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And when the lock pops, it seems Oscar has realized this too.
The door swings open, revealing the man I hate with every fiber of my being. He saunters into the room without a care in the world, wearing a black silk robe. A glimmer of a smile spreads across his full lips.
Rage overtakes me, but I rein it in. I lock eyes with him, staring him down. But he doesn’t waver in the slightest.
“What a pleasant surprise,” Oscar says, opening his arms wide and feigning shock to see me here. “I’m so sorry you’ve been in here for so long. I was…attending to other pressing matters.” His pause for effect has me clenching my teeth because no doubt, those matters involved Saint.
“Cut the bullshit,” I snap, not interested in playing games. “I came here to talk. You know what I want.”
Kudos to me. Oscar appears taken aback by my candor.
His façade soon fades and, in its place, twists a perverse grin. “Why would I want to talk to you? You have nothing of value to me. You’re yesterday’s news. You and Aleksei both are.”
He watches me closely for any signs of emotion. There are none.
“I wouldn’t know,” I reply, uninterested.
Now I’ve really piqued his interest. “Don’t be coy. I know you and Alek are shacked up somewhere cozy, discussing yourfeelings.” A word has never sounded so polluted before.
“Please,” I mock, folding my arms to stop the tremble passing through me. “I’m glad to have finally gotten away from him.”
Oscar purses his lips, tilting his head slightly. “Are you telling me you have no idea where Alek is?”
“No idea.” I scoff. “And thank god for that.”
“I don’t believe you,” Oscar replies, a hint of something lacing his tone. “I saw you leave with him. I saw you leaveusto die.”
Ah, now I know what it is—bitterness that I allowed him to burn.
Rehearsing the speech in my head, I put the plan into motion, hoping he buys my lies. “Yes, you’re right.” He stands tall until I add, “I did leave that room with Alek. But we all suffered in that explosion. We made it, I don’t know, only a few feet before the ceiling caved in around us. The last thing I remember was Alek being hit on the head with a beam before I passed out, suffering a similar fate to him.
“When I came to, I was stowed away on a farm somewhere. Sara, yet another pawn in Alek’s sick game, had saved me. If she hadn’t dragged me from that mess, I would have ended up like Alek.”
A tic under Oscar’s eye reveals I’ve hit a nerve. But I hold back the premature celebrating for now. “Like Alek what?”
Taking my time, I exhale slowly. “Dead.”
“You lie,” he gasps, shaking his head.
But I stand my ground. “No, I don’t. For all I know, Alek perished in that explosion.”
“His body was never found,” he rebukes, but cracks are beginning to show.
“I’m sure a lot of bodies weren’t.”
Clearly, Oscar wasn’t anticipating me delivering this news when he opened his door and allowed me in. A small win for me.
He takes his time digesting everything I’ve just said. “I don’t believe you.”No surprise there. “Alek would never leave you. Not after his heartfelt promise to be the hero of this story.”
His patronizing tone wins him back a point because I almost lose my shit—almost.
“Believe what you want. That’s not why I’m here.”
“Then why are you here?” He’s angry, and that’s good. I can work with that.
Taking a step toward him, I pray I’m a convincing liar. “I know Astra is alive. Borya, not so much. But Astra is.”
His mouth parts slightly, revealing his surprise that I’m privy to the truth.
