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He growls. “Don’t lie to me!”
“I didn’t know how to tell you.”
“Bullshit!”
My lower lip quivers while I fold my arms over my stomach. I can’t help it. My only instinct is to make sure my baby doesn’t get hurt. “I’m serious, Pavel. I got confused. I just didn’t know when or how to tell you.”
“You could have told me immediately.” He shakes his head, equal parts disbelief and agitation blanketing his face. “It sounds like you were working with him all along.”
I stare at him with wild eyes. “Pavel, no.”
“You really think you could pull something like that over my head?”
“The way you held Jonas over the rail—” My gaze darts to the terrace door, to the place where Jonas nearly died. “I just realized how ready you were to kill him. And that…” I bite my lower lip and close my eyes, swallowing the bile that rises in my throat.
“Go on, Liya,” he says in a condescending tone. “You were on a roll. Keep going.”
I try to draw away, but he stays close, hovering over me like a hungry wolf.
I swallow hard and whisper, “I got torn about my loyalty between you and Jonas.”
He’s quiet for a long time. I think he’s studying me, trying to figure out if I’m bullshitting him again. I know he can read me like a book, so I don’t bother trying to hide my expressions.
But I don’t meet his gaze. I don’t want to see his anger.
It’s too frightening when it’s directed at me.
“Zoya and Jonas together will lead to bad news,” he states. No emotions in his voice. No ire left. Just the ruthless Pakhan speaking logically. “Kiril didn’t answer my calls, and now your brother is literally sleeping with my enemy.”
“I told him it was a bad idea.”
He snorts. “Like he would have listened to you.”
I ignore the jab and look at him, trying to find the man from the other day, the one who talked excitedly about being a father. The one who called Dr. Atlee. The one who skipped a meeting just to hear about the doctor’s appointment when I got home.
Where is he?
I suck air into my lungs and whisper, “I tried, Pavel.”
“Yet you didn’t tell me anything.”
“No, I…”
He raises his hand. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”
Is that defeat in his voice?
I bow my head and ask, “How did you find out? I thought you said Kiril didn’t answer his phone.”
“I called Zoya.”
I manage to put space between us. I grimace while backing toward the hallway, covering my chest with one hand and my stomach with the other. Heart and baby. I must protect them at all costs. “You didwhat?”
“Kiril wasn’t answering, so I went a different route.”
“I can’t believe you still have her number.” I shake my head. “All you talked about was how much you didn’t like her. Yet you still have her number on your phone?”
He glowers while stepping toward me. “Is that really the only thing you care about? Who I’m calling?” He laughs dryly. “I’ll call whoever the fuck I please if it means keeping the Bratva safe.”
