by Anna Antonia
“You think?”
“I know.”
He studied me, half-smile firm on his lips. “If your Damian could manage that feat then I’d deserve it, wouldn’t I?”
“You already do for taking me from him.”
“I understand why you’d see it that.”
“There’s no other way to see it.”
“And that’s why you’re collateral, Miss Kelly, and not in my line of work.”
Dangerous topic. Don’t touch it. Just keep going like you didn’t even hear him.
I opened up my mouth and then firmly closed it.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“Come now. Just because I’m escorting you back doesn’t mean you’re not entitled to answers.”
“I don’t want to annoy you.”
It was truth and lie. What I really wanted was for Marcus to drop dead of a heart attack. I wasn’t safe with him and I didn’t know when he’d simply turn on me. Because of that, the less attention I brought to myself, the better.
Trying to escape has the opposite effect.
“Not possible.”
“Because of my winning personality?” I snapped, frustrated at the way this night turned out and my sudden cowardice. What was the point of slinking around? Marcus would do whatever he wanted and nothing I said or didn’t say would sway him.
At least I could keep my dignity.
“No. Because I don’t care what you think of me, Miss Kelly.” Marcus cut me speculative glance. “Shocking I know.” He looked down and pulled a phone out of his pocket. “Ah, duty calls.”
Hope rocketed across me only to crash and burn.
“Sorry, Miss Kelly. It’s not Mr. Black-Price. Feel free to go on. Just follow your footprints.”
I concentrated on doing just that. The thought of taking my blanket and wrapping it around his neck might’ve proved to be too tempting otherwise. I paused long enough to look over my shoulder. Marcus’s thumbs moved in a flurry.
He’s probably planning the ruin of some other innocent person.
My captor caught up to me less than a minute later.
“Things are progressing nicely. Aren’t you lucky?”
My legs locked in place. “You said it wasn’t Damian.”
“It wasn’t.”
“Then who?”
Marcus’s easy smile melted. Someone different stood in his place. Harder. Inhuman. Was it a new mask or the real man all along? Either way, this version unnerved me enough to take a step back.
“You don’t want answers, Miss Kelly. You want reassurance. I can’t give that to you, but I can give you something better.”
“What?”
“A way to end this.”
10
DAMIAN
“Grigor—”
“Is not a name you have a right to speak anymore. Not after what you’ve done to his son.”
“I have earned the right to speak of Grigor through my years of sacrifice, Damian. Long before you were born.”
Her bite reached me. Elaine was angry. She apparently had an unlimited supply of arrogance to think I’d kowtow to her unspoken rebuke.
“That’s why you had him killed. You loved Grigor enough to see him dead.”
The silence became an ocean between us.
“Do not judge me when you do not understand.”
“Make me understand, Elaine. Tell me the truth. I trusted you with my life. My father trusted you with his. Only one of us survived that trust.”
“You’re wrong. I gave my life and will to Grigor. I would still give my life for you. Everything I do is for you, Damian.”
Pain throbbed as if a dull razorblade slowly cut through my skull.
“Where’s Thomas?”
“Thomas is where he needs to be. Working to save you from this mess.”
She said it as if it were my fault. Perhaps in her twisted thinking it was. If I had stayed the malleable Damian with a hole in his head would she have thought me a good boy?
“You know I won’t let this stand. I will come after you both.”
Elaine’s sigh was one of regret. Or maybe I heard what I wished.
Taking a rare chance, I let myself become vulnerable for all we had once shared. “Let Risa go. You two go your way and I’ll go mine. I won’t come after you.” When she didn’t answer, I gritted out, “My father is gone. The family is dismantling as we speak. When will this end?”
“It won’t end that simply, Damian. This is much bigger than you can imagine. Stop fighting me and let me help you navigate this mess.”
So be it.
I was a fool to extend an olive branch to my enemy. It wouldn’t happen again.
“You called me for a reason. Get to the point.”
Once again a long silence filled the space between us. It went on and on until I thought she was gone.
Then “You have a meeting point tomorrow. Six am. I’ll send you the coordinates.”
Even though I knew Elaine had betrayed me, even though I knew she contacted me just to pull my strings, hearing this confirmation leveled me. It as if finding out for the first time Elaine betrayed me. I bowed my back, fisting the phone so I wouldn’t throw it across the room.
“No longer denying it?” I broke away from English and spoke in guttural Russian. “The lies are too much that you can’t choke on them one second longer? Good.”
“I cannot reach you and you will not listen to me. I will do as I must. As I always have.” She cleared her throat. “Do not be late and post your team at a minimum distance of two kilometers.”
“And leave myself without protection? You must be insane.”
“You will not need protection. No one will harm you, Damian. I promise. Just be there and you’ll understand.”
“Your promises mean nothing, Elaine.”
“It is imperative you keep your team back, Damian, or Risa won’t be there.”
Elaine hung up.
I stood up and stared into the black night. The time for regret was over. Elaine and Thomas were my enemies, along with the Volkovs. Probably Leon too.
Sorrow flickered for the brother I never fully knew. Then it went out.
I would get Risa back. Then I would go after them all.
I would avenge Risa’s suffering.
I would avenge my father’s murder.
I would do all these things, leaving my life behind, and embracing the one robbed of me.
Opening my hand, I stared down at the lock of hair.
Risa had spent her precious time keeping vigil over a corpse because Damian Black-Price died the same night my father did—leaving Damian Konstantinov in his place.
They robbed Risa and me of the chance to be normal and happy like everyone else.
And I would make them all fucking pay.
11
RISA
“It’s time for a serious talk, Risa.”
I’d barely sat down at the table, shivering now that my run’s dampness finally sunk through the layers of blanket and clothing. Was this the moment where Marcus instead told me the consequences for my failed escape attempt?
I didn’t fail. I did escape. I just got caught.
Dammit.
Marcus waited for me to respond, as if we were two people having a normal, civilized conversation. I could stall and piss him off. Or I could talk.
“I’m listening.”
“Very good. You didn’t even need to be lectured. No wonder your Damian is so pleased with you.”
“Don’t.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Sore spot, eh? Too bad I’m insanely curious about what makes you want to kill me, especially when all I want to do is help.”
“We’ll be here all night.”
“You’re right we will. Let’s put a pin on that topic, shall we?”
“Let’s.”
“Good. I’ve been your babysitter, but now I’m your counselor. Listen and help your Damian. Ignore me and undo everything
his father has worked towards for years.”
As intended, Marcus yanked my attention. “Damian’s father?”
“Yes, his father.”
“Thomas?”
“No. Not Thomas. We both know he’s adopted. In a matter of speaking.”
“So you know about his birth parents. How?”
“It’s my business to know.”
I leaned forward, gaze sharp and raking across Marcus’s benign expression. “Well. Go on then.”
“Ground rules. You listen. Don’t interrupt. You can ask questions when I say you can, but take my word as Gospel. I have zero interest in circular conversations. Something you excel at if I must be blunt.”
A disbelieving laugh came out. “I’m supposed to be believe you just like that.”
“Exactly.”
“I can’t trust you.”
“Maybe not. But you need to take the chance anyways.”
“You’re not inspiring me, Marcus.”
He snapped his fingers inches away from me. “I need you focused, Miss Kelly. What’s past is past.”
“I’m focused!”
“Are you?”
“Yes.”
“Are you ready to listen?”
Was I really?
I didn’t trust Marcus at all. He wasn’t a good man. He would hurt me and Damian if he had to. That imbalance of power ensured I’d always be on edge around him, but if there was even a sliver of truth to his words…
Lifting my chin, I looked him in the eye. “I agree to your ground rules.”
For the first time in our short acquaintance, Marcus didn’t keep me in suspense.
“Damian Black-Price is actually Damian Konstantinov. He is the son of an American student and a Russian mobster. To think you nearly got it right on your first try. Of all the ideas to stumble upon, you hit the mafia. You shouldn’t have second-guessed yourself, Miss Kelly. You really shouldn’t have. I’m sure Damian would’ve cracked.”
Oh. My. God.
Fury at the continued violation of our privacy warred with horror over Marcus’s unveiling.
His voice deepened, somberness touching each syllable. “Damian’s mother was gunned down when she was nine months pregnant. It’s a miracle he didn’t die. His father, Grigor, wiped out the guilty faction in his climb to the top of a dangerous mountain. If his enemies had just left things alone they’d be alive and you would’ve never met Damian…”
True to my word, I didn’t interrupt. However, the shock on my face must’ve given Marcus pause. He waited until I numbly waved him along.
“His wife wasn’t even buried before Grigor sent his newborn son away to be raised by a now-defunct Russian sleeper cell. You know them, Risa.”
I whispered their names.
“Very good. Thomas and Elaine Black-Price. Damian lived an exemplary clean life, fulfilling his father’s wishes. Not a bit of dirt. Except for one thing—he just couldn’t let go of his bloodline. Damian needed the connection and his father wasn’t strong enough to deny him.”
I jolted in anger at this. How dare Marcus judge Damian for wanting his father? I bit my lip to keep from spewing out my contempt.
Marcus noticed it anyways.
“You think I’m unfair. Maybe I am. But there’s a reason why safeguards were put in place, Miss Kelly. They were purely there for Damian’s protection. Unfortunately they didn’t hold.”
Anger sank into a quagmire of dread. He led me close to the part that really mattered to me. Our last night in France…
“Damian drew the attention of very powerful people in the highest branches of your government. It was a matter of time before they wanted to trap him in a cage. Three months ago they closed the door on Damian. Sadly, you were the key to his downfall.”
This time I couldn’t obey the rules and keep silent.
“What? No! That’s not…”
“True? It is.”
“I’m just a woman who’s in love with her boyfriend. I’m nobody! I’m not a social climber, I don’t care about Damian’s business and I have no interest in politics!”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Why would anyone even care about our relationship?”
“Because he loves you. You’re leverage and people will pull the lever to control Damian. It’s why you were supposed to be hidden until the situation concluded. Everything went to hell when an agent went rogue and decided to get into the deep pool by taking Damian out. Of course, he’s paid the price for it. I can assure you.”
Violent satisfaction possessed me before my conscience came crashing through. I couldn’t take pleasure in someone’s death, no matter how justified. The bloodthirsty side of me needed to crawl back into her cave.
I forced my thoughts to circle back to Elaine’s insistence on keeping my identity as Damian’s PA. Was it because she was trying to prevent this very same situation?
I’m the one who fucked it up.
“But what about Gretchen? She was his near-fiancé. She’d been in his life for years.”
“Yes, but she’s not the target. You are.”
Fear soured my mouth. To think people I didn’t even know decided to use me in this way, to even kill me just to prove a point—all of it made me ill.
“Is Gretchen safe or did your people get her too?”
“She’s well protected by Leon. It’s a precaution just in case something happens to you. It’s my job to make sure nothing does.”
Damian didn’t trust Leon. Marcus’s faith in him didn’t give me much confidence in the blond Russian.
“So why me?”
Marcus shrugged. “Damian was different with Gretchen than he was with you. The difference was enough to be noted. Everything he’s done proves you are the one person he can’t live without, Miss Kelly. That makes you dangerous.”
I pounded my fist against the table. My face burned hot with emotion. Elaine kept me away from Damian for a reason. She did it to protect him, but I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t stay away even when I tried.
Elaine truly believed she had no choice but to eliminate me.
It hurt. Truly, it did.
But I can’t blame you.
“How does Elaine fit in all this?”
Marcus steepled his fingers. “What you’re really asking is if I kidnapped you on Elaine’s order. The answer is no.”
“It’s all a coincidence then?”
“The timing is shit. I won’t argue. Unfortunately, Miss Kelly, time isn’t on our side.”
Dropping my head back, I stared at the ceiling. Magda kept an immaculate house. There wasn’t even a wisp of a cobweb.
What can I do to make this right? To give Damian his life back?
“With you in play, unsavory people can press on Damian to press on his family connections. All kinds of bad things can happen when you can get the mafia to do your dirty work. With you gone, there isn’t anything to compel Damian.”
“I know.” I blinked rapidly, but I wouldn’t look at Marcus. Numbly, I wondered if his protection was going to come with a bullet in the brain. If everything he said was true…I couldn’t say I’d fight him.
I kept trying to convince Damian I could help. Now’s my chance…be careful what you wish for.
“Damian doesn’t know how deep he’s in. Yet. When he realizes though…he’ll become unstable.”
A faint smile slid across my mouth. I couldn’t imagine Damian being anything less than controlled. He didn’t know any other way of being.
“He’ll become a criminal, Miss Kelly. There won’t be any turning back from that life.”
Tearing my gaze from the ceiling, I looked over at Marcus. Skepticism underscored each of my words. “Damian isn’t in danger of becoming a criminal. He’s done nothing wrong. He’s a business man. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
The dead body in my apartment seared into my thoughts. Deliberately, I turned my mind away. But even while desperately trying not to think about the spray of blood and the way the man
collapsed against the floor, more pieces clicked in place. Damian’s ruthlessness and deliberate disregard of the law betrayed a kinship to the corrupt men thriving in a land of snow and violence.
“I’m afraid he’s much more than that, Risa.”
“Are you seriously telling me that all this time he’s been part of the Russian mob?”
Being related and being guilty are two different things.
“Directly? No. But he’s dabbled enough to hit the radar. This isn’t going to go away without serious intervention.”
The dead man broke through again. I couldn’t turn away again because the worries scurried about from beneath his corpse.
Did the authorities already find out? Was that how everything unraveled for Damian? News would’ve hit and everybody would know.
It really is my fault.
I didn’t care if I got dragged into it. That didn’t matter to me because I knew what was the truth. Damian did what had to be done. For me.
Ice spread throughout, pushing down my confidence that the world wasn’t really a bad place. I wanted to fold up inside myself, go somewhere safe where this madness wasn’t real. A place where Damian would come to me and tell me everything was going to be all right.
A sanctuary where we could go back to being an IT Manager and an Account Executive involved in a beautifully dirty affair.
“You’re not denying it or trying to convince me I’m wrong.”
No, I wasn’t. Why?
Because it makes sense. The Russian bodyguards, the secrecy, the lies…the control.
Was I in shock? Or was my love that strong?
Both.
I stared through Marcus, already seeing the inevitable conclusion. “You’re telling me this so that I’ll turn on Damian. It won’t happen.”
“Because you don’t believe me?”
“I do, but even if I didn’t it won’t change my love for him.”
“Even if I tell you he’s murdered and raped? That he’s trafficked drugs, people, and weapons? That he does all these things and doesn’t lose a wink of sleep. Would you still love him then?”
My mouth opened but nothing came out. Instead, a buzzing sound drowned everything, except the vile accusations repeating over and over again in my brain. I felt violently ill at the thought even a fraction of it could be true.