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It happens so fast that I don’t realize I’ve done it. Without a thought, I lift my hand and slap the young guard across his face. He’s stunned but not hurt as he blinks his eyes in surprise. I take a timid step back and then remember my place.
I am still his pakhan’s wife.
“Step aside,” I command him. “Now.”
His gaze goes past me, and I don’t need to turn around to know Andrei is standing there. The boy unlocks the door and steps out of my way.
I pause, looking at him with the harshest look I can muster. “Keep the door unlocked.”
I’m shaking from fear and power after I pull that scene off. Emma is lying facedown on the bed. She looks up with red, swollen eyes and is in my arms in one giant leap. I hold her tight, and this really feels like coming home.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
She gives me an astonished look. “Me? What about you?”
Laughing, we collapse on the bed.
“Dad is receiving treatments,” she says.
“I saw the nurse,” I reply.
“I spoke to her once. Dad is comfortable, but that’s all we can expect.”
“Wait, you haven’t talked to him?”
Emma makes a face. “Your husband won’t let us.”
Anger bubbles in me. “He has no right to do that.”
“Maybe you’ll have a better chance to convince him than me,” Emma says. “I’m sure he’ll listen to you.”
“I don’t know about that,” I sigh. “I’m still angry at Andrei for bringing you here.”
“Didn’t he rescue you?” she asks. “I get that he’s a domineering jerk-head, but if Dad wasn’t here getting treatments, Dad would be dead. I’m not happy about being forced to come here, but it’s not as awful as it could be for us.”
My anger slips though I want to hang on to it. It gives me the strength I need to confront Andrei. To ask him about the things Talia said. I glance at the door and Andrei is standing there, watching us from the open doorway. My anger is given a second life.
I get up and march over to him. “We need to talk.”
He leads me to the end of the hallway to a door with no guard. But before he can open it, I catch his hand.
“Why did you bring my family here?” I ask.
“To protect them,” he replies.
“Because of Talia?”
He doesn’t respond as he opens the door. The room is dark and empty except for an old bedroom set that needs dusting. I follow him in, and he shuts the door.
“Did something else happen?” I ask. “How much danger are they in?”
“None from me, Paige,” he replies, opening a closet door. “Your family are guests.”
Chapter 10
Paige
Andrei steps into the closet, turns, and looks at me. My heart starts to pound in my ears, but my curiosity leads me to follow him. Andrei pushes at the back of the closet, and a panel opens. My anger dissipates into wonder as I climb the steps behind him, hurrying to keep close in the dark. He stops at a landing, which appears to be a dead end, and presses the wall firmly. There’s a click, and then it opens, and we enter his private rooms on the top floor.
