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“I’m just feeling sorry for myself,” I reply stiffly. “When I shouldn’t. I’m safe and on my way home. While Emma is being held against her will.”
“She’ll be back with us soon, Paige.” He slips his arm around my shoulders, pulling me in. “Talia wouldn’t risk hurting Emma to get even.”
I sigh in frustration. “I don’t understand how Kenney is involved in all this.”
Dmitri answers me from the front seat. “We’ve been looking at the wrong Bratva. Igor Karamazov has maintained that he has had nothing to do with this. Well, maybe not on his own if Gleb Novikov really is bragging about his newly acquired power as the head of his own Bratva.”
“They were loyal to us,” replies Viktor. “I thought Gleb was just fucking with me that night, but apparently not.”
“I wonder.” Andrei doesn’t answer them, and he waits until they resume their own conversation. “Perhaps Gleb shot up his own wedding. Neither his parents nor his bride survived. He is the last one left in control. All he needs at this point is a financier.”
“Do you really think Kenney could be involved with Gleb?” I ask.
Andrei sighs. “You said he was a bad seed. Maybe he learned something that was too tempting to pass up. Greed comes in all forms. For your father, it came in the form of money. For Kenney, power.”
I’m silent with my thoughts as I run my thumb over my wedding ring heavy with diamonds.
Am I any different?
I rationalized the jewels and money and gifts as compensation for being thrown into the mess I’m in. I let myself believe it was okay to be taken care of for a change. I convinced myself, but am I any better?
Does being in love make it different? Make it less criminal?
“They could be working together.” Dmitri intrudes on our conversation again. “Talia is involved in their plan. That woman won’t give up easily. She’s more dangerous than a man. Even if Igor isn’t directly involved, he’s using her to turn the tables on us.”
Andrei is quiet as heavy drops of rain start to pelt the windshield. Alone with his thoughts while he holds me tightly in his arms. I glance at his face—into the eyes staring straight ahead and his mouth set in a grim line.
I don’t want to know the thoughts in his head right now.
Andrei looks determined to prove he won’t lose at any cost. What will he do to Talia to get Emma back?
No, the better question is what will he letmedo once that happens?
I don’t know, and perhaps I don’t want to know. Because every time I think about what I will do to Talia, it leaves me equal parts terrified and excited.
And it’s harder and harder to figure out which part is winning.
Chapter 49
Paige
Yari stops the Rover abruptly in front of the door as a second Rover comes down the drive. The heavy atmosphere in the Rover sends us hurrying out of it immediately. The guards don’t hesitate to enter the mansion and, no doubt, disappear to their rooms. I can’t get away fast enough from the anger and disappointment that’s followed us home.
A loud rumble echoes in the distance like a freight train passing by. And suddenly, a heavy rain comes down in blinding sheets of water. Big drops darken the drive and glisten on the windows. They soak my hair and clothes as I hurry to get inside. Part of me wants to stay outdoors and let the rain cleanse me of this horrible day. I inhale the clean scent of a summer shower and then quickly run inside. Water pools around my feet as I stand in the hall and catch my breath.
“Where’s my mother?” Andrei is already upstairs, looking down on us from the top railing. I’m not the only one who looks in the direction of the window facing the garden. “It’s too late for her to be in the garden.” He notices the direction we looked and rushes down the stairs. “It’s raining. Get her back into the house.”
Fear paralyzes me as I realize what might happen if Andrei goes into the maze. The security lights shine into the windows, and helpless, I stare at Natasha as she walks into the house soaked.
She stares back, waiting for an explanation.
“Is Eva in the maze?” I ask stupidly. “Andrei has gone to look.”
I don’t wait for her answer. How would she know? But we both know we have to stop him. I race outside through the terrace door and stop under the bright security lights that illuminate the yard to look for him.
Andrei is already outside, ignoring the rain drenching his shirt. Shielding his eyes, he scans the garden, and then he must recall the numerous times he laughed at Eva as she snuck into the maze. He rushes toward it like an animal let loose.
“Andrei!” I shout, desperately running toward him to stop what he’ll see.
