Page 156 of Marrying the Savage

I didn’t know he had an older brother.

I wait for him to continue. He doesn’t.

“What happened to him?” I ask.

Damir looks toward the windows. “He died before the fire.” His tone is flat, but the subject is closed.

For once, I don’t push. Instead, I ask, “What were you like before?”

His gaze returns to me. “Before what?”

“Before all of this.”

He considers me for a moment. “Louder.”

I blink. “You?”

“Yes.”

“You were loud?”

“Sometimes.”

“Did you laugh?”

“Sometimes.”

It’s hard to imagine. Not impossible, though. For one second, I see it: a younger Damir, still dangerous but less locked away. I wonder if Elena knew him like that.

That thought brings back everything I’m trying to ignore. The fact that I’m standing here shopping with her husband while planning to run from him.

Then a raised voice comes from the front of the gallery. Everyone reacts at once.

Nikolai turns.

One guard moves toward the door.

Katya goes still.

Damir’s expression changes so fast it scares me. One second he’s standing beside me, almost normal. The next, he’s gone behind that cold, controlled face.

Then Dmitri Sokolov walks in. He looks pale and angry. He’s limping, though he’s trying to hide it. Two men come in behind him. Both are armed. I know it even before Nikolai moves.

Dmitri’s eyes find me first. Then the ring on my finger.

Then Damir.

His mouth twists. “There you are, Sofia. Did you miss me?”

I did this. I posted the story. I made sure he saw it. I wanted a scene.

Now he’s here.

Damir steps in front of me slightly. Not fully. Just enough. “Leave,” he says.

Dmitri laughs. “You clear out a store and bring her here like a prize, and you think no one will hear about it?”

“This is your warning.”