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NATASHA
The iron security gates leading onto Indian Creek Island, the exclusive and private island where Luka’s family lives, slowly open in front of us. My pulse batters the sides of my throat with the force of a hammer.
Luka’s hands are wrapped tight around the steering wheel of his black Bugatti Royale, his jaw clenched so hard it might just crack.
“You have to tell me what’s in that envelope, Luka,” I say.
“I told you before, I will handle it.”
“Yeah, handle what, exactly?” I snap. “My murder? Is that why we’re going to your parents’ house right now? So you can kill me and then sink me to the bottom of Biscayne Bay?”
“Nobody is going to kill you.” He flashes me a look out of the corner of his eye. “I told you I’d always protect you.”
“Yes, but what’s to stop your brothers from doing the deed instead? Is that the plan? You lead me into the lion’s den and then they pounce on me?”
He takes a sharp left down one of the streets backing up to the bay. “Nobody is gonna pounce on you.”
“Then what the hell are we doing? Why won’t you tell me?” I slam my hands on the sides of the leather seat, expelling a frustrated groan.
“Because I don’t know yet, okay?” He pulls off the road and onto a winding, palm tree-lined driveway of light gray pavers.
“But the envelope–”
“Had nothing but a piece of paper with a combination and your name on it.”
A gasp catches in my throat. “My name?”
He nods, sweeping a hand through his hair. “That’s why we’re here.”
“What the hell does that mean? Did you tell anyone?” I squirm in the seat. For all I know, Taras could hear what was in that envelope and decide it’s enough to justify slaughtering me.
“Nikolai is meeting us here. He’s the only one who knows, and I trust him to keep it quiet. And if I’m right, the answers will be in my father’s safe, and we’ll find out soon enough what it all means.”
“Jesus,” I mutter, scrubbing a hand down the front of my face.
Luka places his strong hand on my thigh and clasps it. “We’re going to figure this out, okay? You have to trust me.”
I nod, trying to swallow, but my throat is too dry and gritty. I can barely squeeze out a breath, my heart is galloping like a thoroughbred.
This isn’t the time for me to crumble.
Whatever new reality is about to smack me in the face, I have to be prepared to handle it.
“Is it always going to be like this? Always wondering when the other shoe is going to drop? Is that how everyone lives?” I sit up straight and twist toward Luka. “I feel like everything I knew before was just total bullshit. It was a bubble of a life, a bubble you slashed when you took me from my house that night. How could I have been so blind to the things that were going on right under my nose?”
“Your parents obviously tried to protect you from their work,” he says.
“You broke into our home. You could have killed me and my sisters,” I hiss. “My father knew what he did to you, to your family. He knew what you’d do in retaliation. How is hiding all that protecting me?”
Luka rubs the back of his neck. “He must have had his reasons. I have no fucking clue what they are though.”
“Seriously?” I let out a sarcastic laugh. “What could he possibly have to gain by letting your family take me, unless it’s true that he was planning some kind of massive takeover? And even then, he still had to let me go. He sacrificed me in the name of his goals.”
Angry tears sting my eyes. I pound my fist on the side of the door. “Do you have any idea how betrayed I feel right now? Betrayed and panicked because I don’t even know my own fate…” My voice trails off and I clench my fists tight. “I’m so furious, Luka. I feel like a discarded piece of trash, like I was chosen for this because I’m expendable to my family.”
“I know that feeling well enough,” he mutters.
“And my mother…could she have been involved with the decision? Could she have been okay with this whole plan?”
