After I finish, I step up to the sinks and begin washing my hands while sneaking glances at Ruslan’s reflection in the mirror. This man raped and killed my mom, tortured and killed my father, blew me up on a plane and then continued to try and kill me to the point of even manipulating my best friend. Yet he stands there, confident that I’ll be the one to do it.
“Why?” I say suddenly, still washing my hands. “Why did you do it?”
Alexei glances back at me. “What?”
“My mom. My dad… You killed them both. You tried to kill me, and now you expect me to help you?”
“I don’t need yourhelp,” Alexei sneers darkly. “As soon as I have what I want, I’ll kill you.”
My heart lurches, but I force myself to remain calm. “Then tell me why. It’s not like it’s going to change anything.”
Alexei is silent until I turn off the tap and reach for a handful of paper towels. “Your father overstepped.”
“With Florence?”
Alexei’s eyes flicker at the mention of her name. “She’s mine, and your father tried to take her from me.”
“I thought you two broke up?” Drying my hands slowly, I study Alexei’s belt in my peripheral while keeping my eyes on him.
“No one breaks up with me,” Alexei growls. “She was mine and she still is. Always.”
So he’s possessive. Jealous. “She doesn’t seem to know that,” I reply, sinking my teeth into the inside of my cheek. The pain is sharp enough to cut through the cloud of fear consuming me as I slowly walk closer. “She was moving on. Going to flee the country.”
Alexei’s jaw shifts back and forth and darkness bleeds around the edge of his vision as his head tilts forward. “She wasn’t goinganywhere.”
“Is that why you blew up the plane? To scare her away from flying?”
Alexei suddenly bursts out laughing as if that’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard. “No, I blew up the plane to kill you.”
“Me?” Weakness pulses through my knees and my next casual step is unsteady.
“Your father was a cocky son of a bitch. So I showed him that I could get to everyone he cared about.”
Faster and faster, my heart races. I’m a foot away but moving slowly, as if a sudden movement will derail Alexei’s speech. “So you tried to kill me and you r-raped and killed my mother.”
“Now you’re getting it,” he replies with a twisted smile. “Turns out your father was all talk, though, and gave up the ghost before I was even finished with your mom. Pretty little thing, she was. And then I found out you survived.”
“And that I was on the plane your father was using.” I reach him and swallow hard, a wet sound that I’m sure Alexei must hear from how tightly my throat contracts. “Did that feel insulting?”
Alexei scoffs. “You’re not that important.”
“And yet you kept trying to kill me.”
“Loose ends, that’s all.”
“And now I’m the only thing that can save you.” I step closer still, until Alexei’s radiating warmth brushes against my chilled skin. “The information I have is the only thing that will save you from the Suit.”
His dark brows pinch together and his cocky, smarmy smile vanishes. “You’ll talk. They always do.”
“Then you’re shit out of luck because I’m not telling you adamnthing!”
As I speak, I surge forward and lunge for the knife hanging from his belt. At the same time, I shove the wet paper towels into his face and as he stumbles back in alarm, I raise the knife and clutch it in both hands.
“Ihateyou!” The knife comes down as Alexei raises an arm to defend himself. The blade pierces right into his forearm, andhot, red blood pours out past the knife and over my fingers like a fountain.
“You bitch!” Alexei roars as he stumbles back against the wall.
It’s my chance and I take it. Rushing out of the bathroom, I sprint down the hallway and disappear around the corner. The next corridor mirrors the first but I keep running, feet pounding the floor as I race with every ounce of strength I have.
