He heads into the closet, and I lie in bed, my body wired and spent, as I think about what I’m going to do.
When I knock on Mila’s door and get no response, I go over to Vik’s room and open the door. Mila is sitting on Vik’s bed, watching Vik pack up her suitcase.
“What are you doing?” I ask, quietly shutting the door behind me.
“What does it look like?” Vik tosses a shirt into the suitcase. “We’re leaving. We can’t stay here. I was physically attacked last night.”
“I know you were, and that was horrible.”
“And you clearly don’t want me here,” she mumbles.
“Vik, I never said that.”
She huffs. “You didn’t have to. It’s obvious. Besides, you told me last night I’m awful.”
I sigh and sit down next to Mila. “I’m sorry for that. I was emotional. I was being attacked as well. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I want you here.”
“No, you want Mila here. Not me.” She limps over to the closet, grabbing more clothes. I’m amazed Vik isn’t even using crutches. She still has her cast on, and it’s clearly not slowing her down though I should have figured it wouldn’t. Not many things can slow my older sister down.
“Where are you going to go?” I ask.
“I have no idea. Back to New York, probably.”
“But Boris is there. He could hurt you.”
“No. He wanted you, and then he wanted Mila. He doesn’t want me.”
“Vik.” I grab her arm, stopping her. “He wanted you first, remember? If you’re in New York by yourself, he could easily try going after you again.”
“I’ll be fine. Besides, Mila will be with me.”
I stand up, not believing my ears. I turn to Mila. “Is that true? Are you leaving with Vik?”
Mila can’t look me in the eye, which means she’s trying to lie but can’t. She’s a horrible liar. “Vik wants me to go with her. She says it’s not safe here.” She lifts her soft eyes to me. “But you could come with. We could protect each other.”
“Mila, Mikhail would hunt me down to get me back. I can’t leave him. And you’re safe here. Mikhail will keep you safe.” I rip the shirt from Vik’s hands and toss it to the ground. “All of you. He will keep you all safe. I’ll talk to him.”
“Sofiya,” Vik says, placing her hands on her hips. “He threw that party last night. He invited all those men here, and he left us alone with them. He’s already shown he won’t keep us safe. Maybe you’re safe because you’re his wife. But he has no obligation to us.”
“That’s not true. He didn’t know what was going to happen. That Andrei was going to do that. He won’t put us back in that position if I ask him.”
Vik laughs without humor to it. “You’re being naive. There will be other parties like that. A man like Mikhail needs to show off his strength. I remember Father having to do the same thing. Mila and I will never truly be safe around him because we’re not his top priority. So, we’re going back to New York, and we’ll deal with Boris. I’ll kill him if I have to.”
“You can’t kill Boris.” I shake my head and start pacing around the room. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Mila, talk some sense into her.”
Mila sighs. “Vik, I don’t want you committing murder. It’s wrong.”
“It’s not wrong to protect my baby sister.” She roughly shoves a dress into the suitcase.
“Oh, for the love of god,” I mutter. “Vik, you’re either going to get yourself or Mila killed. Boris might not be as dangerous as Mikhail, but he’s still dangerous. He’s going to become the leader of the Bratva in New York if he hasn’t already. Father wanted him to take over after him. You’re only going to be putting yourself more in harm’s way.”
“Then, what do you suggest?’ She stops packing and stares me down. “Where do we go?”
“We stay here,” I say, sounding weak even to my own ears.
“We can only stay if Mikhail promises to make sure we’re safe. Can you make sure he’ll promise that?”
I hesitate, and I hate that I do it because Vik notices it.
“That’s what I thought,” she says, resuming packing.
“If you leave, I’ll have to leave with you,” I say.
“Sofiya, no.” Mila grabs my hand. “You belong with your husband.”
I squeeze her hand back. “No. I belong with my sisters. I can’t let you both leave and get in trouble. I can help protect you.”
“How?” Vik asks.
“I’m not sure yet. But I’ll figure it out. Just promise you won’t leave until we discuss this more. I need time to think.”
“We don’t have time. Mila and I are leaving tonight. I’ve already booked us a hotel until our flight tomorrow. Either come with us or don’t. I don’t care. But I’m not going to stay at a house where I was slapped across the face.”
Everything is happening too fast. I have to go with my sisters. I have to make sure they’ll be ok.
But can I leave Mikhail? Do I even want to?
