Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
ANTON
Konstantin calls me to his office three days after the meeting with the Whitlocks. He doesn’t say why, but I already knew from the moment I walked in.
I close the door behind me and stand across from him, arms loose at my sides, waiting for the order.
This is what I’ve always done: get an order and carry it out. I never ask questions unless the answer changes the way someone dies. But Thora is not another job anymore.
Konstantin peers down at the papers before he shoves them to the corner of his desk. “Thank you for coming, brother. Have a seat.”
“I’ll stand.”
He slices a hand in the air. “Of course.” His gaze remains on me for a beat longer before he says the words I’ve been waiting for since he gave me her photo. “The girl. It’s time.”
The room goes quiet, but the thoughts in my head scream louder.
“When?” My fingers flex once at my side, her photo that I always carry burning a hole in my pants pocket.
“A week. Two, tops. But no more. Understand?”
“Da.” I stare at him a little too long.
Konstantin leans back in his chair, watching me with a narrowed stare, which only makes me grow more uncomfortable.
What is he thinking? Does he think I’m weak? Because I’m not.
Then what are you?
My mother’s face appears in front of me, as though warning me not to go through with it, but I push her away.
“How do you want it done?” The words taste like metal.
“Painlessly.” He crosses his arms. “It’s not her fault her father didn’t see reason. But after it’s done, don’t dispose of her. Carve her up and dump her remains at their door. Starting with her head. I want Harlan to understand he couldn’t protect what mattered most.”
My vision blurs around the edges.
I can’t do it. I would kill anyone else in that family without a second thought. But not her.
The certainty of it pummels through me, a feeling I don’t recognize because I have never disobeyed an order from my brother. Not once.
Not until Thora Whitlock bulldozed through the carefully ordered world I’ve always lived in.
“Consider it handled.” I lie so easily, even I almost buy it.
He studies me a little too long, his fingers tapping once against his desk. “No mistakes, Anton.”
“There won’t be.”
A small smirk crawls across his face. “I can always trust you to get the job done. Just like Father did.”
I nod, even as everything in me is already working the problem, trying to figure out how the hell I can keep her safe before Konstantin realizes I can’t hurt her. Because once he does, he’ll send someone else. And if he makes me choose, he will not like what happens next.
I turn toward the door, ready to leave, when his voice stops me.
“Anton.”
I pause before opening it, my back still to him.
“If there is anything I should know, tell me now.”
My grip tightens. There are a hundred things he should know. That I have touched her. That I want to do it again until my very last breath. That I have held her in my arms and thought, for the first time in my life, that there might be something left in me that our father didn’t manage to kill.
I turn my head enough to look at him over my shoulder. “There’s nothing.”
“Ladno.” Fine. He nods. “Let me know when it’s done.”
I leave before he can read anything on my face. The second I’m outside, the need to see her takes over. My bike roars to life, and I tear down the driveway, already knowing where I’m going.
To her.
By the time I pull up outside her place, I already know she isn’t there. I’ve tried calling and texting her since I saw her at the Whitlock meeting, but she hasn’t responded once and hasn’t even been back to her house since then.
Why? What happened? Is she doing this on purpose because I ignored her first?
Does she actually think disappearing will keep me away from her?
She should thank me instead. I’m not good enough for her.
My fingers cinch around the handlebars as I sit in front of the house, staring at the dark windows. She’s probably at the farm, exactly where she should be now that Konstantin has put a target on her head. She’s safer there than she would ever be here.
Maybe I can ride up there and see her. Talk to her.
The thought is already settling when I pull out my phone and open her name, staring at the last text I sent.
Anton
Call me. We need to talk.
I start to type again, not even sure what the fuck I’m supposed to say, before deleting the whole thing and hitting call instead.
It rings once, then goes to voicemail.
Nu blyat. She ignored it.
A curse rips out of me as I slam my fist against the handlebar, making the bike jolt. All I want to do is force my way onto the farm and make sure she’s safe. But her family would see me and Konstantin would hear about it before I made it back, which is the last thing I need.
Instead, I start the bike and keep my eyes fixed on the dark windows as I pull away.
She can’t stay behind those gates forever, and the second she leaves, I’ll be right behind her.
THORA
A chill skates over my arms as I leave the paddock and glance toward the tree line, half expecting to find someone there even though the only thing moving is the grass beneath the afternoon breeze.
I know exactly who I expect to see, even though that’s ridiculous. Anton wouldn’t be here.
Still, the uneasy feeling follows me all the way back to the house, crawling along my skin, and by the time I make it inside, I head straight upstairs and lock my bedroom door behind me.
My phone burns in my palm, the screen lighting up with his missed call and the texts I haven’t answered.
There’s nothing left to say. He used me.
That’s all that was. None of it meant shit to him.
So no, I won’t waste my time telling him off.
If he wants to know why I have no desire to speak to him, he can figure it out himself.
I have far more dignity than to chase a man who said those things about me.
But as soon as I open my phone and read his texts, I squeeze my eyes shut and clutch it against my chest. I don’t know how long I can keep ignoring him, or how long I can keep avoiding my other home.
He didn’t just rip apart whatever I thought we had. He took that place from me too, because I know the second I show up there, he will too.
“Aunt Thora!” Rue’s voice carries up from downstairs.
Crap. Jace was bringing her over today, and I promised I’d watch her while he handles some business.
Some company I’m going to be.
“Aunt Thora? Are you here?” Rue calls again, followed by the sound of small footsteps scurrying through the foyer. “Daddy, I don’t think she’s home, so that means you don’t have to go to your silly meeting and you can go riding with me and Snickers.”
I push myself to my feet and open the bedroom door just as Jace starts to answer from below.
“I’m sure she’s—”
“I’m coming down,” I call, and by the time I reach the stairs, they’re both standing at the bottom looking up at me.
“See, she’s home.” Jace runs his fingers through his goatee, his baby blues filled with sweet relief.
“Fine.” Rue narrows her eyes at him, planting one hand on her hip. “But you’re not getting off that easy, mister.”
My lips curve as I pull my brother into a hug before crouching in front of my niece. “How about we give Daddy a break today? He works a lot.”
“Okay, but only because you asked.” She flashes me that bright, sunshiny smile capable of melting even the coldest heart.
“I won’t be long,” Jace says. “Dad just wanted me to look at a new property and meet with a contractor.”
“Take your time. We’ll have ourselves a day.”
“Thank you. I mean it.” He hugs Rue before rushing out the door, and the second it shuts behind him, she gives me a careful once-over.
“What’s wrong with you?”
My heart gives a little thump. “What do you mean?”
“You look…sad.” She squints at me. “Is it a boy? Because Savannah says boys break your heart and never bother to put it back together. So did a boy break your heart?”
How the hell is this child so perceptive?
“Um…no?”
Crap, I can’t even lie to a kid.
She rolls her eyes. “He’s not worth it.”
“Did Savannah tell you that too?”
“Nope.” Her chin pops up, straightening her back proudly. “I heard Gran say that to Greer once.”
“Oh. Well, maybe we shouldn’t be listening to adult conversations.”
“What fun would that be?” She flips her chestnut curls over her shoulders and grabs my hand. “So, what are we gonna do today? Ooh, can we go get ice cream at the diner? Please?”
She gives me that pleading puppy dog look, and I can’t even fathom saying no.
But what if Anton shows up? What if he’s been stalking every place I go just to see me again?
“Can we? Pretty please?” Rue stares up at me, hope written all over her face.
“Anything you want, Ruebear.”
“Yay! Best day ever.”
ANTON
As soon as Thora leaves the farm with Rue, I follow them. If this is how she wants to do this, fine.
By the time they get out of the car, I’m already behind them, and Thora’s shoulders tense a second before I say her name.
“Thora.”
She stops dead in her tracks.
The kid turns first, her face tilting as she looks me up and down with a whole lot of curiosity. “Who are you? And how do you know my aunt?”
I ignore the pint-sized interrogator and keep my attention on the woman I can’t get rid of.
And I don’t just mean murder. She won’t leave my fucking head.
Thora gradually turns, her expression going blank, which only pisses me off. I know I deserve it, but it doesn’t make it any easier to swallow.
She glances toward the diner door like she’s calculating how fast she can get inside and away from me. “This isn’t the place.”
My hand balls into a fist.
Rue peers from me to Thora, then back again, her little eyes narrowing. “I don’t think my aunt likes you very much, so maybe you should go.”
My nostrils flare.
Oh, she likes me plenty. Too much, in fact. That’s the problem.
I glare at the kid, not caring much that she clearly already hates me. Feeling’s mutual.
“Aunt Thora?” Rue tugs on her wrist without taking her eyes off me. “What’s wrong with him? Does he talk?”
Why am I being harassed by children?
Thora purses her lips, trying not to laugh, but I catch it anyway. That almost-smile, a tiny crack in the coldness she’s been giving me since we locked eyes.
I miss her laugh. I miss a lot of things.
The second Thora spots me staring at her mouth, the not-quite-a-smile disappears, and whatever tiny opening I thought I had with her closes again.
“Is he the reason you’re sad?” Rue asks.
My body goes still.
Sad? Because of me? Does she not realize by now I’m not worth it?
“I’m not sad.” Thora’s smile strains as she widens her eyes at Rue, silently warning her to zip it, which is good advice for that one. Then her gaze cuts back to me. “We’re going now.”
She takes a step toward me, and every instinct I have tells me to wrap an arm around her, pull her against me, and keep her there until I figure out how to fix what I broke.
But then what? What the hell can I give her? Nothing.
It’s better if she walks away from me. Safer. For her, at least.
I’ll handle the shit with Konstantin. I don’t know how yet, but no one is touching a hair on her head unless they want to die slowly for the privilege.
Her expression cracks, and the coldness slips just enough for the hurt underneath to cut straight through me. And I feel it. This bitterness, this pain lodged in the center of my chest.
“Bye, Anton.” Her hand lifts like she might touch me, but then she pulls it back and reaches for Rue instead.
The girl glares at me over her shoulder, shaking her head. “If you’re her boyfriend, you’re doing a bad job.”
“Rue!” Thora whisper-shouts.
I stare after them, my teeth clenched as they head inside.
Well, isn’t she fucking delightful?