“I am not.”
The shot cracks through the silence, echoing off the concrete walls. His shriek follows a second later as the bullet tears through his other leg, leaving him rotting in a pool of his own blood.
I step over the spreading red. “You will still be alive when we walk out.”
With that, we head for the exit.
Weapons drawn, I lead the way out, heading for my wife, my heart, my goddamn salvation, hoping that I’m not too late.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
FIONA
“Wh-what are you doing here?”The words leave me in a broken whisper as the figure before me slowly steps into the light.
Her smile is slow and cruel, the kind that makes my insides shrink with a quiet, dawning terror. My brain scrambles to catch up, to rationalize what I’m seeing, but there’s no explanation that makes sense.
“Oh, sweetie,” Marlene croons. “Elio and I go way back. Where he’s the muscle...” She glides a finger along the steel beam beside her. “I’m the brains. Who do you think thought of those notes you kept getting?”
Holy shit.
I stagger back, my heart thundering in my chest. “Why? What do you have to do with this?”
“Everything.”
Her expression hardens into something icier than I’ve ever seen. Like a layer has peeled back and I’m finally seeing what’s always been underneath. She moves toward me until I’m cornered.
“I can’t let you leave, Fiona,” she coos. “If anything, you can blame your mother. Elio and I are only doing what is right for our families.”
My lungs seize. “Your family? What the hell are you talking about?”
She tilts her head like I’ve asked a ridiculous question. “I’m a Volkov, darling.”
I take another step back, my stomach dropping. How can this be?
Her smile widens, as if my confusion is the best entertainment she’s had all day. “You must marry my brother. There is no other choice.”
“I’m sorry,what?” A disbelieving laugh slips out before I can stop it.
She shrugs. “Yes. He’s old. Probably has ten, maybe twenty years left, if we’re lucky. You can deal with that. Consider it an investment in survival.”
“Fuck off.” My teeth grit, and she sighs, like I’m a child throwing a tantrum.
“The wedding will be tomorrow.”
“I’d rather die.” My nostrils flare, anger dragging through me.
Marlene’s smile widens. “Suit yourself. But here’s the thing, sweetheart. You don’t have a choice. The Marinovs…we have plans for them. Big ones. So if you think they will save you, think again.”
“I’m Aleksei’s wife. He won’t rest until all of you are dead.”
Her eyes gleam. “Not for long, you’re not.”
“I swear to God…” I grit out. “When he finds me, when he?—”
Her laugh ricochets through me. “Malinkaya durachka. When will you understand he’s not coming for you? That precious little GPS chip? We planted it in the building next door. That’s where he is now. If he’s still alive, of course. Butconsidering how many men are waiting for him…” She lets out a dramatic sigh. “The chances of your handsome man walking away from that are slim.”
No way in hell. The Marinovs are smarter than that.
