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This is going to make our conversation three times harder. “I’m getting married in a week.”
Her eyes widen, her lips forming an O. “I had no idea,” Katrina says softly.
Guilt plagues me. I reach for her hand and give it a squeeze. “It just happened. I’m not even sure if I’ll go through with it. You know I don’t believe in love and marriage.”
“I never thought you would be coerced into something like that.” A soft, thoughtful frown creases her forehead.
“I sometimes think I have an option; I could say no. Other times, I’m not sure.”
“Want to talk about it?” she asks, patting the seat beside her.
“Fin went behind my back and forced our family to arrange our wedding. There are moments where I feel love, but then my mind refuses to let me, because I don’t trust him. I don’t trust myself either. How do I know it’s love I’m feeling?”
There, I said it.
“Has he ever let you down before?”
“I’m a believer that there is a first time for everything.”
Katrina shakes her head with a sigh. “Is that why I’m still in hiding? You’re scared I’m in danger?”
I blow out a breath. “If you want to come home, I’ll make it happen. I don’t want to stand in the way of your happiness. I just want to protect you and my little niece or nephew.”
My heart races at allowing her the decision. If it were me, I would stay put until the baby was born. Why risk it for a man unworthy of your love? Katrina is staring out the small window in the room. Her frown deepens on her face, and I know she wishes the father was worth it.
What if Fin is worth it? I know with certainty I could be happy. But why all the secret meetings with his uncle?
“Go with your gut, Luna. It hasn’t steered you wrong before.”
My gut is yelling that this wedding is a setup. I refuse to be a victim. Fin will be the one going down, not our family. We have had a century of prosperity in the Rossi family. I will do everything in my power to keep it that way.
“I’ll sneak you into the wedding for you to watch,” I promise, and my sister perks up immediately. “I promise to do everything in my power to bring you home as soon as possible.”
Fin
Anxietyrocksmycoreas I realize Luna has given me the slip. My gut feels like it’s being filled with cement. The sensation is one I’ve never felt. I take a few seconds to realize that I’m worried about Luna.
I wrack my brain, trying to think like her. Where would she go? What would she do? Then it clicks. She went to go see her sister. I can feel it deep in my bones. With my uncle’s help, I’ve been able to find out why she’s hidden Katrina—the Russians are looking for her. Luna is trying to protect her. She protects everyone around her but refuses to allow me to protect her.
If something happens to her, I will never forgive myself. When it comes to her, it feels like she slips through my fingers every time. I’ve failed in protecting her before. It could easily happen again.
I don’t even know if I can give Luna what she deserves. It was a rash decision when I forced the Rossis to arrange a marriage between us. I could disappear in the night, never having to think about another person in my life. Is a marriage worth the heartache I’ll be forced to endure over the next couple of decades? I glance at the door. Nothing is keeping me here, except Luna, and that’s where my problem lies.
I can’t make myself leave her. No matter what. That instant knowledge is a blow to my chest. I’ll never have the calm that reigns over me with her by my side.
Luna
IwalkoutofKatrina’s apartment, feeling better. I’m in my own world, thinking about how proud I am with how well she has taken everything. That’s when my shoulder is pushed, and my back hits the brick wall of the building.
Ron is leering at me, a knife at my throat. “No guard dog to save you this time?” His knife brushes against my neck. The pull of the knife is hot on my skin. “I know everything, Luna. You need to decide—your sister or Fin.” He doesn’t wait for an answer. “Fin will die at your hands by the end of your wedding night. Or I will personally deliver your sister to the Russians.”
I don’t move a muscle, trying to keep my expression stoic when internally I’m freaking out.
“What are you gaining from all this?” I ask, trying to move as little as possible.
“Everyone will know how I feel. That’s all I have ever wanted. If I have to live in misery, I want everyone else to as well.” He nicks my throat with the knife before he steps away. “I’ll be watching,” he tells me before he disappears.
When I sneak back into the house, Fin is sitting on a chair with a gun in his lap.
