Queen's Gambit (The Kings of Wayward Academy #5)

Chapter 1

The Crash

Y ulianna

My hands shook so badly that I didn’t think I could get the car started. Christov wasn’t supposed to wake up. Running was one thing, but killing him…shit. I should have upped the dose of the sleeping pills.

In the rearview mirror, Lilya held Mr. Bunny to her chest. She was rubbing his ear over her face, a habit she picked up to calm herself whenever she was scared or nervous.

The wipers squeaked back and forth, smudging long wet lines as the heavy snowflakes hit the windshield.

What the hell was going to happen now?

The car skidded a little, and my clammy hands tightened around the steering wheel. Flashing lights and signs warned of the road closure up ahead and sent my already panicking heart pounding out of control.

I couldn’t go back now, and I didn’t dare drive anywhere near anyone who would know me or my car or could have check points. To avoid that I would have to detour two hours into the country where there was no telling the condition of the roads.

Slowing down, I maneuvered around the roadblock. With the snow cover on the road, it was impossible to see a lane. The car shook as the winds picked up. I thought we were in the middle, but then we hit a drift, and a wall of white came up over the hood.

Making it through safely, I rolled my shoulders and looked back as Lilya hummed her favorite song. I couldn’t see anything out the rear window.

The car jerked again.

“Shit,” I swore as the wheel yanked violently.

“Mommy, you said a bad word,” Lilya gasped, her eyes wide. I smiled to reassure her.

“I know. I’m sorry ba…Ahhhhh.”

We hit a patch of black ice and spun like a top out of control. I slammed my foot down on the brakes, but the car picked up speed. I was powerless as we slid off the road. Lilya’s scream pierced the air as we barreled down the side of the snowy bank toward rushing water. We jerked to a sudden stop, my chest hitting the steering wheel as the grill smashed into a tree. I stared in disbelief as it bowed but didn’t break with the weight of the car. We were halfway into the fast moving water with only the back tires still on land.

God help us, this tiny tree is the only thing keeping us from being swept away to our deaths.

“Ouch,” Lilya cried.

I looked over my shoulder to see her bottom lip jutted out and big tears glistening in her eyes.

Fumbling with my phone and swearing in my head, I tried to calm the terror threatening to take over.

“It’s okay, baby. It’s going to be okay. I’m calling for help,” I said to calm Lilya. I didn’t want to scare her any more than she already was.

Ice clumps thudded against the car as I stared out the passenger window at the water flowing toward us. Even though I couldn’t see very far in either direction, I knew that the deep creek we had crashed into was very dangerous this time of year. No one was allowed near it, and the few who had been too adventurous were not seen again until the spring thaw.

It seemed like it took forever for the phone to connect and ring.

“Hello?”

“Uncle Dimitri, it’s me, Yulianna. We need your help,” I said, running my hand through my hair as I fought off tears.

“I was wondering why you were running late. Everyone has already arrived at the hangar. What’s going on?”

“Things didn’t go as planned. I….” I lowered my voice. “I shot him.” My body quaked with the reality of what I’d done. Forced or not, this changed everything. “And we slid off the road. I’m really scared. Water is hitting the side of the car, if it pushes us….” I covered my mouth.

“Yulianna, pull yourself together. You protected yourself, and I don’t blame you. As for the car, I’m coming to get you. Send me your location.”

“The road was blocked off. I shouldn’t have gone around.”

“We’ll find you,” he said, and I could hear doors closing and a vehicle starting, including the roar of snowmobiles. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to get my growing fear under control. “Send me your location, Yulianna.”

I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “Okay.”

Pushing End , I quickly wiped away the tears and looked back at Lilya to give her a reassuring smile. “Did you hear that? Uncle Dimitri is coming to get us.”

She didn’t say anything, but her eyes—so like her father’s—were filled with fear. Lilya hugged her bunny tighter. I hated that I was running with her like a thief in the night. I should’ve left sooner.

“Hey, do you want to talk to Eddie?” Her eyes lit up, and she nodded. “Well, it was going to be a surprise, but the vacation is back on.”

“Really?” Lilya smiled wide, and my heart warmed.

I hated lying to Lilya about who her father was. Today was finally the day that we would make it right. We were going to live together as a family. It was all set. But now…I’d taken out that bitch Alina as part of the plan, but killing Christov wasn’t.

His men would be hunting me.

My father would be hunting me.

If I went to Eddie now, then Patricia’s family would be after us as well. He would be defending us from three major families. I’d created a war and dropped us right in the middle.

“Lets call him.”

Lilya bounced in her seat, and the car groaned.

“Oh, don’t move, baby,” I said, holding out my arm, and she stopped. “You’re not in trouble, just no bouncing. Okay?”

“Okay.”

My hands shook as I hit Eddie’s number. He picked up on the first ring.

“ Anima mia , thank God. Are you on the plane? I’m so excited to see you two. The car is set to pick you up.”

My lower lip trembled at the sound of his happy, hope-filled voice. I loved him so much that it physically hurt to think about never seeing him again. About him never seeing Lilya again.

“No, Eddie, we aren’t on the plane yet. You’re on speaker phone. Lilya wanted to say hi,” I said and unclipped my seatbelt to turn a little more. “Say hi, baby.”

“Hi, Eddie,” Lilya said excitedly. “Will you read me a story?”

He chuckled into the phone. “As soon as you arrive. It’s the first thing I’m going to do, bambina . Then, we’ll go to the beach and collect all the pretty shells,” Eddie said. I covered my mouth as Lilya cheered, her exuberance like a knife to my chest. “Do you have Mr. Bunny?”

“I do, but he’s getting cold.”

I bit my lip.

“Cold? Why is Mr. Bunny cold?”

“I’ll explain in a second,” I said, grabbing my extra sweater off the passenger seat. As slowly as possible, I got up on my knees and laid it over Lilya.

“Ana, what’s going on?”

I took him off speaker and brought the phone to my ear.

“We slid off the road, and we’re stuck in a ditch with rising water. The back end of the car is still on the bank, and the nose is pressed up against a tree. At any moment, the current could push us, and…Eddie…I’m so sorry.”

“Oh my god. Okay…shit. God, don’t you dare do this, not to them.” I heard the panic in his voice and knew he was pacing.

“I already called Dimitri, and he’s coming to get us.”

“Oh, thank you, Jesus. Is there water coming in the car?” I looked down. “Ana, tell me.”

“Yes.” I didn’t want to tell him how much or how fast, but there were already a few inches on the floor.

“Okay, what can I do? Do you want me to call the Italian consulate? They will send everyone.”

“No, they are too far away, and they’ll enlist the help of the police.”

“That’s okay. Right now, the most important thing is that you two are safe,” he said.

It sounded logical…would be logical at any other time.

“I can’t have them involved, Eddie. I just need to sit tight and wait for Dimitri.”

“I don’t understand. What are you not telling me, Ana?”

“I…I….” I broke down into sobs.

“Ana? Tell me.”

“I shot Christov,” I blurted out as tears rolled down my cheeks.

“Shit…it’s fine. We’ll figure it out once you get here.”

I shook my head. “Eddie, this puts you smack in the middle of a war.”

“I don’t care. I’ll kill anyone who tries to hurt my family. Trust me, I’ll keep you and Lilya safe.”

“But I do care. I care that we’ll live the rest of our lives on high alert and under the threat that, at any moment, the remaining Ivankovs may try to steal Lilya away to hurt us. Or that my father would rather kill me than be embarrassed. We can’t do that. It’s not fair to us, and it’s not fair to our daughter. Lilya deserves more than the suffering we’ve endured. I want her to have more.”

“What are you saying?”

“Eddie, it was bad enough with both of us getting a divorce to be together. We can handle that, but murder…we will be hunted for the rest of our lives. I can’t do that to us.”

“Ana…I don’t understand.”

“You know I love you with my whole heart. You and Lilya are my entire world, but I can’t worry every second of the day that the next time you leave for a meeting is when they attack you or us. You know they’ll never stop.”

“You’re going into hiding? Is that what you mean?”

Four inches of water now flooded the footwell. I pulled Lilya’s suitcase onto the passenger seat and tucked the phone between my ear and my shoulder. I unzipped her bag and looked inside for her winter mittens.

God, I loved how she’d always been such a good baby. Even now, she took them and put them on without question. I grabbed her thickly lined hat with the fur around the edge and held it.

Eddie had gotten it for her. He’d bought most of her favorite things. Even with an ocean separating them, the connection had always been there.

“Ana, please answer me. Are you running from me, too?”

Pain sliced through my chest, and I tried to stifle my cries. Walking away from Eddie was like tearing out half of my heart.

“Eddie, I’d never run from you. This isn’t something I want to do. It’s what I must do for Lilya.”

“Ana, no. Please don’t do this. I’m begging you. We’ll figure this out. I can’t be without you or my daughter. The past four years have been pure torture. I’m powerful enough now to protect us.”

That was partially true. He’d just taken over as the Don of Dons. But at twenty-five, he was the youngest, and there was still unrest surrounding him. He would need time to build the trust and security to hold the position. I was a wrecking ball—always had been. I talked him into having a baby with me even when we both knew the risks. I’d promised him that I would run and we would be together. If I went to him now, it would destroy everything he’d worked so hard to build. I couldn’t do it, not to him and not to Lilya.

“I’m sorry, Eddie, but I don’t want Lilya to grow up surrounded by guards twenty-four hours a day. She’ll never be able to do anything like a normal child again. She won’t be able to go to parties, the movies, or even school without heavy protection. Forget about shopping with friends, getting her hair done or anything else. Lilya will spend her life in a glass bubble, waiting for the walls to shatter. It will be impossible to build real friendships or date. Eddie…we lived only partially like that and felt smothered—wanting to run all the time, hating our lives. What do you think it will be like for her? I want Lilya to have a normal life. At least until she’s old enough to make choices for herself.”

“Ana, there will never be normal. Even if you manage to hide, they’ll never stop looking. If you hide from me, how can I protect you? I know you think that this is the right thing, but please don’t do this.”

The car shifted, and the metal groaned, making me jump.

“What the hell was that?” Eddie’s worry was evident through the phone.

“Oh god….we’re slipping.”

“Mommy,” Lilya cried, pointing at the window.

The rushing water was so high that it pressed against the window and came in around the door. A small crack spider-webbed across the glass as the pressure built.

“Oh my god, Dimitri isn’t going to make it in time.”

“Ana, can you get out of the car and onto the bank?”

Panic took over as I pictured us being swept away. If that happened, the car would fill, then sink, and we would both drown.

“Ana?” Eddie was frantic. “Answer me, Ana?”

“I don’t know. When I move, the car moves, Eddie. If I open the window and try to get out, it could dislodge us,” I said.

“Listen to me, Ana. Are you listening to me?”

“Yes,” I cried.

“You’re the strongest woman I know. You’re a complete badass who has handled more shit than anyone at the hands of Christov and survived. You’re a survivor. Hell, you’ve been kicking my ass since the day we met, and you’ll keep fighting. Nothing, not even some icy water, will hold you back.”

“I know, but I’m scared.” My eyes shut as I tried to temper my fear.

“Ana, the most important thing is that you two get out of that car alive. Everything else…we’ll figure out, no matter what. I will always, always love you, Ana. You and Lilya are my heart and soul. But crying won’t do either of you any good. Pull yourself together and get the hell out of there. Right now.”

“But Eddie, what if I never see you again?”

“We will. Now go, Ana. Go. Right now. I promise that we’ll be together one day.”

“I will always love you, Eddie.”

“And I love you, anima mia . Now go!”