Chapter 48
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
SLOANE
With the boys already dropped off at school the next day, I pace through the den, waiting for Kirill’s brothers to arrive. The wedding is happening tonight with only his family here, but that isn’t why they’re coming.
Kirill told me he has a plan for Eli, and that he needs his brothers to help carry it out. He’s already told them who I am and what I’ve been running from, but he wanted to go over everything in person.
No matter how hard I try to calm myself, I can’t shake this sense that something is going to go horribly wrong. Maybe it’s fear. Maybe it’s instinct. Either way, the dread sitting in my chest won’t go away.
He comes up behind me, his hands settling on my arms before moving gently up and down. “Everything will be okay.”
“I don’t know.” I turn to him and let out a strained exhale. “You have no idea what Eli is capable of.”
He cups my chin, making me look at him. “And I assure you, what my brothers and I are capable of will make anything he does look like child’s play.”
“I want to believe you, I do, but…”
The doorbell rings before I can finish, and my pulse jumps.
They’re here.
“Don’t worry.” His thumb brushes my jaw. “They’ll love you. And you already met Aleksei that time at the diner. I’m sure you remember.”
Of course I remember. But that doesn’t stop the nerves from skittering through me. It’s not every day you meet the head of the Russian Mob, and I’m almost positive terrifying doesn’t begin to cover it.
When the three of them roll in, I’m not even sure where to look first. The tallest one reaches first, a surprisingly warm grin on his face as he takes my hand and lifts it to his mouth.
“I’m Konstantin.”
Well…he doesn’t seem nearly as terrifying as I expected.
“Watch where you put your mouth, bratik,” Kirill teases, though I swear his face tenses.
Konstantin chuckles. “I am just very happy to finally meet the famous Sloane. I have heard so much about you from Aleksei here.”
He gestures toward the dark-haired man I already met, while Aleksei’s cunning brown eyes assess me.
“I didn’t realize you already knew about me,” I tell Konstantin.
“Of course,” Aleksei says this time. “I told him as soon as I met you. It’s not every day Kirill starts chasing a waitress.”
Kirill’s nostril flare. “Ignore him. He talks too much.”
“I only speak the truth.”
“And you’re about to stop speaking altogether if you keep it up.”
Before Aleksei can answer, Kirill motions toward the last brother, the one who’s been standing there in silence, watching everything with an expression that makes me instantly uneasy.
“This is my youngest brother, Anton. He doesn’t talk much. You will learn that about him.”
Good to know…
Anton doesn’t even react to what Kirill said.
“Uh, hi…” I throw on a small smile and hold out my hand anyway.
He glares down at it, gaze narrowing, like I’ve offered him something suspicious instead of a handshake.
Kirill lets out a short laugh. “Take my wife’s hand. It won’t bite.”
Anton smirks, giving him a death stare instead. “How do you marry someone you don’t even know?”
That’s a great question. I’m wondering the very same thing…
Kirill throws an arm around me, drawing me to his side. “I was going to marry her at one point, anyway. Why not just speed up the process?”
Well, I guess that’s romantic, right?
“Ah, love.” Konstantin sighs. “There is nothing like it, my brother.” He slaps Anton on the back. “One day, you’ll find it too. I believe that. I really do.”
The way he says it makes it feel like there’s more behind it.
“You’re funny.” Anton doesn’t so much as crack a smile. “Love isn’t something I will ever go looking for. I’m fine with the way things are.”
Konstantin studies him for a few seconds. “Whatever he did to you, it can be undone.”
Who? Their father? Oh God, I can just imagine…
“Enough.” Anton’s tone sharpens, and Konstantin raises his hands in surrender.
Kirill steps in before it can go any further. “Let’s focus on why I brought you here. I have a plan for Eli. It comes with risks, but—”
Konstantin lets out a short laugh. “Of course we’ll help. There’s no question about that. We’ll protect Sloane and her child like they’re our own. When do you want to move?”
I don’t know why his words bring tears to my eyes, but I can’t help it. Maybe it’s the way they love and support each other. Maybe it’s because it now feels like I have the family I never had before.
I squeeze Kirill’s hand, and he squeezes back before lifting it to his mouth as he starts laying out the plan.
“So, you want me to pretend I stole the ledger and send a picture of it?” I mull it over in my head.
He nods. “You will tell him that you want to meet in the park in three days, but we will ambush him in two. I know where he’s been hiding.” He looks at his brothers then. “He doesn’t have too many men with him. Ten, maybe. It will be easy.”
“And Barrett?” I ask.
“Barrett will also be dealt with. I promise.”
“Are you gonna kill them?”
Well, that was a stupid question. What else is he going to do? Have a heart-to-heart? Do they look like the kind of men who do that?
Anton lets out a dry chuckle like he finds me entertaining, but one sharp look from Kirill shuts him up. Mostly. Minus the small smirk he’s still wearing.
“I don’t want you to worry,” Kirill adds. “All you need to do is send the text. In fact, give me the phone. I’ll do it.”
“No.” I shake my head. “I should send it. If he gets suspicious, I don’t want it to be because the message doesn’t sound like me.” I swallow. “What do you want me to say?”
“Tell him you have the ledger and that you can meet in three days. If he fights you on when, just tell him I’m going to be out of town that day, so it will be easier for you to get away.”
“Okay.”
Every muscle in my body winds up, my thoughts spinning, but I still unlock my phone, open the messages, and type.
Sloane
I have it. Can you meet in 3 days? He will be out of town.
Eli
I wanna see it.
I roll my eyes and hold the phone up so Kirill can read it.
“Predictable,” he scoffs, removing the ledger from his jacket pocket.
I take it from him, snap a quick photo, hand it back, and send the picture.
Then we wait. A few seconds pass, then a few more, and the silence stretches long enough to make my nerves crawl. No one else seems rattled by it. I guess they’re used to living with threats hanging over their heads. I’m not.
Kirill’s hand settles on my thigh and gives it a firm squeeze. “You and the boys will go to our safe house tomorrow morning.”
I turn to him. “Wait, why? We won’t be safe here?”
“It’s a precaution. Nothing more.” His thumb moves once against my leg. “My men will go with you and stay there until this is finished. There are already more guards at the property.”
“You’re not coming with us?”
Suddenly, this fear that something will happen to him grips me and doesn’t let go.
“If he sees that I’m not at work, he could get suspicious.”
“Crap. You’re right.” My fingers close around his forearm. “Just promise me you’ll be careful. I hate that I’m putting you at risk because of my mistakes.” My gaze shifts to the others. “All of you. I’m so sorry.”
“Net, dorogaya. Do not apologize.” Konstantin shakes his head. “Whatever you have done, it doesn’t matter. We all have done things to survive.”
Aleksei smirks. “We are used to blood. Don’t worry about us. We will be fine. Your friends, on the other hand? Not so much.”
“They’re definitely not my friends.”
“After we take care of them…” Konstantin adds. “We have to have a proper wedding for you both. Emilia and I would be happy to help you plan if you’d like.”
I can barely think about the ceremony tonight, let alone some big celebration after this, but I don’t want to seem rude. “That sounds nice. Thank you.”
Kirill lifts my hand and kisses my knuckles, his eyes searching mine. “Everything is going to be okay. You’ll see.”
I want to believe him. I really do. But the dread won’t let go. It stays there, coiled in my chest, whispering that something is going to go terribly wrong, and all we’ll have left is the shattered pieces of the aftermath.
The gowns arrive not long after his brothers leave, some hanging from a portable rack, others spread across my bed waiting for me to try them on. I just stand there, staring at them like they belong in someone else’s life.
Ivory and lace and silk spill across the comforter in soft, expensive folds, each dress somehow more beautiful than the last.
“There are a few styles here in a few different sizes,” Claudette, the woman from the Ralph Lauren store, says. “Is there one you’re leaning toward so we can start there?”
Two other women stand quietly behind her while I move toward the dress that’s held my attention since the moment they unpacked it.
My fingers skim over the lace, taking in the strapless bodice and the way the skirt flares slightly at the bottom. Even though I have no idea how it’ll look on me, something about it makes me want to see.
“This one.”
“That’s a lovely choice.” Claudette lifts it carefully from the bed.
A few minutes later, she’s helping me into it, guiding the fabric over my hips and fastening the corset back while I try not to think too hard about the fact that this is actually happening.
When I step toward the full-length mirror, I can’t help but grin.
The dress fits better than I expected, the lace hugging my waist before falling softly around my legs in a way that feels elegant without being too much. Claudette studies my reflection.
“You know…” she says from behind me. “I think this is the one.”
“Yeah.” I keep staring at myself, my smile growing. “I think this is the one too.”
I don’t even bother trying on the others. The second I decide, the women get to work adjusting the hem, pinning and measuring until everything sits exactly right before helping me slip it off so they can finish altering it properly.
Tonight, I’ll be married. My life will look nothing like I once thought it would.
Part of me wonders if I’ll ever be able to be honest with anyone about who I am now, about the life I’m stepping into. If I can even tell Mandy.
Then again, she’d probably think the whole thing was wild and romantic and shrug it off like it’s nothing.
Then there’s Milo. I haven’t even told him I’m getting married. He’s still young enough that I’m not sure he’d care all that much, but that doesn’t change what this means. It will shape his life too, tying him to a world far more dangerous than the one he came from.
And still, somewhere deep down, I know I’m making the right choice. Even if Kirill didn’t exactly leave me one.
Hours pass before the women finally leave. The dress hangs in the closet while I lie back on the bed, staring at the ceiling and hoping Kirill’s plan for Eli goes smoothly, and that once it’s over we can all finally breathe a little easier.
I roll onto my side and close my eyes, trying to quiet my mind, when my phone suddenly buzzes on the nightstand. The sound makes me jump.
I reach for it, expecting maybe Kirill or Mandy, but the second I see the screen, a groan slips out of me.
Camille.
Just ignore her.
She’s probably calling to tell me what a shit mother I am for being with Kirill, and I have no desire to hear it. But then a small knot of worry forms because even after everything she’s said to me, after the way she’s treated me, some part of me wonders if something’s wrong.
I shouldn’t care. She’s never cared about me. But I’m not her.
“Hello?”
“Sloane.” Her voice comes through rushed and uneven. I’ve never heard my sister like this.
“What’s wrong?” I sit up so fast the bed creaks.
“Eli… H-he was just here.”
My whole body goes cold. “What?”
“He came asking all kinds of questions about you.” She exhales harshly. “Asking if I knew where you’re living. If you’ve taken Milo back. He kept accusing me of lying, and then—” She breaks off, sucking in a shaky cry. “He threw me against the wall. I thought he was going to kill me.”
“Oh my God. Are you okay? Do you need to see a doctor?”
“No, no, I-I’m fine. Just scared.” She pauses. “But I didn’t say anything, okay? I wouldn’t.”
A rush of gratitude hits me. “Thanks.”
“He was going to go upstairs to check if Milo was there, but I told him Milo was sick and he shouldn’t scare him.”
My heart rate batters while images flash through my mind and I recall the way Eli’s temper would explode without warning. The things I’ve seen him do when someone gets in his way.
“He’s insane,” she says.
“I know.” My eyes shut, and I try to calm down. “Maybe go to a hotel or something in the meantime in case he comes back.”
“No,” she says immediately. “I’m not leaving my home for that asshole. I’ve been running from them enough.”
Part of me wants to argue with her. Another part knows she won’t listen.
“Sloane, just be careful, okay?” she tells me.
And the strange thing is, it sounds like she actually means it.
“I will. I’ll be heading out of town tomorrow morning for a bit.”
“That’s good. Keep Milo safe, and please don’t get yourself killed.”
A small huff of laughter leaves me. “I thought you wanted me dead.”
“I…” She hesitates. “That was wrong to say. I’m…sorry.”
The apology catches me off guard.
“I appreciate that. I’ll talk to you later, Camille.”
“Okay…bye.”
The line goes dead and I lower the phone, staring at it, still surprised by the whole conversation. Maybe this finally scared some sense into her.
Or maybe by tomorrow, she’ll go right back to hating me.