter is tantamount to declaring war.
Unless.
The idea arrives fully formed, audacious, and slightly insane.
It's manipulative as hell. She'll probably hate me for it. But it might be the only way to both keep her safe and avoid starting a bloodbath in the process.
What I'm about to do is risky. Possibly reckless. And it’s definitely going to piss off a lot of people.
But I think it’ll work.
Polina
