Chapter 98
1897words
Killing him isn't something I relish, but it's going to happen sooner or later.
That sentence chases me through the cabin. It follows me down the hall, past the ice-fogged windows, around the carefully crafted wooden benches built into the walls. It's on my heels like a dog on the hunt all the way to the bedroom I've been sharing with Asher.
I stare around at the space for half a second before retreating.
No, I can't be in there.
I can't be anywhere that feels like him.
The cabin is large enough that ducking into a guest bedroom isn't hard. I have my pick from the bunch. They're all similar in design. All I care about is the white bed in the middle of the room.
Killing him isn't something I relish, but it's going to happen sooner or later.
How can he say that? My head is being pulled apart by pressure. I'm trying not to cry from frustration and disappointment. From the pocket of my sweater dress, I tug out my phone. I'm halfway to dialing when I remember the obvious. Plucking the prayer beads off my wrist, I stuff them under the pillow. Asher shouldn't be able to spy on me now.
'Adriana," I say into the phone. My voice is tight and high, even though I'm trying to whisper. I suck in air, shaking, working to calm myself down. 'I need to talk."
'Hey, yeah, of course!" she replies quickly. 'I'm here. Tell me what's going on. Are you crying?"
Wiping my eyes, I force the tears to stop. 'It's about Asher."
There's a quick beat of dead air. 'Wait, wait, first thing, are you safe?" she asks in a low tone, the speaker crackling. I can picture her pushing the phone tighter against her ear.
'Yeah."
'Okay, just making sure," she sighs in relief. 'Go ahead."
'I'm not even sure how to start. It's a lot."
'Just take your time. Did Asher … do something to you?"
She can't see me do it, but I shake my head vehemently. 'No. Not exactly. It's more about what he might do."
'All right …" she trails off, leaving the word hanging in the air.
Sucking in a large breath, I ease it out through my pressed lips. Just tell her. It's not like it's a secret anymore. 'Do you remember what I told you about Pyotr? How he was Yannick's son and Asher had to kill him?"
'How could I forget?" she asks grimly.
'Well, Pyotr wasn't Yannick's only son. He has another one, a ten-year-old named Roman."
'Wait, this other kid is alive?"
'Yes, though at the rate things are going …" I stop myself before I head down a road that will start me crying again. 'Adriana," I say seriously, 'Asher says what he's doing will save my mom and end the war, but part of his plan involves killing Roman."
Her sharp inhalation hurts my ears. 'Is he serious?"
'Yes," I groan in agreement. Tucking my legs under myself on the bed, I hunch tighter around my phone. My eyes dart to the door, worried someone might walk in on me. 'Roman doesn't deserve any of this; he hasn't done anything wrong."
'But why does Asher want him dead? Yannick I can understand, but this?"
Picturing the group in the other room plotting away, I frown. 'He said something about Roman being initiated into the Bratva. I don't know how that works. But it's clear what the implication will be. Once initiated, he'll take over after Yannick dies. I don't understand the logic here, but I also don't care to." Bracing myself for my next reveal, I swallow the lump in my throat. 'And one more thing … Roman is my little brother."
'Camila!" Adriana cries out, loud enough that I cup my hand over the speaker nervously. 'What the fuck!"
In a hushed tone, I say, 'I have to save him no matter what, but I don't have any idea how to do it."
'Can you do anything from where you are?" she asks.
Remembering how I was rebuffed in the room by Kostya, then Mila, I grit my teeth. 'No."
'Then the first thing we have to do is find a way to get you out of there. Asher is too dangerous."
My neck twinges painfully. 'This isn't about Asher."
'Isn't it?" she shouts. 'He's the one planning to kill a ten-year-old!"
'Like I said, it's complicated!" I hiss under my breath.
Her sigh is long and exaggerated. It makes me blush to have her casually hint at how ridiculous I'm being by begging her for help while still defending Asher. 'It's really not, but fine; let's just focus on how to get you away from wherever you are."
'I'm at a safe house. I don't know the location."
'Is there anyone you can talk to who does?"
Chewing the corner of my lip, I look at the ceiling. Finding no answers, I gaze around the room while racking my brain. I see the inside of the bathroom from where I am. There's a cabinet with handles that reminds me of the one in my bathroom back at the mansion.
Wait. I perk up excitedly. 'Not anyone that I can talk to, but you can."
'What?"
'Layla must know this place. Adriana, I need you to do something for me."
'Of course. Just tell me."
'There's something in my bathroom at the mansion. Something that Layla knows about. I need her to bring it to me." I freeze, thinking my plan through carefully. 'There are security cameras around the cabin. She'll have to come up with a ruse for why she's visiting … Tell her to bring me something, like some really comfy compression socks. My feet are killing me with all this water retention, so it's not even a lie."
'Wait, what is it?" she asks.
I don't have to tell her this. Biting the inside of my cheek, I weigh the upside to keeping this part of my plan a secret. 'The less you know, the safer you'll be. I promise."
God, I sound like him!
'Camila! You can't be serious. Are you actually keeping secrets from me now?"
'I'm sorry, Adriana," I say. 'But it's the only way."
Turning my head slightly, I stare at the wooden walls. Through them, some distance away, Asher is in a room, debating the pros and cons of murder. My fingers tighten on the phone and my breath comes quicker. 'It's the only way to stop Asher from crossing the line that he'll never come back from."
Hours pass before Layla arrives. Asher has already departed with Mila and his brigadiers, off on some mission for intel so they can track down Yannick. There's no one posted to stop her from walking straight to the door and knocking.
In a way, this location is more vulnerable than the mansion. There are no hordes of armed guards, no miles of razor-tipped fence. All we have are a few cameras and a single guard that Asher left behind. A guard who's already fallen asleep while watching TV streaming on the spotty wi-fi on his phone.
'Layla!" I gush, grabbing her in a grateful hug once she's inside.
'How are you?" she asks.
'I'm fine, but what about you? I heard the mansion was raided by the cops."
Her eyes crinkle from her pleased smile. 'They thought it was a raid, but it was more an excuse to have someone else turn over all the furniture to save me the work. The place has never been so clean, not a spot of dust anywhere."
Laughing with my whole chest, I step back from her, my hands still on her shoulders. 'I'm glad you're all right. Did you bring?—"
'The socks? Of course." She passes me the bundle, looking at me meaningfully. I take the socks, feeling through the middle. My thumb rubs the hard edge of the tiny SIM card. Anything caught on the security cameras won't spoil my plan.
'Thank you," I say genuinely.
'I hope they help your swollen feet. Asher should be taking better care of you."
I manage a mild smile. 'He's doing what he can. It's safe to talk if we whisper. He isn't here, the guard is passed out, and those cameras can't catch our audio." I saw that for myself when I spotted Asher reviewing the footage with Mila earlier. They complained that they needed to upgrade the tech at this location.
Layla ducks her head and crinkles her eyebrows. 'In that case, devushka … I know what that thing is. Are you certain you've thought this through?"
My pulse skyrockets at this. I study her face, trying to work out how she could possibly have figured out what I'm up to. Did Adriana tell her? No, wait. Calm down. She knows it's a SIM card, but she can't know it's to contact Yannick. 'Thought through what?" I ask innocently.
'Please don't insult my intelligence." She grips my hands and squeezes them. It's a pleading gesture, but it also hurts, like she's trying to shock me awake. 'I've spent my life in proximity to the Bratva. I know what you're about to do."
Our eyes meet—she frowns, and I know she's seen through my game. Dropping my hands, I let out an exhausted sigh. 'If Kristina was alive, she wouldn't want Asher to taint his hands with the blood of a child."
'Yes," she admits. 'But have you thought about the consequences?" Layla suddenly looks very drained. The energy has been siphoned from her, and I feel awful for not noticing until now. Between covering for me, dealing with the police raid, fighting with Asher, and keeping more of my secrets, she's gone thin as stretched chewing gum. If I'm not careful, she'll tear.
'You're about to make a deal with the devil," she says softly.
Scrunching up my nose, I hug the socks tight to my chest. 'I know, but what choice do I have left?"
She cradles my face and starts speaking again. 'Actions have consequences, devushka. Unintended ones. Think about the lives you'll be risking. Your mother?—"
'Is a survivor," I cut her off. I am too. 'Please, I have to do this."
Her shoulders round lower. 'I understand. I just wish I could talk you out of it."
'I know how frustrating it is to not be able to reason with people." I smile sadly, thinking of Asher. I speak clearly and calmly as I smile at Layla. But she doesn't smile back. 'Thank you for helping me. You should leave before Asher returns and sees you here. He'll have questions that are harder to dodge in person."
'Then I suppose we're back to sharing secrets."
I cringe as new thorns prick my heart. 'I'm sorry."
'Don't be. Just pray these secrets don't cause more harm than good." The frozen air invades the house when she opens the door. It swirls around me, but I'm already cold. A shiver runs through me; it's erratic, and my teeth chatter.
Like she's trying to warm me up, or perhaps because she's afraid this is the last time we'll speak, Layla grabs me in a solid hug. She rubs my back the way my mother used to.
'Good luck," she whispers. 'Camila Marakov."
