AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Konstantin never once realized I was working with Nicolai before taking the job with him.”
My brain short circuits. I can’t keep up with everything that’s happening. “Why would you agree to work as my guard?”
“To keep track of Konstantin’s comings and goings, report to Nicolai” he explains. “So we could better prepare for an all-out attack. Those were some of my comrades down there, protecting us in the pit.”
I look at Mikhail. “Why didn’t you tell me all this earlier?”
“I wanted to, Aurora, but there was never a good enough time. Besides, Alexi confirmed my suspicions. Konstantin’s entire mansion was bugged. We never would have been able to plan openly. I couldn’t make a move against him until I was sure I could getallof you out at the same time.”
I breathe in and out slowly, my heart rate slowing. “So what do we do now? Are we going back to New York?”
Catherina shakes her head. “He’d only hunt us down. But now we have our forces in place here. With the Stokayevskis as our allies and my sons at the helm, we stand a good chance of taking Konstantin out once and for all.” She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a slip of paper before handing it to me. It’s a list of names.
“The accountants?” I ask, my mouth dropping open in surprise. “You found them all?”
“We won’t be able to go back to the mansion for your codes,” Mikhail says, sucking in a deep breath. “But do you think you and Luka can put together that program to hack into their systems?”
I nod, excitement thrumming through me. “Yes. Absolutely.”
“Then it’s a war on three fronts,” Dimitri says sagely from the passenger seat. “Aurora and Luka will go after Konstantin’s money and cut him off, all while he has to fight our father’s old loyalistsandthe Stokayevski.”
Pyotr huffs. “Our dear uncle won’t stand a chance.”
For the first time in ages, hope blooms in my chest. The tides have finally turned, the wind now backing our sails. We might stand a chance after all. Maybe one day soon, we’ll all be able to go home and wake up from this awful nightmare.
“Isn’t this great, Cee?” I ask at the end of a breath laugh. “Things are finally looking up.”
Charlotte doesn’t respond. Now that I think about it, she’s been uncharacteristically quiet the entire time. I turn my head to get a good look at her. Something isn’t right. She’s seated in the back of the van, her knees tucked up to her chest. My best friend’s head hangs low, her skin frighteningly pale.
“Cee?” I call out to her. A chill snakes down my spine. “Charlotte?”
The van jostles over a pretty nasty bump. The momentum causes Charlotte to fall to the side, her shoulder crashing to the van floor. I see it—the bullet wound she’s taken to the upper stomach. Her shirt is soaked through. Dread claws through me. Was she bleeding this entire time?
I crawl over to her in a hurry, choking on my sobs. I pull her toward me, cradling her limp body in my arms. I shake her gently as my soul tears itself to pieces. “Charlotte, come on. Come on, wake up.”
Her skin is cold. She’s hardly breathing. Something inside me breaks. I don’t want to be here. Why did things have to turn out this way?
“Pyotr!” I scream. “Pyotr, you have to take us to a hospital right fucking now!”
“Aurora,” Mikhail says gently. “We can’t risk that.”
“No! We need to get her help!”
“Nicolai can help us when we stop.”
I hold Charlotte’s limp body and pray for a miracle.
Chapter 37
Aurora
Pyotr drives until Moscow is nothing but a small dot on the horizon. I don’t know where we’re going, and at this point, I quite frankly don’t care. My chest is hollow. My eyes are dry and itchy. I don’t know if I have the energy to feel sad anymore. I’m numb from head to toe, exhausted and so fuckingdone.
Eventually we stop in the Russian countryside. Alexi gets out of the vehicle first, followed by Catherina, then the Antonov brothers. Mikhail remains behind with me for a few moments, his gaze dark with sympathy. Charlotte’s head rests in my lap, her eyes closed. I’ve been mindlessly stroking my fingers through her hair, struggling to figure out how this happened.
Did a stray bullet hit her? Why didn’t she say anything? Could the adrenaline and the shock of our escape have kept her from feeling any of the pain? What could I have done differently?
“Aurora.”
