Page 146 of Betrayal and Vows

“How did you find us?” Anton asks.

My mother gives him a soft smile. “I know people. People that I can trust. People Dmitri trusts.”

Anton looks at his friend.

Dmitri shrugs. “You think I snapped my fingers and that car appeared? You think Luda took us in on a whim?”

Anton says nothing and reaches for me.

I go to him because my place is beside him now.

And forever.

"What do you mean, leave?" Anton asks.

“You have to get out of Russia. Both of you."

“He’s still searching?” Anton questions her.

Mom scoffs. “He’ll never stop.”

I have so many questions, but I keep my mouth closed for now. She’s alive. The past week I assumed the worst. I believed Vadim killed my parents to punish them for my escape. If they’re alive, it’s because Vadim believes there is still a chance to complete the marriage.

“I think we knew that,” Dmitri says. “We’re not all brawn and no brain. Well, I’m not. I can’t say that about this one.”

My lips quirk.

That’s Dmitri. I’ve come to appreciate his sense of humor this last week. He knows how to poke at Anton when things are too tense. He finds joy in little things.

I know it’s all an act, but it works. It’s made this week of hiding bearable.

"I can get you to Georgia,” Mother says. “The border crossing won’t be easy. Over the mountains. Dangerous. But once you get through, I have a contact who can fly you to Spain. There’s a house there. Coastal. Safe."

I blink. Spain?

“What?” I ask. “Spain? How?”

She offers a faint smile. "I’ve been planning my escape for years. Twenty-three to be exact.”

Twenty-three years. Since I was born.

“For you?”

“Foryou,” she corrects.

I look at Anton. His jaw is clenched. "Why would you help us?"

"Because of Irina. And because of a boy named Alexei."

Anton stiffens. So do I.

She slowly sits down once again.

We both join her with Dmitri standing guard.

She looks at Anton, and I see the love. She looks at him like he’s a son.

"You were never supposed to come back,” she whispers.