“What do you want to do?” he asks.
“Get the car. She doesn’t get to disappear. Not after this. Not when I—” I stop the words in their tracks, unwilling to followthat line of thought. I need to lock it in a box and throw away the key. “Find her.”
I don’t wait for Pavel’s reply as I turn on my heel, confident he is right behind me. I need to move, to burn off the suffocation of betrayal before it chokes me, before I burn something down.
Just then, Pavel’s phone rings. We both stop dead in our tracks, assuming it’s Clara.
It isn’t. It’s one of the men Pavel had stationed outside her apartment.
I’m going after her.
Two things are for certain: Clara is either running from her guilt or running for her life. Either way, I’m going to be the one who ends the chase.
My rage only builds on the drive to Clara’s apartment, exploding into fiery sparks when I see two figures hurrying out of the building. One unfamiliar, the other Clara.
I’m out of the car before Pavel fully stops, striding with purpose across the sidewalk to Clara. Whether it’s the sound of the car or my footsteps, Clara’s head jerks in my direction, and she stops so suddenly that it takes the other woman a moment to realize she’s no longer following.
“Dmitri.”
I stop a foot away from Clara. The woman I assume is Emily moves toward her in a protective gesture cut off by Pavel’s arrival.
“I see you received my email,” Clara says, a slight waver in her voice. She knows she’s caught.
“How could you do this to me?”
It's not what I wanted to say. It's not what I planned to say. But it's what comes out. It’s as if I can't control myself around this woman anymore. That’s always been the danger with Clara—my feelings for her, my fear for her safety.
Ihaveto remain in control. Everything relies on that, along with my iron will and my hard-won ability to see clearly, to plan for all possibilities, to be one step ahead of my enemies at all times. I learned that lesson the hard way with Lauren. When she died, I almost lost myself entirely, and in the process, nearly my empire and myBrava, as well.
“I told you,” Clara glares up at me, defiant, “that I didn't want to be involved with someone in the mafia. I told you that I didn't want to put my professional reputation and my life on the line for something I didn't sign up for.”
When she stops and takes a breath, the pain I see on her face and in her eyes surprises me. When she speaks again, her words quiver as if she's holding back emotion. “You told me you would let me go. You promised you would let me go.”
“That was before I knew who you really are,” I hiss.
“Who I—” A line appears between Clara's eyes, confusion warring with emotion.
“Did you think I wouldn’t find out? I trusted you, Clara. I never trust, but I trusted you.”
“And I never betrayed that trust, Dmitri. I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Clara protests.
The volcano inside me is about ready to explode. How can she stand there and pretend to have no idea what I'm talking about?How could she act like she cared for me, that she had feelings for me, when everything was a lie?
Clara winces when my fingers dig into her shoulders. “Do you know what I do with those who betray me?”
I can feel the darkness rising, threatening to take over, pushing me to strangle the woman in front of me here and now, ending it. To give her what she deserves for betraying me, for making me believe she had feelings for me.
Fear joins the pain and confusion in her eyes. “I haven’t betrayed you, Dmitri. I'm leaving like I told you I would, when you promised to let me go. I have to protect myself. I’ve told you twice now, and you promised you would let me go, if I could prove to you that's what I wanted. Someone tried to hit me with a car today. I can't do this anymore.”
“How stupid do you think I am?”
Clara tries to wriggle out of my grasp. “Dmitri, let me go! I have no idea what you're talking about.”
“You think I wouldn't figure out who youare? You know I figured it out, and that's why you're running.”
“Figurewhatout?” She's fighting harder now, panic joining the fear. “I don't know what you're talking about, Dmitri. I was very clear that I was going to leave the other night, and you talked me out of it. But after today, I can't stay. I have to keep myself safe. Isn't that what you want, too?”
“I want you to know what I do to people whobetrayme. Someone who, for the first time since my wife died, I had actually felt something for.”
