Even in the photo, she looks kind. Ordinary. Normal in a way that almost feels insulting, knowing what we know. Her dark hair is neatly styled, her smile is soft, her eyes crinkle in a way that suggests she laughs easily.
She looks like a woman who would never willingly involve herself in our world.
I stare at her face for a long moment, my jaw tightening. If I were Ivy… if I had been in her place, staring down this photo, seeing the woman who now shares Mikhail’s bed, I might’ve broken too.
Emily has no idea what she’s in for. No idea what it means to be connected to someone like him. The danger, the violence, the sickness that runs under his skin is like rot. Ivy has seen it up close. She knows what Mikhail is capable of, what kind of other monsters he keeps around him. What kind of monsterheis.
Maybe this photo had been the final straw, a trigger too sharp to pretend it was anything but. One that made everything Ivy has fought to repress rise up in her all at once.
A quiet sigh escapes me.
I close the folder and press the flap down firmly.
“I’ll have to talk to her before she goes to bed,” I murmur, almost to myself. “To reassure her we’re doing everything we can to rescue Emily too.”
Roman’s voice comes low and quiet. “You think that’s what this is about?”
I glance at him. “What else would it be?”
His eyes flick briefly toward the hallway Ivy had disappeared down minutes ago, then back to me. “I don’t know… maybe she’s hiding something.”
“What?”
He shrugs. “Why would seeing a picture of a woman rattle her that badly? It’s not as if she’s ever met the woman. Not like we have. If I were her, and had seen that photo, I’dassume Emily was just as evil as Mikhail. She’s hiding something else, judging by her reaction.”
I turn to him fully, my eyes hard. “That’s enough.”
He lifts his chin but doesn’t back off. “Pakhan?—”
“I said that’s enough.” The quiet warning in my tone is unmistakable. It lands between us like a loaded gun on the table, the bullets in the chamber ready to fire. Roman’s jaw clenches, but he doesn’t challenge me further.
He knows better.
I shake my head slowly, the simmer under my skin threatening to boil over. “She’s not hiding anything. She’s just trying to survive. Every time she hears his name, she’s reliving things you and I can’t begin to understand. So don’t stand here and imply she’s up to something just because she isn’t jaded by the kind of shitwe’veseen on a daily basis. She’s never been in our world, Roman. Give her a damn break.”
Roman’s features soften, just barely. The stubborn set of his mouth falters as guilt flickers behind his eyes. “I understand what you’re saying. She’s clearly scared. However, scared people make unpredictable decisions. If we’re going to protect her and get your son back, we need to know what’s going on inside her head. That’s all I meant.”
I stare at him a moment longer. Deep down, I know he isn’t wrong. He’s always made incredibly invaluable points, even during times I’m not in the mood to hear them. He just tends to be… tactless sometimes.
Roman sighs. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to accuse her of anything. It came out wrong.”
I nod once, accepting the olive branch. “She needs space. I’ll talk to her when I see that she’s ready for that kind of conversation.”
Roman backs off, retreating a few steps with his hands raised. “Of course,Pakhan. Whatever you feel is right.”
With that, I grab a seat at the table and begin gathering the documents into neater stacks, forcing myself to focus. But even as I work, Ivy’s face keeps flashing in my mind. Her expression before she fled. Her trembling figure right before she’d pulled the door shut behind her…
I force the thoughts from my mind for the time being.
I’ll find the right words later when she’s ready to hear them. Until then, I’ll leave her be.
12
IVY
Ican only keep the door locked and shut for so long before it becomes suspicious.
A few hours, maybe, just enough to pretend I was resting or trying to process seeing that photo of Mikhail’s fiancée, but once dinner time rolls around, the excuse wears thin… Well, that’s when the walls around me begin to press in.
