Page 81 of Exacting Vengeance

It pricked deeply that she hadn’t trusted him, scoring a jagged hole in his heart. Then again, she had to be hurting because he hadn’t believed in her enough not to go ballistic when he’d learned the truth. Maybe she should have turned the ledger over years ago, but the more he thought about it, her reason for not doing it was still the same. Fear. Coming forward with the ledger and the money would have been like a gopher poking its head out of a hole in a flat desert. Anyone could have found her. Including Yuri.

Gina rested a hand on his shoulder. “You loved her even then. Didn’t you?”

Did he? Love hadn’t been a part of his life for so long, he wasn’t sure he’d know it again if it smacked him in the face.

He missed Victoria. Missed making love with her, laughing with her. He adored her, respected her, applauded her courage and how she’d miraculously managed to build a new life from the ashes of her old one. In many ways, she was his hero. In his gut, he knew the answer to Gina’s question but still couldn’t say it out loud.

“I’ve seen the two of you together,” she said softly. “Only once, but it was enough. So what’s really holding you back? Is it because you can’t forgive her for what she’s done?”

“No.” He shook his head, grinding his teeth as he struggled to keep his heart from breaking. “I lost my wife and child. I can’t go through that again.”

There it was. When he’d opened his heart and soul to Victoria, he never imagined he could lose her to the legal system. She’d be alive, but her life and her freedom would be taken away by the very agency he worked for. Back then, she’d had no one to turn to, and he’d left her alone. Ten years later, he’d done it again. “God, I fucked up.”

“You deserve to be happy.” Gina’s eyes filled with tears, and crap. His did, too. “You both do, so maybe it’s not too late to fix that.”

Maybe it wasn’t. Either way, he had to try to make this right. Before it was too late.

Chapter Thirty-Two

“Yuri!” Victoria grabbed the edge of the tub so she didn’t fall in. She’d known this could happen if she didn’t go into protective custody, so now it was time to suck it up and face her worst nightmare.

Her ex-husband.

The pitter-pattering dead center in her chest was her heart trying to beat its way out.

Aside from the thick beard he’d grown, he still looked the same, only more muscular. The harsh gleam in those dark brown eyes hadn’t changed. If anything, it was harder. His hair was slicked back with gel, emphasizing his brutal features. The dark pants and green long sleeve Whitney Florists shirt that looked ready to split at the seams explained how he’d gotten inside her building without her buzzing him in, but not how he’d gotten into her apartment.

“How did you get in here?” she asked automatically, though the details of his uninvited presence were of no consequence whatsoever.

“I learned a lot of useful trades in prison. I have you to thank for that.”

“Me?”

“Yes.” His lip curled in a vicious sneer. “You and that FBI agent you ran away with.”

“I didn’t run away with anyone. You nearly killed me! If you want to blame someone for putting you in jail, look in the mirror.”

Oh my God. Had she actually said that? Yes, and it had felt good. Triumphant!

“You pizda!”

Calling her a fucking bitch was something she’d gotten used to. His words no longer hurt, but when he took a step toward her, his fisted hand readying to strike her…

Survival instinct kicked in, but there was nothing in the bathroom that would qualify as a weapon. There was only one thing within her grasp—the toilet brush.

“Don’t touch me, you bastard!” She jumped up, raising the brush over her shoulder, fully intending to deliver a blow to his head. For whatever good that would do.

Yuri stopped, shock evident in his cruel face. How had she ever considered him handsome? The man standing before her was an ugly monster. If he came at her again, she’d do as much damage as a toilet brush could do, because things were different now. There was someone else to protect.

Her unborn child.

He froze, his eyes going ridiculously wide. “You, fighting back? Where is my frightened little field mouse, crying, begging my forgiveness?”

Clearly, he didn’t know who he was dealing with anymore. Calling her a frightened little field mouse and assuming she’d take it lying down again, only spurred her on more, unleashing the decade of rage inside her.

She raised the toilet brush higher over her shoulder.

“So, this is how it is going to be, Vika?”