Page 80 of Essence of Fear

Zoya, in a pretty dress.

Viktoria, in bloodstained skinny jeans.

Yeah, there’d been blood on the floor where she fell. She was trying to ignore it, but eventually, Pav would force her out of those clothes, and then she was going to see the remnants of the stains on her skin.

But not right now.

Staring at her half-sister, Viktoria could see the similarities between them. The few features they’d taken from their father, and that similar glint in their eyes that said they shared blood. She’d not made an effort with this girl—not to know her or to care. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel something for Zoya, because she did, but was this really the life she wanted to live? Did she want to be dragged into the mess of the Boykovs simply because she shared their blood?

Viktoria would tell her not to.

She’d tell her to run.

“Why is she here?” Viktoria asked, never looking away from Zoya.

She was quite aware how the question sounded. Rude and cold. Like everything else that came out of her mouth, probably. Usually, she would just let people assume her bitchiness was exactly what it was at face value, but this was not the same.

“Vik,” Konstantin snapped. “Be nice.”

She looked at her brother. “I am—why is she here? So whoever is watching us can report back that there’s another Boykov target to use? At least when she’s keeping her distance from us, nobody thinks we give a shit about her. It’s selfish to have her here when she would be safer away from us, Konstantin.”

Zoya cleared her throat, drawing in Viktoria’s attention again. “I wanted to come. I wanted to make sure you were okay when I’d heard something happened at your house.”

Viktoria softened in her stance a bit and nodded once. “I’m okay.”

“Good.”

This was probably the longest conversation she had ever had with the woman. She was hyperaware of her family, who had all turned into statues as they watched the exchange happening between her and Zoya. She didn’t know what to tell them. The fact that they assumed they understood her complex feelings or opinions about this woman, or anything else for that matter, wasn’t her problem.

“Someone will be watching Zoya as well,” Konstantin said. “That was already decided a while ago.”

“Even though she didn’t want that,” Amelia, Konstantin’s wife, added. “He does account for others, Viktoria, even if you think he doesn’t.”

She passed Amelia a look.

“I’m aware,” she replied dully.

It wasn’t that she disliked Amelia, because she did like her, in a way. She simply found that when someone—but especially a woman—was similar to her own self in ways, they could easily rub her the wrong way.

“Come on,” Pav murmured behind her, his hand coming to lock around her wrist. “Let’s go sit back in the room and relax.”

That sounded perfect.

“In a second,” she told him.

He nodded but not before dragging her a little closer to him. She didn’t mind that—being tucked into his chest, as one of his arms locked around her waist and his lips rested at the back of her head while he breathed in deep. It reminded her, for the moment, that she was safe.

What more could she want?

“Move her out of the city,” Kolya said, gesturing at Viktoria. “We can move the others, too.”

“I’m not leaving the city.”

Konstantin looked her way, shaking his head. “That’s dangerous. It would be better if you—”

“I’m not running anymore.”

That was her hard line.