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I hold my breath when I see the back of the man walking toward the stairs. If he were to turn around, we’d be screwed.
He stops and turns slowly. We lock eyes, and he smiles wide.
“Okay, okay, go!” Max says with enthusiasm.
I rush back to the stairs and run for it without looking back. Once I’m in the main room, I stop and look around me.
“Where to now?” I ask, but I get nothing in return. “Max?” I ask and turn around.
He’s gone.
CHAPTER31
SLOANE
Irun past so many empty halls I lose count of how many closed doors I’ve seen. They could be anywhere.
A group of women rush past me giggling under their breath. They have no idea what’s happening tonight. They’re enjoying their night without having anxiety gnaw at their insides.
I’m the one who caused all this. I should have told him the truth from the beginning. I should have asked if he knew Pavel meant to put me into his life.
He would have been able to understand everything better if he’d read the fucking letter his father wrote for him.
I understand—I do. If my dad passed away, I’d want to cling to his last words forever. Having an unopened letter means he can always hear something more from him ... but it’s ruining everything.
Lifting my dress, I turn to look behind me and see the group of girls rushing past me again. When they move in front of me, I ram into a muscular chest.
“Fuck, Sloane. You need to stick with me next time,” Max says as he holds me steady by my elbows.
“Oh, so this is my fault?”
He grabs onto my hand and rushes us down the end of the hallway. The walls are covered in a dark orange wallpaper, and the lights are sporadically placed through the walkway. At the end of the hall is a steel door.
“You stay here,” he says, and I pull him back just before he can open the door.
“No,” I seethe. “Mikhail needs me right now. You can’t tell him what he needs to know. You’re not even taking this seriously right now, Max!”
His head falls back. “Both of them mean everything to me, and they hate each other. If you think for a fucking second I’m going to let you walk into the middle of their argument, you’re out of your goddamn mind.”
“You won’t be able to solve their problems.”
“And you will?” he challenges me.
I’ve never felt anger toward Max, but I do right now. It’s running its full course through my veins. “Move,” I say.
He makes a sound of irritation and opens the door softly. He grabs onto my hand and keeps my body next to his.
Stepping outside, I notice the door leads to a courtyard. Red bricks cover the entire ground and walls surrounding them. The sky is dark, but the two lights clinging to the metal poles light the area enough for me to see a man kneeling on the floor with a gun pressed to his head.
“You had it wrong.” Mikhail’s voice echoes through the courtyard. “I think you have quite the obsession. First my brother, Adrian, and now Sloane?”
Giovanni’s hand clings to his rib cage, and I clench my teeth as panic courses through my mind.
“This is—” Giovanni starts to speak, but Mikhail interrupts him.
“Fitting?” Mikhail asks as he kneels to the floor so he’s eye to eye with Giovanni. “Just two years ago I was in your exact same position. Tell me, Giovanni, how does it feel to be taken down by the grit and scum of the chain?”
Another groan slips past Giovanni, and he holds his ribs when he laughs. “It doesn’t have to be like this,” he says.
