“When I first saw Kira—I mean, Frankie—back at Sacred Heart, I thought I was looking at a mirage. A ghost. There was my sister, alive and well… happy. I don’t think Katya had many happy moments in her life. But I know the day Frankie was born must have been the happiest of them all.”
“What about her father? Who is Frankie’s father?”
“The monster who took our Katya from us.” His soft features turn hard.
“And by ‘took,’ you mean…”
“Killed,” he finishes with a nod. “Yes.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, cupping his cheek in my palm. He holds my hand there, then presses a tender kiss on its center, before guiding it back to his cheek.
“Do you believe in fate,milaya?” he asks, the question catching me off guard.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. But Frankie finding a home with your family, the same family that led me to you, must mean something.”
“All it means is that Frankie has bad taste in men, if she fell in love with my brother,” I pretend to joke.
“Is that what you honestly think? That love is a joke?”
I swallow, dry and tight, under the intensity of his gaze. “People like us don’t have the luxury of falling in love,” I reply instead.
“Does that mean your heart is closed to the idea of that possibility for us?”
Again, I swallow hard, not missing how that little worduscould be interpreted two ways. “I’m saying that in our line of work, there are things you’re better off avoiding. Love being one of those things.”
Kirill shuts his eyes briefly before meeting my gaze again. “Then I guess I’m a fool for thinking otherwise.” And just likethat, the warmth he brought with him drains out of the room. “I’ll leave you now. You must be tired.”
However, just as he’s about to slide out of the bed, I find myself doing the last thing I should—asking him to stay. “Kill, don’t go.”
“What would be the point?” he says sorrowfully, sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to me. “Give me one reason why I should stay?” I open my mouth to say something, anything, but nothing comes out. “That’s what I thought.” He rises from the bed and walks toward the door. “I’ll make sure someone watches over you, just in case you need anything.”
“Kill—”
“Goodnight, Stella.”
Chapter 14
Kirill
The sound of Dr. Sokolov clearing his throat snaps me awake.Blyad.I must’ve passed out sometime before dawn, slumped on the floor with my back against Stella’s door like a damn guard dog. My neck protests as I lift my head off the wall to greet him. “Dobroye utro.”
“Good morning to you, too. Is this a convenient time to see my patient?” the doctor asks in thick Russian. “Or should I come back later?”
“Give me a minute to check,” I reply before cracking the door open just enough to peek inside. Stella’s sitting upright, blanket pooled at her waist, eyes fixed on some far-off point only she can see.
She’s awake. Decent. Breathing. But miles away from me.
With my shoulders slumped, I close the door softly.
“You can go in, Doctor,” I murmur, stepping aside. “If you need anything, I’ll be downstairs.”
While Dr. Sokolov slips inside to tend to her, I force myself to go to the kitchen to have some breakfast. The kitchen iswarm, quiet, and completely serene. It’s everything I’m not, unfortunately.
I open the fridge, stare at the outrageous amount of food inside it, but nothing looks like something my stomach could actually handle.
Not after last night. Not after Stella made it crystal clear that any feelings I have for her would never be reciprocated. Not after I lied to her. Not after my men shot at her. And definitely not after I kidnapped her away from her home. Or maybe her mind had been made up long before any of that shit happened. Either way, she got her point across.
