Kallie graciously takes Eli for an ice cream run, leaving us alone.
“Sorry about the mess,” I mumble, wiping down the counter. “We were playing at it got a bit out of?—”
“I need you to leave.”
I drop the kitchen rug in my hand, my arms suddenly slack. My brain tries to catch up to what Yulian just said, but it keeps coming up empty.
Because I can’t have heard right, can I?
Leave.It echoes in my head, over and over again.He said leave.
He wants me to leave.
Somehow, I remember how to speak. “What?”
The heartbreak on my face must be plain to see, because Yulian quickly specifies, “Not forever. But until things calm down, it isn’t safe for you here. Or for Eli.”
Eli.Not just me, then. My son, too. My son, who’s just started to get used to his new home.
My son, who thinks of Yulian as his father.
I stare at him in disbelief. “You want me to… to take Eli away?”
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he slides two pieces of paper my way. “These are plane tickets to Paris. They’re not in your real name, of course. I’m having the passports made as we speak.”
“Yulian, where is this coming from?” I push away the tickets as if they burned. “I thought we agreed that I’m not leaving you to face this alone.”
“No,youagreed.” His tone turns sharp. “But I’m done letting you do whatever you want. As long as Desya’s out there, you’re not safe anywhere near me.”
“That’s not what you said before,” I protest. “You said all I had to do was live here. Now, you’re telling me I have to go away.”
“Circumstances have changed.”
“No, they haven’t! You said—” Then, suddenly, I realize what this is all about. “This is because of what happened last night, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do. He got into your head.” I walk around the counter, stepping into Yulian’s space. “You’re going to do something reckless, aren’t you? That’s why you don’t want me here.”
Yulian balls up his fists. “It doesn’t matter. The decision’s been made.”
“Bullshit,” I snap. “I decide for myself, Yulian. That was the deal.”
“I don’t care what the deal was.” His voice drops. “This is the new deal.”
“Then you can keep it, ‘cause I’m not taking it.” I grab the tickets and rip them up for good measure. Yulian’s expression turns murderous. “I’m rebuilding my life. I’m working again. And in case you’ve forgotten, I’m fighting for my son’s custody. This?” I point at the torn tickets. “This ensures I lose it.”
His brow furrows. “I’ll handle Brad.”
“Yeah, and what’s that look like?” I cross my arms and stare him down. “Tell me it’s not murder, and I’ll do it. Tell me, and I’ll start packing right now.”
He grits his teeth, but stays silent.
Christ.I cannot believe him. All the talk we’ve done, all the boundaries I’ve set—in the end, they mean nothing to him, do they?
Take the offer.It’s the little voice at the back of my head, the one that’s been urging me to run since day one.Go to Europe. Take both your kids and disappear. From Prizrak, Brad—everyone.
From Yulian, too.
