“Avgust,” she whispered. “That man.”
I looked down at her, realizing her face had gone bloodless.
“What about him?”
“I recognize him. From that night. I am sure he was there, and he was bidding on me.”
I swore under my breath. I had been hoping she wouldn’t notice.
“Ilana—”
“I don’t feel good,” she said, already stepping back. “Can we please leave?”
That was it. No argument. No pushing. I nodded at her and pulled my phone out, dialing a number without taking my eyes off her panicked expression. Nothing was more important to me than Ilana feeling her best.
“Timofey,” I said as soon as he answered. “I need you to take over the surveillance in the Bay Area for me. Same location. Same target.”
I could see him nodding on the other side. “Copy.”
I hung up and turned to Ilana immediately, one arm already around her shoulders.
“We are done for today,” I said firmly. “Let’s get you back home.”
She nodded, her breath coming out shallow but controlled. She allowed me to guide the way as I took her hand and zigzagged back to the car without exposing us to the man. He would recognize both Ilana and me immediately, and Iosif needed some information on him. I did not know the details behind this, but I would have to find out later. Because this was a man I would personally enjoy torturing and killing later.
I opened her door, and she sat inside the car, making me realize something with unsettling clarity.
She hadn’t panicked because of the violence. She had panicked because the violence that had touched her past had resurfaced all of a sudden. Ilana had been right all along. She fit this world a lot more perfectly than I could have ever imagined or guessed, and I was a little afraid to admit just how much I loved that.
Chapter 15 - Ilana
The worst part of it all was that I wasn’t lying.
My stomach still churned as we drove, the city lights blurring past the window while Avgust kept one hand on the wheel and the other resting firmly on my thigh, like he was anchoring me to the world.
Seeing that man again, the one from the auction, had cracked something open inside me. Not fear exactly. But recognition. The reminder that my life hadn’t just changed, but it had collided headfirst with a war I had grown up around, whether I wanted to admit it or not. Avgust glanced at me for the fifth time in two minutes.
“Are you still feeling sick?”
I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. “A little.”
He didn’t push, and that somehow only made it worse. Guilt sat heavy in my chest, curling tighter every time he adjusted the heat, every time he slowed at a turn so I wouldn’t feel dizzy, and every time he asked softly if I needed water. He was protecting me. And I was hiding the most dangerous truth of all.
I was a Romanov.
It was my family that was planning to take over.
And if Avgust ever realized that, he wouldn’t hesitate to destroy each one of my brothers. He had to. This wasn’t just business to him. The Bratva demanded blood, loyalty, and survival. I stared out the window, pressing my fingers together to stop them from shaking as thoughts filled my brain.
What if they fought?
What if someone died? What if he died?
I couldn’t let any of it happen. Not now. Not ever. So I would wait, plan, and somehow try to protect both sides, even if it meant carrying this lie all alone just a little longer. He continued to drive, beginning to slow down a little.
“Ilana,” Avgust said, voice firm now, decisive. “I’ve made a decision.”
I turned towards him, heart stuttering.
