Page 17

Chapter

Seventeen

EVIE

T he sound of my stepmother’s voice through the door leaves me confused. What is she doing here?

I stand up and quickly begin to dress.

“What are you doing?” Dimitri asks me.

“Getting dressed. Juno’s out there.”

“So? She can go away. I’m enjoying time with my wife right now. And I don’t want your naked body to disappear.”

“Sorry.” I slip my dress over my head. “It has disappeared. Besides, don’t you want to know why Juno’s here? How did she find us?”

“Good point.” He puts his pants back on. “I guess we ask her.”

I open the door, and there she is. Juno, looking like her normal self. Juno, here to somehow ruin this moment between Dimitri and me.

“Good thing I got here when I did,” Juno says. “I was worried sick. You haven’t been returning my calls.”

“Oh. I left my phone behind when …”

“When what?”

“When we had to go on the run from Abram.”

“That man who’s trying to kill you? Still? ”

“Yes, that man. And I’m sorry, Juno. I’m sure you were worried. I wouldn’t want that for you.”

“Then it’s a good thing your friend called me and told me where you were,” she says, walking into the room. She stops when she sees Dimitri standing there, shirtless. Her cheeks turn a little red. “That’s indecent, young man.”

“And here I thought you wanted to marry me at one point,” he says, slipping his shirt on.

“That’s long in the past. I’m here for Evelyn.”

“Wait.” I hold up my hands. “Katya called you?”

“Yes. Because I called her, looking for you. She told me you were safe at this hotel. I wanted to come see for myself. So, here I am.”

“Ok,” I say slowly. “You know I’m safe. You can go back home now.”

“No. I’m not leaving without you.”

I blink. “Juno, why not? I don’t need you to protect me any longer. I have Dimitri.”

“A girl should be with her mother.”

“Stepmother,” Dimitri interjects.

She slants her eyes at him. “ Mother . Her biological mother has been dead for years, so I am her mother now. And I say she should come back home.” She grabs my hand. “So, come back home, Evelyn.”

“It’s not safe,” I tell her. “Abram is out looking to kill Dimitri. He’ll try to hurt me along the way. The best course of action is to stay here with Dimitri.” And the truth is, I don’t want to leave Dimitri again. I know he returned Maria to her home; he told me on the drive here. I know he regrets it.

And I know how I feel about him.

I think I’m falling in love with him.

“That’s the worst course of action! Dimitri is the reason you’re in trouble. I’ll protect you. Come back home with me.”

“She said no,” Dimitri growls. “So, Juno, you need to leave.”

She plants her feet into the ground. “I’m not going anywhere. Not without Evelyn. Not until I know she’s safe. ”

“Why do you even want her to come back with you?”

“Because …” She looks right at me. “I miss you, Evelyn. I need you in my life. It’s lonely without you. Please, honey. Come back home.”

Never before has Juno spoken to me this way. I’ve always wanted her to want me. Call it a foolish dream, but I think a lot of people want their stepparent to like them.

“I should stay with Dimitri,” I repeat.

“No. Evelyn, I can take care of you. At least come back home until Dimitri has dealt with this Abram man. Once he’s gone, then you can return to Dimitri, but in the meantime, come stay with me. It’s the best thing for you, and I think you know it.”

“The best thing for Evie is to stay with me,” Dimitri says, crossing his arms.

“You’re making this poor girl go on the run.” Juno puts her arm around my shoulders. “How is that good? It’s not, if you ask me. I’ll take Evelyn home, and once you’ve dealt with Abram, Evelyn can return to you. But in that time, she’ll stay with me.”

“Maybe we should ask Evie what she wants to do.” He sets his eyes onto me. “Evie?”

I want to stay with Dimitri, but Juno is begging me with her eyes to go back with her.

“Evelyn, please.” She pauses. “Evie.”

I startle. It’s the first time Juno has ever called me Evie.

“Why do you think you can keep me safe when Dimitri can’t?”

Juno gives me a kind smile. It’s the kind of smile I’ve always wanted to receive from her. I’ve always wanted Juno’s kindness, and now, she’s offering it. Maybe losing me made her realize how much she wants me in her life.

“Because I’m your mom,” she says. “Who better to keep you safe?”

Dimitri scoffs. “You just want Evie to cook and clean for you like she used to.”

“Of course not! I resent that accusation! ”

I just killed a serial killer, but it’s my stepmom I’m having trouble standing up to.

“I will not leave until Evie comes with me,” Juno threatens. I know she means it. She has a way of planting her feet and never moving until she gets her way. It’s why I had to do all the cooking and cleaning for her. She wouldn’t do it herself, so someone had to after my dad died.

“I can make you leave,” Dimitri tells her.

I know what I want, and it’s to stay with Dimitri, but I know I need to get Juno out of here. She’s going to cause more problems if she doesn’t get her way.

So, to appease the situation, I turn to Juno. “I’ll go with you.”

“What?” Dimitri asks while Juno gives him a smug smile.

“But only until Dimitri has dealt with Abram. Then I’m coming back to him.” I look at my husband. “I promise. So, go deal with Abram.”

“Don’t go with her. She’s not good for you, Evie.”

“And you are?” Juno fires back. “I seem to recall you forced my daughter into a marriage she didn’t want. I’m not the bad guy here. I’m just getting my daughter back. Let’s go, Evelyn.”

“You know it,” Dimitri says like Juno never even spoke. “You know what’s best is for you to stay. Stand up to her.”

But the words don’t come.

I want Juno to like me as naive as it sounds. And I know she won’t leave unless I do as she says, and I don’t want to risk Dimitri hurting her.

“I’ll be back,” I say. “Just deal with Abram, and I’ll return. I promise.”

“Enough promises,” Juno mutters. “Let’s go, Evelyn.” She grabs my arm and forces me out of the room.

“I could stop you, you know,” Dimitri threatens.

Juno scoffs. “You’d have to kill me, and you’re not going to do that. That’s how much I love my daughter. I’m willing to die for her.”

I stare at Juno in shock. Does she really mean it? I want to believe so.

“I’m willing to die for her,” Dimitri says .

“Then you understand. My daughter is coming back with me.” She turns me toward the hallway, but I give Dimitri one last look.

It looks like his heart is breaking.

I never even knew Dimitri had the kind of heart that could break.

The sight of my old house makes me feel slightly sick to the stomach. It has too many memories of my dad in it. Too many memories of Juno expecting me to dote on her at every second.

“I’m glad you’re home,” she says once we get inside. “Now, you can start on dinner.” She smiles and pats my cheek. “Great.” Then she heads to the living room and takes a seat in her favorite chair.

I stand there, stunned. “Juno, did you only guilt trip me back here so I could make dinner for you?”

“I didn’t guilt trip you, Evelyn. I missed you. Speaking the truth is not guilt tripping anyone.

“No,” I say the word before I can stop it.

Juno looks at me for a long time. “No?”

“No. I’m not going to make dinner for you. You wanted me back. You should make dinner for me.”

She’s deadly silent for so long that I think she didn’t hear me. Then she laughs. “Why would I make you dinner? It’s your job to make me dinner. Now, get to it.” She turns on the TV, effectively ending the conversation.

But I don’t want it to end.

I walk right over to her and rip the remote out of her hands.

“Hey!”

“No,” I repeat. “You wanted me back here because you said you missed me. But I don’t think you missed me at all. I think Dimitri was right. You just want me to be your maid like I used to be. I never said anything before because I didn’t think I had any other choice in life. But Dimitri showed me that I do. So, if you’re not going to respect me, Juno, I’m going back to him. This was a mistake coming here. ”

“You seriously think that husband of yours actually cares about you? He’s just trying to control you!”

“No!” I shout, making Juno jerk back. I’ve never yelled at her before. “I know who my husband is. I know, despite his flaws, that he has goodness within him. I know he’ll make sure I’m safe over anybody. So, I’m going back to him. If you come back to me, Juno, and try to guilt trip me again, I’ll ignore you.”

“It’s funny. You didn’t say any of this to me when your husband was around. Why is that? Is it because he makes you weak? You belong here, with me, Evelyn. So, go into the kitchen and make me dinner. I wouldn’t want to have to get the scissors.”

I touch my hair. I feel like I’m transported back to the first time Juno ever threatened to cut my hair. It was just a week after my dad died.

Then I remember—I have a husband now I can lean on for help. I don’t have to stay here and listen to Juno’s threats any longer.

“I’m going,” I tell her. “You don’t need me. Don’t come back.”

“But I will, and you’ll just return home with me. You wouldn’t want that brute of a husband to hurt me. You couldn’t stand the guilt.”

Tatiana’s face flashes through my mind.

No. I’m past that. I killed Dima for god’s sake. I don’t have to listen to my stepmom.

“You know the sad part is,” I say. “For just a moment, I believed you. Back at the hotel, I really thought you missed me. I really thought you wanted to keep me safe. But you just want to use me like you’ve always used me. I’m tired of it. I have a new life now, and I’m going back to it.”

“To a life on the run? To a life that’s going to get cut short when that Abram man finds you? Because that’s what’s going to happen, Evelyn. But if you just stay here and go back to the way things were, then we can all be happy again.”

“You. So you can be happy. But I never was. Yes, I loved my job at the library, but every time I came home to you, I always felt a little less happy. And I’m tired of feeling that way. So, goodbye, Juno.”

I head for the front door .

What I’m not expecting to feel is the sharp pain in my arm. I gasp and look down at the cut the scissors left behind. The scissors that are now on the floor by my feet because Juno threw them at me.

I turn around. She’s standing up from her chair and giving me a glare that’s so full of anger, I can only feel a coldness start to seep through my body.

“You’re not leaving me, Evelyn,” she hisses. Then she runs right at me.

It’s such a shock, I don’t react. And by the time I do, she has me pushed against the door.

“Juno! What are you doing?”

“Teaching you a lesson I should have a long time ago.” She lets me go and grabs the scissors off the floor. “You were always too pretty. I kind of hated you for it.” She grabs a chunk of my hair and tries cutting it, but I pull away. My momentum drives me farther into the house and away from the front door.

Juno chases me. Instinct makes me run to my old bedroom. The moment I step inside, Juno slams my door shut.

And locks it from the outside.

I try the doorknob, but it doesn’t budge. Juno said she didn’t want me to leave.

She got her wish.

DIMITRI

I smile at the sight of Nik’s ugly-ass face after he opens his front door. “Nik! So, I need your help.”

“Uh-huh.” He motions me toward his office. I smile at Ava as I walk by, and she just rolls her eyes and goes back to reading on the couch. The sight of her reading makes me think of Evie, which just makes me miss her more. Stupid fucking Juno. I never realized the hold Juno had over Evie, but then again, there’s still a lot I don’t know about her.

Once all this shit is over, I’ll make sure to get every ounce of who Evie is out of her. I’m addicted in a way I’ve never been for any other woman before.

“What do you need?” Nik asks, closing his office door behind us.

“Abram. Killed. Ideally.”

“Maxim wasn’t able to help you?”

“Maxim is, uh …. Not really my business partner anymore.”

Nik sighs. “Why am I not surprised? Dimitri, we need him on our side. If he’s chosen not to work with you, then that will affect me, and I don’t like that.”

I flop into the chair across from his desk. “You know, Nik, not everything is about you.”

“When you’re in my house, it is.” He pauses, eyeing me over. “Why does Maxim not want to work with you anymore?”

“Does the reason matter?”

“Yes,” he says flatly. “The reason absolutely matters.”

“So, he got shot.”

“And?”

“Abram shot him.”

“And?” Nik motions for me to continue.

“And I sort of left Maxim to fight off Abram by himself. But?—”

Nik groans. “Dimitri, you fucking bastard.”

“What? He volunteered to help me. No one was forcing him to.”

“When you make a deal to be partners with someone, you don’t throw them under the bus.”

“Technically, it wasn’t a bus.”

Nik only glares at me harder.

“Ok, ok,” I mutter. “I know. I was an asshole. But I need your help, Nik. Abram keeps slipping through my fingers, and I need to end this. I need to end this so fucking badly.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you need to end this so fucking badly?”

I shift in the seat and avert my gaze. “Evie is back with her stepmom and won’t come back home unless I kill Abram.”

“So, this is about a girl? ”

“My wife.”

Nik slowly smiles, and I hate it. It makes him look handsome, and I like to be the most handsome man in the room. “You care about her, don’t you? And you always judged me for having a soft spot for my wife.”

“That’s because you’re a pussy.”

“Then what does that make you?”

“A man who needs to save his wife. I need her back, Nik. So, just help me kill Abram.”

“Why do you need her back? The Dimitri I know never gave a shit about any woman. He just fucked them and left. So, what makes Evie so special?”

“I don’t need to talk about my wife with you.”

He scoffs. “That’s rich, given how many times you talked about my wife when I told you not to.”

“So, I’m a hypocrite. What can I say?”

“If you give me one good reason as to why you care for your wife, then I’ll help you kill Abram.”

“Really?”

He nods. “Really.”

There are so many answers I could give. Evie is sexy and smart and just plain good. But there’s only one answer that will earn Nik’s respect.

“She makes me want to be a better man.”

“Ok. A better man doesn’t leave his business partners behind. So, don’t fuck me over, Dimitri.”

“I won’t.”

He walks around his desk and sits down, steepling his fingers. “So, let’s talk about how we’re going to take Abram down.”

EVIE

No matter how much I beg Juno to let me out, she doesn’t.

I feel the vise of my old life slipping around my neck like a noose. I’ve experienced excitement and pain and desire and … love si nce meeting Dimitri. Not everything has been good. But a lot has been, and the good is what I’m choosing to remember. It’s what I cling to.

Dima couldn’t take me down. I refuse to let Juno be the one to ruin my life.

Then I hear it. The doorbell rings.

Juno’s feet shuffle across the floor, and then she opens the door. “What do you want?” I can hear her faintly ask.

“I know Evie is in there.” It’s Katya. No. She’s supposed to be safe back at the hotel, and I doubt she has Dimitri’s permission to be here.

“So? She’s busy. Go away.”

“Nope.” I hear what sounds like a scuffle, then Katya is calling my name, her voice getting closer and closer.

“In here!” I say.

She reaches my door. “You locked her in there?”

“It was for her own good,” Juno says.

“For her own good. You bitch. I’m getting you out of there, Evie. Don’t worry.” I hear her fiddle with the doorknob, but the door still doesn’t open.

“Ow!” Katya says. “Bitch. Don’t hit me!”

“You are not getting that door open,” Juno threatens. It’s killing me that I’m stuck inside my room with no way to reach Katya.

“Ow! Evie, your stepmom is hitting me.”

I pound on the door. “Juno, stop! This is crazy. Just let me out. We can talk about this.”

“No. You’re going to leave me, and I can’t have that. I just can’t.”

“Let her go,” Katya warns. “Juno, now.”

“I would leave if I were you.”

Katya goes silent. What does she see? What is going on?

Then Katya says, “Ok. I’ll go. But I’m coming back with my brother. Evie, just stay strong. I’ll be back.” Then I hear Katya’s footsteps disappear until I can’t hear them at all.

“Juno, what did you do?”

“That spoiled princess didn’t want to risk getting cut. Weak is what she is. ”

I slump back onto my bed and stare up at the ceiling. I have to wait for Dimitri to come save me again.

I’m really starting to feel like a princess stuck in a tower.

DIMITRI

The plan is to go after Abram tonight.

Nik and I are just going to show up at Abram’s house with a bunch of men with a bunch of guns and fucking end this. No more games. No more trying to be smart. If anyone gets in my way, it’s over.

Nik meets me back at my hotel room to finalize the plans. “So, this is it.”

“This is it. Let’s go kill that fucker.”

Katya barges into the room. “Evie needs you.”

I go still then flick my eyes at Nik, who looks like he doesn’t have time for this. “What do you mean?”

“Juno locked her up. I can’t get at her. I’m not sure what Juno is going to do, but I don’t trust her. She tried hurting me. I’m worried she might really try to hurt Evie.”

“We’re going after Abram tonight,” Nik explains. “Evie can wait. Let’s go, Dimitri.”

But I don’t move. My wife needs me, but this might be my only chance to have Nik on my side to go after Abram. This might be the only time to kill Abram.

“Dimitri,” Katya snaps. “Did you hear me? Evie needs you.”

“Dimitri,” Nik warns. “Let’s end this. Your wife will be safe once Abram is gone. You know this.”

“But she’s in danger right now,” Katya says. “Juno is bonkers. I don’t know what she might do if we don’t go get Evie right this second.”

“Wait, how do you know this?” I ask her.

Katya goes red and turns away from me. “I … went over to Evie’s house.”

“You left the hotel? Of course you left the hotel. I wouldn’t expect anything else from you. ”

“Dimitri,” Nik repeats. “We have everything in plan. If you don’t go, we don’t go after Abram. I’m only doing this to help. Abram isn’t a threat to me.”

“Evie needs you,” Katya says.

I already know what I’m going to choose. “Sorry, Nik. I need to save my girl.”

“Then I’m not going to help you. Tonight was our chance. If you really wanted to save your wife, you’d go after Abram.”

“I know, but Evie needs me right now, and that’s not going to change. Sorry, Nik. I know I asked for your help, and I’m backing out. I hope you don’t hold it against me.”

His eyes soften slightly. “If it were Ava, I’d do anything to save her. But I still think you’re making a mistake. I have men waiting outside Abram’s house at this moment. They could get hurt, and I can’t risk that. So, if you’re really backing out, then I’m not happy with you. This is your fight, Dimitri. You need to be the one to finish it.”

“I will finish it,” I growl. “Once I save my wife.”

I walk out of the hotel room, leaving Nik behind.

I break down Juno’s front door.

She screams when she sees me enter and starts to run away, but I grab her arm and force her to sit on the couch. “Stay there,” I growl.

“Don’t kill me,” she whimpers.

“Juno, you’re not even worth my fucking time. Now, stay out of my way.” I have no idea which one is Evie’s room, but it’s not hard to figure out. It’s the only room in the house with a door that’s locked. “Evie?”

“Dimitri?” The hope in her voice warms my heart. God, I fucking love this girl.

Love. Huh. It’s not as scary as I thought it would be. “I’m getting you out.” I unlock the door, and the moment it’s open, Evie runs into my arms.

“You can’t go,” Juno objects .

“You’re never going to see me again,” Evie tells her. “I’m done, Juno. I’m going to live my life with Dimitri from now on.”

Juno goes freakishly silent as we head for the door. I don’t care what Juno does. All I care about is having my girl back in my arms.

AbrAM

The woman approaches me at my favorite bar. She’s pretty in a homely sort of way.

“Are you Abram Sokolov?” she asks me.

“I am.” I eye her over. I wouldn’t be opposed to fucking someone tonight. Maria was returned to me. Dimitri is scared, I know it. I’ve won.

“I’m Juno, Evelyn’s mother.”

I go still.

“I hate her husband, Dimitri. I want him gone, and I’m willing to help.”

A slow smile spreads across his face.

Oh, yes. I have won.