Chapter 33 Aurelia
AURELIA
Julian’s standing at his office window with a gun in his hand. Not holstered. Just held loosely at his side while he stares out at the street below like he’s waiting for something to happen.
I stop in the doorway. “What’s going on?”
He doesn’t turn around. “Close the door.”
I do. I walk closer. “Julian.”
“The Petrovs are active again.”
The name hits me like ice water. Petrov. Six years ago. Cassian standing over Dmitri Petrov’s body with a gun still smoking. Blood spreading across pavement. People screaming.
Then hands grabbing me, dragging me away before I could process what I’d witnessed.
“How active?” My voice comes out steadier than I feel.
“They’ve been running surveillance on Cassian for at least two weeks. Mapping his routines. Asking questions about his family.”
“Do they know about the boys?”
“We don’t know what they know. But they’re looking.”
I sink into the chair across from his desk because my legs won’t hold me anymore.
The Petrovs. The family whose heir Cassian killed.
The organization that swore revenge and then went quiet for six years.
They’re moving again. And my sons are targets because their father put a bullet in Dmitri Petrov’s head.
“Where are the boys now?” I ask.
“Playroom. Nadia’s with them. Four guards on rotation inside the house, six outside. No one gets on or off this property without going through security.”
“That’s not enough.”
“It’s what we have right now.”
“We need to leave. Take them somewhere the Petrovs can’t find us.”
Julian finally turns to face me. “And go where? They found Cassian after he’s been careful for twenty years. You think they won’t find you?”
“Then what do we do? Just sit here and wait for them to move?”
“We prepare. We coordinate with Cassian’s people. We make sure if they try anything, we’re ready.”
I stand up. Can’t sit still anymore. “I need to talk to him.”
“He’ll be here in an hour. I already called.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Because you would have panicked. Like you’re doing now.”
“My children are in danger, Julian. I’m allowed to panic.”
“Your children are safe. That’s what matters.”
But his hand is still on that gun, and that tells me everything I need to know about how safe we actually are.
I leave his study and head to the playroom. The boys have built an elaborate fort using every cushion in the house. Blankets draped over furniture create walls and a roof. Finn’s inside explaining the fort’s defense systems to Liam, who’s adding modifications.
“This part is the lookout tower,” Finn says, pointing to a stack of pillows. “And this is where we keep the weapons.”
“What weapons?” Liam asks.
“Nerf guns. Obviously.”
Nadia’s sitting on the floor nearby, watching them with that soft expression she gets whenever she’s with the boys. She looks up when I enter and immediately reads my face. “You talked to Julian.”
I nod.
She stands and walks over, voice low enough that the boys can’t hear. “They’re safe here. Julian’s made sure of it.”
“For how long? The Petrovs waited six years. They’re patient.”
“Then we’ll be patient too.”
“I can’t just sit here waiting for them to strike.”
“What’s the alternative?”
“Taking them somewhere the Petrovs can’t reach.”
“There’s nowhere like that. Not really. These organizations have connections everywhere.”
“Then we keep moving. Make it harder to track us.”
“And take them away from their father? Away from the life they’re just starting to build here?”
The question stops me cold. She’s right. Running means taking the boys away from Cassian again. Means uprooting them from the stability they’ve finally found. Means going back to exactly what we escaped. But staying means putting them in danger.
I don’t have a good answer.
The boys notice me standing there and Finn waves from inside the fort. “Mam! Come see! We made a secret entrance!”
I paste on a smile and crawl into their fort. Let them show me every detail of their construction. Pretend everything is fine while terror sits in my chest like a stone.
An hour later, Cassian arrives. Julian brings him to the sitting room where I’m waiting. The boys are still in the playroom with Nadia, oblivious to the tension crackling through the house.
Cassian looks at me and I see the same fear I’m feeling reflected in his eyes. “Julian told you,” he says.
“Why didn’t you?”
“I was handling it.”
“Handling it? They’re watching you. Asking about your family. And you didn’t think I needed to know?”
“I didn’t want to scare you.”
“Well I’m scared now! My sons are in danger because you killed Dmitri Petrov six years ago and his family wants revenge!”
“Our sons. And yes, they’re in danger. Which is why I’ve doubled security and have people watching every approach to this estate.”
“Security isn’t enough. We need to leave. Take them somewhere safe.”
His expression hardens. “No.”
“No?”
“I just got them back. I’m not letting you disappear with them again.”
“This isn’t about you! This is about keeping them safe!”
“And you think running is the answer? You think the Petrovs won’t find you?”
“At least we’d be moving. At least we’d be doing something instead of sitting here waiting to be attacked!”
“You want to do something? Trust me to protect them.”
I laugh. Sharp and bitter. “Trust you? The man who tried to kidnap them from school?”
“That was different and you know it.”
“No. No. You’re still the man who takes what he wants and deals with consequences later.”
“And you’re still the woman who runs the moment things get difficult.”
The words hit like a slap. We stare at each other across the sitting room, years of resentment and fear and mistrust boiling over.
Julian clears his throat. “This isn’t helping.”
“Stay out of it,” we both say at the same time.
He holds up his hands and leaves the room.
I turn back to Cassian. “I have spent years protecting them. Keeping them hidden and safe. And now they’re in danger anyway because of you.”
“Because of me? You’re the one who witnessed the shooting! You’re the one the Petrovs saw being taken that night! They know you’re connected to me and they’ll use that!”
“Then what do you suggest? We just wait here for them to make their move?”
“Yes. We wait. We prepare. And when they come, we end them.”
“And if they get to the boys first?”
“They won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I won’t let it happen.”
“You can’t promise that!”
“Watch me.”
We’re both breathing hard. Standing too close. Anger and fear bleed into each other until I can’t tell which is which.
“I can’t lose them,” I say quietly. “I can’t watch them get hurt because of the choices we made.”
“Neither can I. Which is why I’m doing everything possible to keep them safe.”
“Everything except letting me take them away from here.”
“Because running won’t save them. It’ll just delay the inevitable. The Petrovs won’t stop until they get what they want.”
“Then what do they want?”
“Me. They want revenge for Dmitri.”
“So give it to them. Turn yourself in. End this before it touches our sons.”
He stares at me. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m completely serious. If you’re the target, remove yourself from the equation.”
“And let them kill me? Make our sons grow up without a father?”
“Better than making them grow up dead!”
The words hang between us. Too far. I went too far. But I can’t take them back.
Cassian’s expression goes cold. Shuts down completely. “Is that really what you think of me? That I’m worth less than nothing to them?”
“That’s not what I meant—”
“It’s exactly what you meant. You’d rather they have no father than have me.”
“I’d rather they be alive.”
“They will be. Because I’m not going anywhere. And neither are you.”
He walks out. The front door slams hard enough to rattle the windows.
I stand alone in the sitting room with my heart racing and tears burning behind my eyes. I didn’t mean it. Didn’t mean he should sacrifice himself. But the fear is eating me alive, and I don’t know what else to do.
Julian appears in the doorway. “That went well.”
“Don’t.”
“You told him to turn himself over to the Petrovs. What did you think would happen?”
“I don’t know! I’m terrified, and I don’t know how to fix this!”
He crosses the room and pulls me into a hug. I break down against his chest. Years of fear and running and hiding are finally catching up.
“We’ll figure it out,” he says quietly. “But you can’t push him away. The boys need both of you.”
“I know.”
“Then fix it. Before this gets worse.”
But I don’t know how to fix it when I’m this scared. Don’t know how to trust Cassian to keep us safe when the threat is this real.
That night, I check on the boys three times before midnight.
They’re both asleep. Safe in their beds with security posted outside their door.
But I can’t shake the feeling that we’re running out of time.
That the Petrovs are out there somewhere, watching, waiting.
And when they move, nothing we’ve done will be enough to stop them.