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“Elia.” Lana placed her drink back on the bar, biting her lower lip. “Your situation sucks, and I can’t imagine what it means to be married to the guy who…” She paused, as if she was afraid of saying the words out loud.
“The guy who murdered my brother?” I finished the sentence for her.
“Yeah…” She nodded. “That.”
It’s not fair.I stared at my drink.It’s just not fair.
“I know it’s ridiculous to hope for anything as fantastical aslove.Especially in my case,” I said as I continued staring at my drink. “But to be…” I sighed. “To be treated like a piece of meat and sold to the highest bidder. All for my father’s benefit? It’s like nobody fucking cares about me.”
I grabbed my drink and drained it in a single gulp, just in time for Lana to pass me another one.
“I care about you.” She took my hand gingerly. “Elia, you deserve the best that the world has to offer, and I know you feel like you’re being forced into something you don’t want.”
“He murdered my brother, Lana,” I said hotly. “And I’m supposed to look him in the eyes, promise that I’m going to love him forever, and then spread my legs for him? As if he isn't the source of my misery?”
Bitterness mixed with anger and hate. But above all was the relentless feeling of sheer powerlessness. There had never been a moment in my life that I hadn’t lived in dread of this day: when my father would hand me off to my husband without my consent.
And now that it was here, it was worse than anything that I could have imagined.
Without warning, Lana pulled me into a tight hug and I felt myself melting into the embrace. She was literally the only person who cared about me. Not my father, not my soon-to-be husband. Just her. And for a brief moment, that was all that mattered.
“I don’t want to do this…” I whispered, tears welling up from my eyes. “Please don’t let them do this to me.”
“I know, El.” Lana squeezed me tighter. “And if I had my way, you’d best believe I’d put all of them behind bars.”
I pulled back and looked at her. “That’s a tempting offer.”
Lana picked up her drink, a smirk on her lips. “I mean, you hand me what I need, and I could make it happen.”
“That’s just a dream, Lana,” I replied sadly.
If Berkowitz hadn’t found a way to grab my father during the crackdown, then there was little chance he had enough evidence for anything. The same was true for Aleksey. The man had haunted this city for ten years, snapping at our family’s heels, and kept his hands clean in spite of the trail of bodies he left behind. From the way Lana told it, the most amount of heat he ever got wasperson of interest, orwanted for questioning. Neverwanted.
“Doesn’t hurt to have dreams,” she replied, raised her hand, and gestured at Jake the bartender for a pair of tequila shots, which came absurdly quickly given how packed the bar was.
“No, it doesn’t.” I grabbed mine and threw it back. As the alcohol burned down my throat, I winced and turned to Lana. “You’re coming with me, right? I don’t want to face them all alone.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She smirked. “A chance for me to go straight into the heart of the enemy? This is how careers aremade. And if you need anyone to steal you away, then I’m your girl.”
“Thanks, girl.” Glancing down at my watch, I groaned. “I need to go. It’s going to be a shitty day tomorrow. And the flight leaves in a few hours.”
“Not much of a bachelorette party.” Lana drained her drink and placed it on the bar, signaling for Jake again so she could pay our tab.
“Better than nothing, Lana.” I mustered a weak smile. “Thanks for coming. And thanks for listening.”
“I could steal you away,” she said as she signed the check, included her phone number with a fat tip, and pressed the check tightly against her lips, leaving a crimson print behind. “Just say the word.”
“We’d get hunted down,” I replied. “If not by Aleksey, then by my father.”
We walked out together, sharing another hug before she shouldered her bag. “Are you okay to go home?” she asked.
“I’ll be fine.” I gave her a small smile. “It’s not that far.”
“See you in Chicago, then.” She blew me a kiss.
I watched her walk away, feeling like I should say something. But no words came out, and I turned in the direction of my own apartment. The final hours of my freedom were ticking away, and it felt like a noose was tightening around my neck. In just a few hours, I’d be touching down in Chicago.
I shuddered in the still night air.
