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Afraid to fall back asleep, I get out of bed. It’s almost 3:00 a.m. I have hours to wait before the rest of the house is stirring. Pulling on my robe, I walk over to the window and look into the distance at the woods. Wondering if anyone else is up. Someone is always awake, watching to make sure we’re not murdered in our beds.
The thought sends a chill through me. How can I pretend this life is normal?
A flash of light appears outside, and I wait to see if it happens again. The garage illuminates for a second, and then it’s dark again. Who is out there? Getting back in bed and hiding under the covers seems like a good idea, but I don’t hide from trouble. I can’t.
The light comes on again, and two figures are by the garage door. There’s just enough light to see a man and a woman.
In seconds, I’m hurrying toward Emma’s room. The door is unlocked, and her bed is empty. It was never slept in.Shit. I told her not to try and leave the property. I told her there are worse people out there. I catch myself when I realize what I’ve said. Andrei said that to me once. When did I start believing him?
I disable the security code, exit from the terrace door, and hurry in the dark, dressed only in my nightgown and robe. The muggy heat slams into me, and I breathe heavily as I hurry toward the garage. I have to stop Emma from doing whatever she might be doing. Oh God, what if they’re having sex? I must stop my sister, even if she thinks I’m ruining her life.
Two sets of eyes widen when I swing the door open. Emma and Viktor are together in the garage, but it isn’t what I expected. Viktor sits on a stool with a nasty cut on his forehead. A first aid kit is on the table beside them, and Emma is dabbing alcohol on his wound. He quickly takes his hand off her waist as I shut the door behind me.
“What the hell is going on?”
Emma recovers first. “Nothing, Paige. What are you doing out of bed?”
Is she kidding me? She’s patching up a Bratva recruit and dares to give me attitude.
“I asked a question. What the hell is going on?”
Emma is tight-lipped and ignores me, carefully dabbing the blood off Viktor’s furrowed forehead. It’s only then that I notice the state of his hands. His knuckles are swollen and raw with broken skin. His skin is red with his blood and someone else’s.
He’s been fighting …
But who?
I stare hard at Viktor, and he stares guiltily back at me. I square my shoulders and deepen my voice the way Andrei would when he wants something the other person doesn’t want to do. Viktor won’t dare disobey my authority as the pakhan’s wife.
“Answer me.”
“We snuck out to a party,” he mumbles.
I almost shout but catch myself. “What? Where? Are you crazy?”
Emma spins around and faces me. “We snuck out to a party, and there was a fight, Paige. It’s over. We’re home safe and sound. Okay?”
I don’t like the bratty look on her face. As if getting caught is my fault and not theirs. I fold my hands over my chest to keep myself from grabbing hold of Emma. She turns back toward Viktor, refusing to look either of us in the eye. Is she mad at him for telling?
“What party?” I demand coldly. “What happened? Why were people fighting?”
Emma rolls her eyes, and I’m about to lose my shit entirely when Viktor speaks, wisely diffusing a fight between siblings.
“Gleb Novikov,” he says.
Why does that sound familiar?I step toward him. “Who?”
“His bride was shot at his wedding.”
A chill settles on my neck despite the heat. I didn’t know the groom’s first name at the doomed wedding that brought me to Andrei in the first place. Of course.The Novikovs are private people, Andrei had told me when we first met.
“Some friend of his made a pass at Emma,” he explains. “He wouldn’t listen to no, so I stood up for her. A fight broke out, and soon, everyone was fighting. I got Emma out of there.” He meets my eyes with a gaze harder than my own. “It’s my job to protect her.”
“Are you out of your mind? You sneak her out to a party filled with Bratva?” I reply nastily. “And then you’re surprised there’s a fight? If you wanted to protect her, you would have kept her here at home.”
“Paige!” Emma tries to stop me, but I hold my hand up to silence her. I’m too angry to listen to whining, and I don’t care if she’s embarrassed.
“My sister issixteen, and you’re corrupting her.” I stand over him as he sits on that stool. My face tightens into a scowl. “If I catch you doing anything with my sister again, I’ll send you off into those woods.”
