Page 262 of Sexting His Assistant

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Her hand moves over her stomach. “At first, because I was scared,” Alina says. “Oleg wanted me to use him. He said Misha was better access than Luka because Luka kept women at a distance, but Misha had already let me close. He told me to keep seeing him, get information, find out schedules, find out what Luka was doing.”

My hands curl into fists. “And you did?”

She looks up at me with wet eyes. “At first, yes.”

I breathe out slowly.

I hate her.

In that moment, I hate her so clearly that it almost steadies me.

“My brother trusted you,” I say.

“I know.”

“And you used him.”

“I know,” Alina says, her voice breaking. “I know. I told myself I had no choice, but that was a lie. I had choices. I chose badly.”

“Then what changed?”

She closes her eyes. “He did.”

I don’t want to hear that.

She says it anyway. “He was not like the men I knew. He was suspicious and bossy and impossible, but he was kind when he didn’t think anyone would notice.”

“Stop,” I say.

She stops.

The room is quiet.

I look away because I cannot stand hearing someone describe my brother like that while he is missing.

After a moment, Alina continues more carefully. “When I found out I was pregnant, I panicked. I told Misha.”

My eyes snap back to her. “You told him?”

“Yes,” she says. “I told him about the baby. Then I told him everything else.”

“Everything?”

“Oleg. The plan. The retreat. The reason I was supposed to meet Luka. The information I had passed along.”

My voice comes out low. “And he didn’t tell Luka?”

“He was going to,” she says quickly. “I swear. He was furious. I had never seen him like that.”

I think of Misha’s face at my apartment.

The way he kept asking about my job.

The way he kept warning me away from Luka.