“Did you see who was driving this van?”
“No.”
“Ok.” I run my hand down my face, thinking hard. “Ok. You stay here. I have work to do.”
“I want to help.”
“There’s nothing you can do, Viktoriya. I will save your sisters.”
“You promise?” There’s a hard edge in her voice.
I want to snap at her and say that, of course, I’ll save Sofiya and Mila. But she’s just as worried as I am.
So, all I say is, “I promise.”
Then I walk into my office and call my inside man at the police department to get video footage of the outside of my house. Within minutes, he sends me something.
And what I see makes my teeth grind together.
Andrei is in the front seat. He’s a part of this. I could have killed him twice now for trying to put his hands on Sofiya, but I didn’t. I only punished him instead. Clearly, he didn’t learn his lesson.
Now that I know Andrei is involved, I can find his other property holdings. Boris doesn’t have anything in Moscow to hide the women. It’s up to Andrei.
I’m coming for him, and I’m going to end this once and for all.
I am going to save my wife because she needs to know I’ll always do that. She can always depend on me. No more hiding who I am from her. No more hiding my past from her.
Sofiya will be back safely in my arms because that’s the kind of husband I am.
SOFIYA
“So, what will happen after Boris and Mila leave?” I ask Andrei.
“Do you want me to give you a sneak peek now?” He grabs my hand and kisses my fingertips. It’s so … strange that I almost want to laugh. “You will become mine in every way.”
I resist the urge to shudder. “How long have you wanted me?”
“Ever since Mikhail married you. I saw you in that wedding dress and knew you needed to be mine.”
“Why didn’t you make your move before Mikhail had me?”
“You know Mikhail.” He drops my hand and steps away. “Always loves being in control. He’s too powerful. At first, I thought he would share you. We’ve shared a lot of women before. So, when he said no to that idea, I was surprised. It only made me want you more. And now, I have you.”
Not yet, I want to say, but I hold it back.
“I have a secret to admit,” I whisper. He leans in close to me. “I’ve wanted you, too, but Mikhail prevented that from happening.”
Andrei’s smile is so self-assured it’s almost comical. Can he really be so obtuse? It’s working for me either way. “Once Boris and your sister leave, we’ll have all the time in the world to be together.” He stands back, leaning against the wall without a care in the world.
I glance behind me to the kitchen, where Boris is on the computer. Getting plane tickets for New York, presumably. Now’s the time to act.
I grab Mila’s hand and squeeze it. She looks at me curiously, and I subtly nod, hoping she’ll understand my silent cue.
Standing up, I approach Andrei. “We don’t have to wait for my sister and Boris to leave.” I trail my fingers down his chest, trying to fight back my nerves.
“I don’t want to wait either,” he admits before leaning down to kiss me.
Closing my eyes, I let him touch his lips to mine. Mila gasps behind us. The feeling of his lips is honestly gross. Cold and wet. But I need to do this.
Slowly, I place my hands on his shoulders, raising them higher and higher until I touch his face. Andrei kisses me deeper.
Without wasting another second, I rip his sunglasses off and dig my fingers into his eyes. He screams and tries to fight back, but I hold on tighter.
“Mila, help!” I shout. Mila runs over and kicks Andrei in the shins, making him stumble forward, allowing me to press my fingers deeper into his eyes.
The scream that escapes him is chilling.
Boris comes sprinting into the room. “What is going on?”
I let Andrei go, shoving him away. He bows forward, clasping his hands over his eyes. I run right for Boris and jump onto him before he can scramble for his gun. We fall to the floor.
Boris tries reaching for his gun at the same time I do. His fingers wrap around it, and he points it at me, but I grab the handle and turn the gun toward the ceiling. It goes off, raining plaster down on top of us. Boris tries bucking me off him, but I’m not letting go this time. I’m not going to be weak. I may be a woman, but I can fight.
Mila joins the fray and rips the gun from Boris’s hands. With trembling fingers, she points it at him.
“Shoot him,” I tell her.
“But I could hit you!”
