AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Not in this war.
I give my men the signal and they get to work. When the corpses are piled up and set to burning, I take a picture to send to my father. Let him watch his soldiers crumble to ashes on the desert sand.
“Scorched earth” has a whole new meaning now.
3
CLARA
As soon as Pavel parks this tank contraption in front of Demyen’s estate, I want to cry.
I thought I’d never see those front doors again.
I thought I’d never seehomeagain.
And the fact that this place feels so safe, so perfectlyhome, breaks my heart into a thousand pieces.
Because thisisn’tmy home. Thisisn’tsafe.
Nowhere is safe so long as a Zakrevsky lives there.
Pavel is the one who opens my door for me and helps me out. He offers his hand for me to take, but I grip the door panels for balance instead. I don’t look up at him in case he seems upset or insulted, but in the corner of my eye, I see him smile sadly and nod. He opens his mouth to say something, but thinks again and turns away.
I try to ignore the sting in my heart. He’s my friend—at least, I thought he was.
But he let Demyen take me away. He let Demyensellme.
And now, he has nothing to say. Maybe he thought he’d never see me again. Maybe he’s upset that I’m back, or that I made him go through so much trouble and risk his life just to get me away from Mas—Mister Zakrevsky.
No one comes around to shoo me inside, or away, or anything. Demyen is off to one side, talking with his men who pulled up behind us. He doesn’t glance at me, not even once.
He still hates me. He cares enough to get me out of that hellhole, to bring me back to Willow, but that’s where it ends between us.
Oh, God.Willow.
I should be excited. Elated. Overwhelmed with relief. Instead, I’m breaking into a cold sweat and feeling my stomach turn to stone. It churns and hardens with every step I take toward the front door of the main house. My palms slip on the door handle; they’re too clammy.
Willow doesn’t deserve this. She doesn’t deserve a mother like me—someone who just up and vanishes, then comes back worse than when she left.
The door opens and I slip inside.
“Clara?”
Again, my stomach turns. But not from fear or self-disgust, just… I don’t know what Bambi thinks of me. She, too, let Demyen take me to that horrible auction. Sheknewwhat would happen to me there.
But here she is, rushing toward me with relief on her face and tears in her eyes. “Clara! Oh my God! You’re here!”
She wraps her arms around me and hugs me tight.
It hurts.
Everything fuckinghurts.
I wrench myself away and back up into the wall. Maybe if I press myself against it hard enough, the adobe will open up and swallow me whole. Take me into the safe darkness and surround me with an impenetrable shield so no one can ever hurt me again.
So the burning on my skin just from being touched will go away.
Bambi looks at me, her brow furrowed with confusion. Then hurt. Definitely regret. “Clara… I am so, so sorry.”
