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It’s tasteful and elegant, like her.
“Thank you, Lara,” I reply with gratitude. “This place … it feels safe.”
“Good.” Her gaze is deep. “That’s exactly what you need right now—somewhere you can think clearly and make the best decision without fear or interference from Kolya.”
“Where’s Rurik?” I ask, suddenly noticing his absence.
A shadow crosses Larissa’s face, and she hesitates before answering. “Probably in the garage,” she finally says. “It’s not near the house. He isn’t exactly thrilled with you being here. But he is stillmyhusband, and his devotion belongs to me.”
It feels like cold water has been dumped on my back. “Will Nikolai find out?” I ask her.
Larissa shakes her head. “Not from me. But Rurik is bound by oath to answer him truthfully.” She smiles. “Say nothing more than necessary, and there will be nothing to fear.”
“He won’t come and get me?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “He won’t disrespect me like that.”
As if on cue, Rurik steps into the house from a back door near an enclosed patio. One look at me and disapproval is etched into his face. He wipes his hands with a cloth he’s carrying. But insteadof voicing his displeasure, Rurik simply inclines his head in my direction before disappearing outside again.
Lara sighs, watching him disappear out of view, then takes my hand.
She leads me down a wide hallway lined with photographs, and I notice a few pictures of Nikolai, Matvei, and Lara as children. One in particular catches my eye—Nikolai stands in front of a car, wearing a dark suit with a gun holster visible underneath his jacket. He looks young in that photo, not even a teen.
I stop and stare at the photo for a moment, wondering what he was like as a child. Nikolai looks serious and stern, but the sparkle in his eyes makes me smile despite how much I hate him.
“Your brother was always handsome,” I comment casually.
“Yes, he was,” Larissa smiles. “But also stubborn and pigheaded.”
I smile softly, amused by her spot-on description.
Larissa pauses and stares at the photo. Her gaze is distant, with a touch of melancholy as she looks at her brother’s image.
“He was a good and gentle soul once,” she murmurs. “And then our father intervened.” She glances at me. “And after Matvei left us, he changed. He forgot all that used to be good in his life and focused on pleasing our father. Foolish boy.” She whispers to the young child in the photo. “You could never replace Matvei in Father’s eyes, no matter how much of your own soul you destroyed.”
She wants to say more, but I don’t press her. Larissa leads me down a hallway to a bedroom with a king-sized four-poster bed draped in ivory lace. In the distance, murmuring waves lap at theshore. I notice the Juliette balcony and wonder if the glass doors are locked. The room is beautiful, but I’m too tired to appreciate it.
Larissa helps me settle into bed like I’m her child, and I let her. She tucks me in and kisses my forehead. “Rest up,” she urges, her voice filled with concern. “We’ll talk more in the morning about the safest way to contact your father.” She lowers her voice. “And it’s best if you call him after Rurik leaves, so that he suspects nothing.”
I wince. “I feel bad, Lara. Making you keep secrets from him.”
She smiles ruefully. “It won’t be the first,” she admits. “And it won’t be the last. This is what it means to live in the Bratva. Secrets. Lies. Betrayals.” She pauses, her expression somber. “But I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I let something happen to you, Eden. Not now.”
Larissa turns off the lights and closes the door, leaving me alone in the dark.
It’s not safe here. I can’t help but feel a sense of foreboding creep in.
My thoughts turn to Nikolai, and I’m afraid of what he will do when he discovers my secret.
I need to talk to my father. He is the only person who can guide me out of this tangled web of fear, duty, and blind loyalty that is the Bratva.
I just hope it’s not too late.
49
EDEN
I sleep through the night,maybe for the first time in weeks since Nikolai last touched me. It feels normal here, and for a brief moment, I pretend I’m home again as I listen to nature outside my window—birds chirping back and forth and leaf-blowers in the distance.
