Wasn’t this what I wanted all along? Petrovs finished for good, and the Collective under control at last?
We continued to discuss our options as I headed back down the hall to peek in on Lilia. Still burrowed under thecovers against the Baltic blasts of air conditioning to ward off the Florida humidity, her blonde hair cascaded over the pillow, one slender shoulder exposed. My delicate but fierce angel. I had learned it would take a lot to destroy her.
The loss of her family would be one thing.
“Hang on for further orders,” I said. I had a lot to think about and not much time to do it. “I’ll be back in LA by this evening.”
Lilia stirred, and I slipped out of the doorway before I woke her. Everything I wanted was within my reach, but if I took it, I would lose her. Barely refraining from hitting a wall, I stormed out of the house to make more phone calls.
Chapter 33 - Lilia
I snapped awake the moment I heard Gavril’s phone buzz. It had been a fitful night, but I did manage to get some rest, which I was grateful for. The whole evening before had been a drag on my system, from the conversation with the guard to getting snippy with Gavril when he came home hours later than he promised.
On high alert, I stayed in bed, completely still, straining to hear as he moved outside and down the hall to answer his phone. I silently cursed the soft hum of the air conditioning as only bits and pieces of the one-sided conversation wafted back to me through the bedroom door, which he had left open in his haste.
“How many… the house?” was one snippet. Gavril sounded furious underneath his forced calm. Then there was something about the Morozovs—he could count on them, but only if… the rest was lost as he paced further away. One more pass outside the room and I heard my own name, nearly bolting upright in bed.
I forced myself to lie there, relaxed at least on the outside. After a few more bursts of conversation that meant nothing, I heard him utter the name Petrov.
That was all I needed to know. Reuben was right that something was in the works, and it seemed like it was happening sooner rather than later. That was why Gavril wanted to return to LA. I heard him tell whoever was on the other end of the call that he’d be there this evening, which meant we’d be leaving soon.
Keeping completely still, I sensed him standing in the doorway. Then he muttered a curse and stormed out. Flinging off the covers, I scrambled to the hallway, listening to his heavyfootsteps on the stairs and across the marble entry hall. He was no longer trying to be quiet and slammed out the front door. I raced across the hall to a front bedroom and peered out the window in time to see him climb into the borrowed sports car and speed off.
Where was he going? What was he planning? According to the snippets I had heard, something was already in motion. Perhaps he was flying out of there to give the final commands.
The fury this raised in me dulled the pain of my heart, which began wrenching into pieces the moment everything started clicking into place. I really meant nothing to him. He had lied, and was now about to fire the gun he’d been aiming at my family since well before he rescued me from that auction stage.
Rescue. More like a prisoner transfer. Everything, all of it, had been lies.
Not knowing how much time I had until he came back, I raced to the closet and threw a few things into a bag, barely noticing what I took.
“What now?” I said to my harried reflection in the bathroom mirror. “What now?”
I knew what I had to do, and it made my blood freeze in my veins. What if last night had been nothing more than a test of my loyalty?
So what if it was? Could Gavril be angrier at me than I was at him, because I asked a few questions? Steeling myself, I went downstairs, searching the halls and rooms down there for any sign of a guard. There was the one stationed at the front, walking slowly back and forth under the shade of a palm tree, but the other three were keeping out of sight.
Perhaps Reuben would find me if I went on the deck again. It was too stressful, just standing there waiting, pretending to look at the ocean rolling in as if it didn’t have a care in the world. I envied its size and strength. Who could ever win against the ocean? And yet, Gavril had pulled me safely out of its grip when I found myself in the undertow.
That was a chilling thought. My husband was more powerful than the ocean. And he had set his sights on everyone I loved.
Once again, there was an ache in my chest, as if Gavril had made it onto that list of people. Why else would his ultimate betrayal hurt so much? The sun crept over the mansion's roof, its glow making the white sand almost too bright to look at. Shading my eyes, I scanned the neatly manicured garden path leading around the side of the house.
And then Reuben stepped out, a dark shadow among the overhanging palms and giant hibiscus bushes. He had a cap pulled low over his forehead to block the piercing sunlight, and he tipped it at me as he came into sight.
“Morning,” he said noncommittally. As if he’d never tried to let me know he was open to bribes.
“Come here,” I hissed, at the same time jumping down the stairs to meet him halfway.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, nothing but blank, professional concern in his eyes.
I wanted to shake him. “You tell me.” He only gave me the slightest shrug. “Tell me what you know,” I said, my voice rising. “Is my family in danger right now?”
The final words came out in a desperate wail, and with a scowl, he tugged me further among the trees that blocked a clear view from inside the house. “Be quiet.”
Impossible. “If you don’t—”
He cut me off. “I’ll tell you everything, but answer why I should trust you first.”
