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11
KIRILL
The first sight of Molly in two months shook me on a soul-deep level. Christ, she was lovely. She walked steadily out of the kitchen. I didn’t think she’d run this time. She knew she was caught.
“Sit with me.”
“Is that a command?” Her voice sounded tired.
“It’s a request,” I corrected her gently.
All the nights I’d lain awake, longing for her, had me dying to be near her. I wanted to sweep her to me, but I could see how fragile her composure was. She was standing on a knife’s edge. One wrong move, and we would both fall. I’d already pulled out the chair next to me, and I waited for her to sit. She stayed bolt upright, her back off the chair, watching me with an anxious yet weary gaze.
“Aren’t you going to say something? Threaten to punish me? Lock me up forever?” she demanded after a full minute of silent staring between us.
“Do you want me to?” I stubbed out my cigarette, not wanting the smoky curl of harsh fruit in my mouth but needing something to keep me busy and able to resist the urge to touch her. We were far from alone in this nosy little town. When I got her truly alone, at home, no power on this earth would stop me.
“Well, I’d like you to be in character. It’s more honest. You gave me the notebook. Did you read my story so far? Did you read your part?” A spark of anger appeared in her resigned eyes.
Thank fuck. I needed some sign that my Molly was in this subdued stranger.
“I did. Is it our story? I assume it’s a love story.” I had read her notebook, and the words were etched in my memory forever.
“I’d say it’s a tragedy,” she countered.
“Well, art is subjective,” I said dismissively. “You were saying you liked it when I threatened to punish you. Missed me, have you, Princess?” I goaded her softly. Misunderstanding her on purpose would generally piss her off. I had to see how far Molly had retreated from me mentally and how long it was going to take to get her back.
She scoffed. “If that’s what you heard, I can’t help you. No one can. Also, in case you didn’t get far enough into the story I wrote, you’re not the hero. You’re the villain.”
I nodded. I had indeed gotten that far. The words Molly had used to describe my descent into darkness would never be forgotten. Tiny daggers, every single one, which had embedded in my heart, leaving me bleeding and weak.
“At least I’m still a main character,” I quipped, hoping to make her see the tragic amusement of our situation. She loved and hated me, and she would probably never be able to let either emotion fully go. “I hope you have everything you need with you. We’re leaving from here.”
Her hands curled into fists on the table, and she looked down at the woodgrain. I would kill a hundred men to know what was going through her mind at that moment.
“I don’t suppose you’ll let me go if I asked?”
“You already know the answer to that,” I said dismissively. The need to be alone with Molly, without my men posted all around the place, overhearing things they shouldn’t, was overwhelming.
“Is Henry dead?”
Her sudden question caught me off guard.“Yes, but not by my hand.”
She frowned and looked up at me. “Who?”
“Nikolai.”
She let out an incredulous laugh and closed her eyes. Her chest moved up and down with long, calming breaths. Molly wasn’t nearly as composed as she was projecting.“And my mother?”
“Safe and sound. I’d never touch her, I told you. Fiona and Mara are innocents—”
“And what am I? Wasn’t I an innocent?” she demanded, opening her eyes to spit green fire at me.
I welcomed the burn. Anger wasn’t the terrible resigned blankness of moments before.“It doesn’t matter. Being mine overrules everything else, and no matter where you go or how well you hide, no matter how you try to deny it, we both know the truth. We have always belonged together, Mallory, and no power in this world can change that.”
“I hate you now, you know? This time, Ireallyhate you,” she promised softly.
I found myself nodding. “I know you think that, but it doesn’t change anything. I’d still take your hate over your absence every single time. Hate me all you want if it makes you feel better. I don’t mind.”
