The men move in. Two fingers land above my elbow, polite but insistent. I step forward before they can push me.
A few moments later, I slide into a new vehicle smelling of leather and smoke.
Another door opens. The air chills as Gavriil slides in beside me.
“Drive,” he orders.
We move. Or the world moves around us for some length of time that passes while I stare out the window.
“You’re quiet,” he eventually observes. “My brother likes your voice. Perhaps I will too.”
“I don’t talk to men who shoot my family in the back,” I reply flatly as more tears leak free.
“Ah.” He sounds almost approving. “But it wasn’t me who shot Archer, was it?” I wince at his name furious with myself for showing Gavriil any emotional reaction.
I face the asshole to tell him with full confidence. “Dom will take your throat out the first chance he gets.”
Gavriil smiles. Barely. “He can try.”
Silence. Lights strobe outside as we move under the river.
“You think he’ll still love you when he sees you standing unbound and realizes the chains I use on you are the kind he can’t unlock?”
“You won’t win anything with this bullshit move,” I whisper.
“Oh, I already did,” he replies.
The car goes still around us.
He leans in slightly, voice dropping. “When he sees my marks on you, he’ll hate himself, then he’ll hate you. And you already hate him for killing your brother.”
“You’re wrong. Dom will only hate you.”
Gavriil’s smile is quiet and lethal. “We’ll see.”
And then—the worst thought I’ve had all night hits me:
Dominik will blame himself forever.
Even if I could forgive him, he won’t forgive himself. There will always be a chasm between us, one that can’t be closed again.
“You can lie to yourself if it helps,” Gavriil murmurs. “I’m sure you’ll do plenty of that when I’m inside you.”
I shut my eyes. Only for a heartbeat. Only until breathing feels possible again.
“One month,” I remind myself. “One month, and I will never have to see your fucking face again.”
“One month,” Gavriil echoes. “And we’ll see what’s left of you.”
I stare forward, refusing to flinch again.
Dominik, please survive this. You have to.
Because I know him.
And if his guilt isn’t enough to hurt him, my time with Gavriil will destroy him.
My next exhale borders on shaky. Gavriil can try to unravel me all he wants, but I sure as hell won’t make it easy for him.
