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“What happened to your wrist?” she asks.
I can’t look her in the eye. “Nothing, I banged it against a table. It’s better now.” Talia’s nails left their telltale mark: four angry red crescents are evenly spaced where she broke the skin.
Mom glances at the idling Rover warily, her chest rising and falling rapidly at the sight.
“Paige.” Her expression sparks the voice in my head. She must know. “Promise that you’ll meet me.”
“I’ll be there.” My voice hitches, and I sound like a child again. “I took care of them both. But things changed, and I couldn’t be there this past month. I can’t talk about it now.”
She hesitates, then turns her back to the Rover and Oleg’s curious gaze.
“I understand.” Mom lowers her voice. “Your father should have told you. Be careful, Paige. We’ll talk on Tuesday.”
Mom pulls me into a tight hug that feels like it might last forever. And suddenly, it hits me. Ididmiss her. For ten years, I’ve missed her. Good memories overshadow the bad ones, and I can only remember when she held me and told me not to cry.
She promised to look after me.
“May I give you a kiss?” she whispers.
I nod because I cannot speak. I lower my head so she can reach my cheek. My eyes close as her lips touch my skin, and I will myself not to cry.
I’m not ready to tell her I forgive her, although I already have.
“I love you, Paige.” She trembles, sniffling, and her voice grows thick and husky. “I’ve never stopped loving you and your sister.”
“I know,” I reply as I turn away from her.
Oleg says nothing as I hurriedly jump into the jeep. Mom stands at the entrance watching us pull away, and I’m thankful that the second jeep is a discreet distance away. I would’ve gone back inside if the guards weren’t here. I would have told Mom what happened out of earshot of Dad and Emma.
I would have told her everything and then asked her if she was in trouble too.
Maybe Mom had to leave. And, like me, she might have had no choice, and someone took it away.
Andrei may not have intended it, but his actions may have built a bridge back to my past.
And I could’ve run. The hospital was big enough to hide in. But I didn’t because Andrei would hunt me down to the ends of this earth. I would be angry if he didn’t.
And then the awful truth settles in my stomach: I didn’t want to stay.
I look at his message on my phone and can’t help but smile.
Chapter 41
Andrei
I stand in my office with the door wide open, expecting Paige to return soon. A feeling of calm settles over me after last night’s events. No frantic phone calls from Oleg, telling me that the guards had to chase Paige across the hospital car park. Maybe she listened to me, or she finally understood what being part of the Bratva involves.
Dmitri sits sprawled on the couch, scrolling through his phone, pretending not to care. But every so often, he glances over at the door. Likewise, Natasha walks into the front hall every time there is an unfamiliar noise from outside. Though she puts on an indifferent face as she glances out the window, her curiosity broadcasts her concern.
Around noon, the front door swings open, and laughter follows the footsteps. I try hard not to grin, and I hide my pleasure at the sound of Paige’s laughter. It’s melodic, as if she’s about to hum a ballad. I want to step out into the hallway and investigate, but I control myself.
She stops in front of the office door, Oleg looming behind her, and then beams in my direction. I wasn’t expecting that.
Her face lights up in an expression I haven’t ever seen. No one, except Eva, has ever looked happy to see me. I’ve seen fear before people turn their faces away. Or greed before they make an unreasonable request. But Paige keeps her gaze on me as she smiles.
“Let me know if you need anything else, Paige Geraldovna.” Oleg bows his head slightly, then quickly moves down the hallway.
Dmitri stands and returns her smile with eagerness. He does what I should have done. “Good visit despite the circumstances?” he asks her.
