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Again.
Giving up, I get out of the shower, satisfied at least that my body is clean, even if my head is still a mess. When I go into the bedroom, there’s a small stack of clothes waiting for me on the bed. A pair of navy leggings and a white t-shirt, both softer than butter.
Once I’m dressed, I sit down at the edge of the bed and stare out at the city’s jagged skyline. My apartment is out of sight, tucked away in the shadow behind a skyscraper.
“You’re a long way from home,” I murmur to myself just before the door opens and Bee enters.
“Ah, you’re dressed. Wonderful.”
I get to my feet anxiously, wringing my hands in front of my waist. “Thanks for the clothes.”
“Of course.” She stands in the doorway, leaning against the frame and watching me with a cool gaze that I can’t quite decipher. “You’re tired.”
I clear my throat. “I can sleep when I get home.”
“It’s cute that you think you’re going home after what just happened.”
I frown. “He told you what happened?”
“Of course. He tells me everything.”
I swallow hard and glance around the room. I have so many questions. What do you want from me? Why does Dmitri keep referring to my baby as his “heir”? How are you so cool with the fact that I’m here in the first place?
I have so many things to say that I end up saying nothing at all.
“Listen,” Bee begins with a sympathetic sigh, “I know this is a lot. It must all be very overwhelming for you. But for right now, it’s important that you get some sleep. If you’re hungry, there’s food in the kitchen or I can bring you a tray?—”
“I can’t eat.”
Bea doesn’t seem to mind my impatient tone. “Sleep then. And we can talk tomorrow.”
Tomorrow. What a concept. I was pretty sure this was the last day of existence.
Beyond the window, the sky is darkening. And so is my mood. The attack at the hospital was horrific—but somehow, the idea of staying here tonight with Dmitri and his gorgeous fiancée feels equally bad.
“Please,” I murmur, turning back toward Bee, “I have to go. Just let me leave and?—”
“No.” I flinch at the grating menace in his voice as he steps into the room behind Bee. “You’re staying here tonight. That’s final.”
“But why?”
“The attack in the hospital wasn’t an isolated incident, Wren.” Dmitri’s tone cuts like broken glass. “They will have eyes on you from now on.”
I glare back at him, bristling. “No, I mean why as in, why are there eyes on me and my baby? Who are ‘they’ and why do they care about either one of us?”
“‘They’ are my enemies,” he says in such a flat, cold snarl that I can’t help but shiver. “And ‘they’ care because I’m the pakhan of the Egorov Bratva. What my enemies want more than anything is to destroy the future of my empire. Considering you’re currently carrying said future in your belly, that means it’s you they want to destroy. I’m the only one keeping you safe right now, Wren. I’m the only friend you have left. I’m the only chance you have to survive.”
Bee’s hand flutters over her fiancé’s arm. “Dmitri…” she warns softly.
He ignores her and steps into the room, leaning in so close that I can smell his mint-and-cedar cologne and the vodka on his breath. “So you can spit in my face and run if you like. But if you do, they will catch you. And when they catch you, they’ll kill you.” His eyes drag down to my stomach as he adds, “Both of you.”
8
DMITRI
“What are you doing?” Bee hisses the moment we’re back in the living room.
“She was being stubborn. I was being straight with her.”
