"Promise me." I tighten my grip on his arm though I'm sure it still feels weak to him. "Swear it on our blood…" I can feel the tremor of unconsciousness pulling at me again.
I never hear his answer. My eyes roll back and the blackness consumes me.
When voices pull me back toward consciousness, they sound like they're coming through water. I try to open my eyes but my lids won't cooperate. I think they've drugged me, and I have no clue how long I’ve been out.
"…perforated the bowel." The male voice isn't familiar. "He's gone septic."
"What does that mean?" I hear, and it's Yuri's voice. It stirs something in me, but I can't rouse myself to open my eyes yet. "In plain terms, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying his chances aren't good." The first male voice speaks again, and then I'm fading.
My heart aches and my mind swirls around thoughts of Vivika coming to my side and seeing me like this. What would she say? How bad do I look?
Am I going to make it out of here? Or did I put her on that train and save her life only to die while she's gone?
26
VIVIKA
Rurik parks the car behind a row of abandoned shipping containers and kills the engine, his jaw tight with tension as he scans the warehouse district through the windshield. We've been in St. Petersburg for three hours and I haven't slept in nearly two days, but exhaustion is the last thing on my mind right now. In approximately ten minutes, I'm going to walk into a meeting with one of the most dangerous men in Eastern Europe and try to convince him that his business partner murdered his sister.
"This is a mistake," Rurik grumbles. He keeps trying to warn me and I keep telling him I don't care. "You should let me contact Yuri first. Let him know what you're planning."
"If we contact Yuri, word might get back to Yaros before we're ready." I check my reflection in the visor mirror, making sure the dark hood of my jacket obscures enough of my face. "The whole point is that this meeting didn't come through normal Gravitch channels. Kolar agreed to meet because he thinks he's dealing with someone outside the family structure who has information he wants."
"And when he realizes you're the woman Yaros has been hunting across the city?" Rurik's eyes narrow on me as he scowls. I can tell he doesn't like taking orders from a woman, and if Lev were here, I'd be sidelined. "You're not Ana Veche, no matter how much you look like her."
"Then I tell him the truth." Inside, my stomach is churning and my hands want to shake so badly, I have to press them flat against my thighs to keep them still. "Lev has proof of everything. The entire bait and switch plan will work." I only wish I believed myself.
"You don't know that there's proof waiting at the estate. You don't even know if Lev is still alive."
He's right, and I've been trying very hard to avoid thinking about that particular possibility. We haven't heard from Lev once since he sent me to Moscow on that train. Hell, the entire Gravitch leadership could've been wiped out in that warehouse battle, and I could be walking into a meeting where I'll be killed and for no reason.
But I can't let myself think that way. If I think that way, I'll fall apart, and falling apart isn't an option right now.
"Lev sent me to you so you would protect me," I say quietly. "That was the last order he gave you before I got on that train. Are you going to honor it?"
Rurik scowls at me and sighs hard, but he reaches into his inner coat pocket and pulls out a weapon, handing it to me.
"Safety's off. Point and squeeze if you have to use it." He waits for me to take the gun, which I do with shaking hands, and says, "I'll be right outside the door the entire time. If anything goes wrong, you scream and I come in shooting. Understand?"
I nod and tuck the gun into the waistband of my slacks, pulling my jacket down to cover it. This is my last shot at backing out. I could turn around and be free from Lev, and Yuri, and this whole mess. But I know I won't ever be free. I fell in love and my former life means nothing to me now. If I don't finish this, I'll never forgive myself.
"I know what I'm doing," I tell him, even though we both know it's only partially true. "Trust me."
"I trust Lev's judgment in people." He opens his door and steps out into the night. "Let's hope he was right about you."
We approach the warehouse on foot, moving through the shadows between buildings and stacks of pallets. The district is quiet at this hour. Work is shut down for the night and there's no one around to witness whatever may happen. Rurik walks slightly ahead of me, and I notice how rigid his posture is. I've only just met him, but I can read him like a book. He's scared shitless, just like me. Two of us walking into a meeting with God only knows how many armed men. We're fools.
But I'd rather go out in a blaze of glory than sit back on my hands and watch the man I love suffer. I know what this means to the Gravitch name and I know what it means to those women who are trapped in Yaros's plans.
The warehouse we're looking for is at the end of a narrow alley. Its loading dock doors are closed and a single entrance is visible on the side. A black sedan is parked near the entrance, which means Kolar's already here. He's early. I don't know if that's a good sign or a bad one.
Rurik positions himself beside the door and gives me a final nod. "I'll be right here. Don't do anything stupid."
"Define stupid," I say, pulling my hood lower over my face and pushing the door open before he can respond.
The interior of the warehouse is wide open and mostly empty, concrete floors stretching toward distant walls lined with abandoned shelving units. It's like this place hasn't been operational in a while, and they've removed any object behind which someone could hide to sneak attack. A single work lamp has been set up near the center of the space, but darkness reaches toward the walls.
