And then Konstantin would be all that stands between chaos and stability. The one person both families trust. The one person who can guide Vera and her child through their grief.
The perfect puppet master.
I’m the obstacle. I’vealwaysbeen the obstacle.
And Alexei?—
My brother and my uncle have been working together. To kill me and take control of everything I’ve built.
They want to use Vera and her baby as pawns in whatever game they’re playing.
Over my dead body.
21
VERA
Dimitri has been locked in his office for six hours.
I tried to stay with him at first, sitting on the couch while he worked with his team, making calls and pulling up files and muttering in Russian. But around hour three, he looked at me with exhausted eyes and told me to go rest. That he’d come get me when he knew more.
So I’ve been alone in the library, trying to readThe Bronze Horsemanagain, but mostly just staring at the same page. Replaying that moment in the mall over and over. The man with the baseball cap. Those blue eyes. That smile.
Alexei’s smile.
But Alexei is dead. Except the dental records don’t match and Dimitri is uncovering evidence that suggests otherwise. And oh yeah, Isawhim.
My hands shake as I turn another page I haven’t actually read.
The house is too quiet. Most of the staff who were dismissed after the car bombing have returned, but they’re asleep by now.Even the guards are stationed outside, watching the perimeter. Inside, it’s just me and the sound of my own breathing.
I sigh as I toss the book aside, not even pretending to try and read anymore and scrub at my tired eyes. I guess I should go to bed even though I know I won’t be able to. I glance at the clock and see that it’s nearly midnight before slowly standing up and heading to the door. If it’s something important, Dimitri knows where to find me.
It’s then that I hear it.
A sound that doesn’t belong. The soft scrape of wood against wood—faint enough that I almost miss it. I cock my head to the side, listening closer. Is that a door opening? Who is up here? I listen harder, straining my ears when it suddenly hits me.
That’s not a door. That’s—that’s awindow.
Every hair on the back of my neck stands up.
My heart pounds so hard I can feel it in my throat. In theory, I should go get security so they can investigate the noise. That would be the smart thing to do.
Instead, I walk toward the sound, walking down the hallway and toward the east wing guest rooms.
The door at the end of the hall is cracked open. Moonlight spills through, silver and cold. I push the door wider with trembling fingers, and….
A man stands in the moonlight, clearly having just climbed through the window. He’s tall and lean in dark clothes and his blond hair catches the light, making it look almost white. Blue eyes lock on mine.
Alexei.
For a moment, I just stare, my brain refusing to process what my eyes are seeing. This isn’treal. Thiscan’tbe real. I’m clearly imagining things and I need to start going to bed earlier?—
“Hello, Vera.” His voice is the same. Smooth. Familiar. But it makes my skin crawl in a way it never did before. “I was wondering when you’d hear me.”
I open my mouth but nothing comes out. My lungs won’t work and pull in air.
He’sdead. He’s supposed to bedead.
