“I know. And maybe that counts for something. But it doesn’t change what he did. He brought you there knowing they’d be waiting. He sold you out for money.”
“I know.” Her voice is barely a whisper. “I know what he did. But I still—” She stops. “I can’t stop seeing it. The way he looked at me after he got shot. Like he was surprised. Like he didn’t think they’d actually shoot him.”
“They used him. Just like they’re using everyone else who’s desperate enough to take their money.”
“I shouldn’t have gone. I knew it was wrong. Knew you’d never allow it. But I felt so trapped, so—” She looks at me. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I lied to Alexi. That I went without security, I just wanted to prove I could handle it myself.”
“And you almost got killed.”
“I know.”
“You and our baby almost got taken by people who want to cut you open and send pieces of you to me as revenge.” My voice comes out harsher than I intended. “Do you understand what that means? What they would have done to you?”
She flinches. “Yes.”
“No. I don’t think you do.” I stand, needing to move, needing to not look at her right now because if I do, I’ll see how close I came to losing her. “Five more minutes. If I’d been five minutes later, they would have had you out the back exit. Into a car. Gone. And I would never have seen you again.”
“Ledger—”
“You lied to Alexi. Took a car service instead of my security. Went to meet a man who’s been stalking you. A man who grabbed you hard enough to leave bruises. And you thought you could handle it.”
“I thought if I gave him closure?—”
“There is no closure with men like Mason. There’s only what they want, and when you don’t give it to them, they escalate.” I turn to face her. “He’s been working with the Kozlovs for weeks. Maybe months. Feeding them information about your routines, your movements. That’s how they kept finding you.”
“He said they paid him twenty thousand.”
“They probably paid him more. Small amounts over time to keep him loyal. To keep him bringing them intel.” I cross my arms. “And you walked right into their trap because you felt sorry for him.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Isn’t it? You knew meeting him was dangerous. Knew I’d say no if you asked. So you lied and went anyway. And now a man is dying, there are bodies in a restaurant, and the Kozlovs know exactly how to get to you.”
She stands. “I made a mistake. I know I did. But you don’t get to stand there and lecture me about decisions when you’ve been keeping me locked up like a prisoner for weeks.”
“To keep you safe.”
“To keep me controlled. There’s a difference.”
“Not when people are actively trying to kill you.”
“I can’t live like this!” Her voice rises. “I can’t live in a penthouse with guards at every door, asking permission to go to the doctor, lying to people I care about just to have one conversation with someone from my old life.”
“Your old life is gone. You need to accept that.”
“I had accepted it until you made me feel like I couldn’t breathe. Like every decision had to go through you first.”
“Because your decisions almost got you killed today!”
She’s breathing hard, face flushed. I’m standing too close, anger and fear mixing into something volatile.
“I’m sorry,” she says finally. “I’m sorry I lied. I’m sorry I put myself in danger. But I needed to do something for myself. Something that wasn’t approved by you or monitored by your security team. I needed to feel like I still had some control over my own life.”
“And how did that work out?”
She looks away. “I know. I know it was stupid.”
“It was more than stupid. It was reckless. Selfish. You’re not just risking yourself anymore. You’re risking our child.”
