"Mom, it's me."
"Ava!" Her voice cracks. "Oh God, baby, are you okay? The FBI said you were taken, they said—"
"I'm fine, Mom. I promise. I'm safe."
"Where are you? Who has you? Your father—"
"Dad did something bad, Mom." I keep my voice steady even though guilt threatens to choke me. "Really bad. And now I'm... I'm being protected by someone who can keep me safe."
"Protected?" She sounds confused. "What does that mean?"
I glance at Renat, who's watching me with those dark eyes. "It means I'm okay. But I can't come home right now. And you need to be careful. Don't talk to anyone about Dad or me. Don't trust anyone. Just... just take care of yourself and Brit."
"Ava, you're scaring me."
"I know. I'm sorry." Tears burn my eyes. "But I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"
A long pause. Then: "Are you really safe?"
I look at Renat again. At the man who kidnapped me. Who shot federal agents. Who made me scream his name while promising to put a baby inside me.
"Yes," I say, and mean it. "I'm really safe."
"Okay." Mom's voice is shaky but accepting. "Okay, baby. I love you."
"I love you too." I have to force the next words out. "Don’t let Brit out of your sight. I'll see you both soon. I love you."
I hang up before I break down completely.
Renat takes the phone from my hand and pulls me against his chest. "You did well."
"I lied to her."
"You told her what she needed to hear." His hand strokes my hair. "And you weren't lying about being safe. I will keep you safe, Ava. No matter what."
I want to believe him. To trust that this isn't just about leverage or revenge or whatever twisted game the Bratva plays.
But I can't ignore the fact that we're about to walk into a meeting where his brother will see me as exactly that, a tool to be used.
"I'm scared," I whisper against his chest.
"I know." He tilts my face up to his. "But I won't let anyone hurt you. And I won’t let anyone take you. You're mine, remember?"
"How could I forget?" The words come out more bitter than I intend. "You made sure of that last night."
Something flashes in his eyes. "Is that regret?"
Is it? I suppose it should be. But when I search my feelings, all I find is confusion and desire and a strange sense of rightness.
"No," I admit. "Not regret. Just... fear. Of what comes next."
"Good." He presses a hard kiss to my forehead. "Fear keeps you sharp. Keeps you alive. Just stay close to me, and everything will be fine."
He makes it sound so simple. Like his brother won't see right through this, won't realize that Renat has gone completely off-script.
But as we head down from the suite into the belly of the hotel, and Renat's hand stays possessively on my lower back, I realize something; I don't want to go back to my old life. Don't want to be alone and afraid, working dead-end jobs and dreaming of a future that might never come. Living in fear because my father is a loose cannon of the worst kind. What was he even doing getting wrapped up in this world?
The elevator glides silently until it stops with apingand the doors slide open revealing a floor of what looks to be offices.
