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Maybe Anya and I can come by later tonight? After we’re done with errands with Stefan, we’ll bring food from her bakery.

Wait. What?

Anya has a bakery?

Polina

Anya just happens to own the most delicious bakery this side of Moscow.

Oh my god, I love that. Wait—does she really? Does she have sharlotka cake?

My mouth is already watering at the thought of the layers of flaky pastry and apples.

Polina

It’s her specialty, and those are my number one favorite.

Me too.

Polina

Maybe that weird stuff they say about twins being separated is actually true.

Polina

Maybe it is. And… Do you also drink ice-cold diet soda for breakfast?

Nope. I’m a coffee girl.

Polina

Ugh, betrayal.

Minutes pass, no message. Am I being too weird, too forward, too?—

Sorry, Rafail was talking to me, and he gets really impatient.

You don’t say.

Polina

Stay busy and try to get some movement in—it’ll help with the whole recovery thing. We’ll be by later this afternoon

Okay, sounds good.

Matvei has a home gym, of course, fully decked out. I get a good sweat on, and damn, it does feel good. I walk on the treadmill and do some body-weight movements, nothing too intense.

And yet, as I move about his house, making food, doing laundry, something feels off. I know I have to trust him, and I do… to an extent. But I have the nagging feeling that his mission today had something to do with what I told him.

I know that he’s got an intense job description, so it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that he’s doing anything from going to pick up more ammo, overseeing a gun trade, or kicking the teeth in of someone who betrayed them. I have no idea what the fuck he’s doing, but I can’t shake this eerie feeling. Something isn’t right.

My phone buzzes with a text, and I look to see if it’s Matvei or Polina, but instead, it’s an unknown number. I stare at the screen, and before I click the button, I look out the window just to remind myself that there are armed guards at every entrance of this place.

Why do I feel… scared? I’m not usually afraid, but I am now. It feels like the stakes are higher. For the first time in my life, I don’t want to run. I don’t want to leave. I found a home, a place where I want to be.

I click, surprised to see it’s actually… Cillian O’Rourke.

Cillian