Behind me, Maya makes a sound that's half sob, half scream. "I'm your sister!" Her voice cracks on the word. "How can you let him do this to me?"
"Because you need help." The words come out steadier than I feel. "Real help. Not another promise that you'll do better, not another stint in outpatient therapy that you'll quit the moment things get hard. You need to be somewhere you can't run from your problems."
"I hate you." The venom in her voice makes me flinch. "I've always hated you. Perfect Aria, always so responsible, always so together. You've controlled my life since Mom died, and now you're sending me to prison with your monster boyfriend's blessing."
The accusation lands like a slap. Part of me wants to defend myself, to list all the sacrifices I've made, all the times I've saved her from herself. But exhaustion pulls at my bones with enough force that I can barely stand.
"I love you, Maya." My voice breaks on her name. "But I can't save you anymore. You have to save yourself."
Nikolai makes a gesture, and two security guards materialize from the shadows. They move toward Maya with professionalefficiency, and she starts thrashing in the chair, screaming obscenities that echo off the concrete walls.
"You'll regret this!" She's sobbing now, her face contorted with rage and fear. "Both of you! I'll never forgive you for this, Aria! Never!"
The guards unlock her handcuffs and haul her to her feet. She's still screaming as they escort her from the room, her voice fading as they move down the hallway. The door closes behind them with a soft click that sounds far too final.
Silence descends like a curtain.
I stand frozen in the middle of the security office, my arms wrapped around myself, trying to hold together pieces that feel like they're crumbling. Tears stream down my face, hot and bitter, and I don't bother wiping them away.
Nikolai's arms come around me from behind, pulling me back against his chest. His warmth seeps through my clothes, and I feel his heartbeat steady against my spine. For a moment I let myself lean into him, let myself take comfort from the solid strength of his body.
"You did the right thing," he murmurs against my temple.
"Then why does it feel like I just destroyed what's left of my family?"
"Because love is complicated." His lips brush my hair. "And sometimes, saving someone means making them hate you."
I turn in his arms, pressing my face against his chest, breathing in the scent of him. "Thank you. For not killing her. For giving her another chance."
"Don't thank me yet." His hand slides up to cup the back of my head, fingers threading through my hair. "There's a price for my mercy."
Something in his tone makes my stomach tighten with apprehension. I pull back enough to meet his gaze, and what I see there makes my breath catch. Not anger. Not violence. Something else entirely, something that looks almost like vulnerability wrapped in steel.
"What price?"
His eyes hold mine with absolute certainty. "You promised you'd do anything to save your sister. I'm holding you to that promise."
"Okay." The word comes out steadier than I feel. "What do you want?"
"Marry me."
The words hang in the air between us like smoke. For a heartbeat, I think I've misheard him, that the stress and exhaustion have finally broken something in my brain. But his expression doesn't change, doesn't soften, just watches me with that predatory focus that makes my pulse hammer in my throat.
"What?"
"You heard me." His thumb brushes across my lower lip, the touch sending unwanted heat cascading through my body. "The price for saving Maya is marriage. To me. Right away."
34
NIKOLAI
"Marry me."
The words hang in the air between us like smoke, and I watch Aria's face cycle through emotions faster than I can catalog them. Shock first, her dark eyes going wide, her lips parting on an inhale she doesn't release. Then fury blazes across her features, turning her cheeks pink and making her hands curl into fists at her sides.
"What?" The single word cracks like a whip.
"You heard me." I keep my voice level, controlled, even though my heart hammers against my ribs in a way that has nothing to do with strategy. "The price for saving Maya is marriage. To me. Right away."
