24. Chapter 24
The shrill ring of the phone pierces the silence. I freeze, my pulse quickening. I already know who it is before I even glance at the caller ID.
I steel myself and answer.
”Privet, Alina,” Luchenko growls, his gravelly voice dripping with false warmth. ”I hope you”re finding your new life to your liking.”
My stomach twists. He”s toying with me.
”What do you want?” I ask sharply. Don”t show weakness.
I don”t even bother to ask how he got this number. His access to resources is insane.
Luchenko chuckles. ”No need for hostility, meelaya.”
I shudder at this term of endearment that he insists on using despite my protests.
”I”m simply calling to remind you that I am Yara”s father. I have every legal right to see her, as I”m sure you remember. The fact you got her out of the country is… displeasing.”
The threat beneath his words makes my blood run cold. He has connections across the globe. If he wanted to take Yara, he could. There wouldn”t be anything I could do to stop him. And he knows I know.
I clench the phone tightly, my knuckles white. ”You will never lay a hand on her,” I spit out through gritted teeth. ”I”ll die before I let you near her again.”
”We shall see,” he says softly. ”You know you can”t hide from me forever, dorogaya.”
The line goes dead.
I lower the phone with a shaking hand. Luchenko”s call has further shattered the fragile sense of security I”ve tried to build here… and that was already decimated by Gerald.
Luchenko is right—he has eyes everywhere. Nowhere is safe. Not from him. Not from Gerald, either.
My attempt to put us in a better situation now has us in the firing line of not just one formidable man, but two.
I glance over at Yara, listening to music contentedly on the living room couch. My heart constricts.
I have to protect her from both of them, no matter what it takes.