Page 49 of Darkest Sin

Sasha blinks as she looks between me and my husband. “Wow… I don’t know what to say to that. I thought…”

“You thought what?”

“I thought you had abandoned us. Irina told us you got married but… I thought you were just saving your own skin.”

“He killed Antoni so none of us had to marry him. Especially you, Sasha. At nineteen, Denis can legally marry you off to whoever he wants.”

She shudders. “He hasn’t said anything about that to me. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t planning it.”

“What’s been happening over there?” I ask. “After I made it worse.”

“Uncle Denis locked us up,” Irina explains. “We weren’t even allowed to see each other. He kept us locked in our rooms. Took our phones. We had no way to communicate with each other.”

“It’s been torture,” Ana says. “Not having my phone.”

That gets a laugh out of me, Sasha, and Irina.

Ana frowns. “What’s so funny?”

Sasha nudges her. “You’re so phone obsessed. This is has probably been a good thing for you.”

“I had to pick up a book today,” she says with a shudder. “A book!”

“Poor you,” I tease. “Having to read. What is this world coming to?”

Our laughter subsides.

“What happens now?” Irina asks.

Mikhail steps forward. “Now, we get you to our house.”

Sasha frowns. “Our house?”

“Mine and Natalya’s.”

All three of my sisters look awkward. They didn’t even consider that my husband’s house is now also my house. That the house I grew up in isn’t technically my house any longer.

“We’ll bring you there,” Mikhail explains. “You’ll stay with us. I’ll keep you safe. But we have to move soon. I don’t want Denis finding us here.” He turns to Jackson. “You’re sure you weren’t followed.”

“I’m sure. I didn’t see anyone.”

Mikhail sighs, looking worried. Just because Jackson didn’t see anyone follow him, doesn’t mean someone didn’t follow.

“Let’s go now,” Mikhail says, leading us towards the back exit of the lobby. “My car is parked back here.”

Sasha stops walking. “How do we know we can trust you?”

“Sasha,” I say, reaching out for her but she steps away from me. “He’s my husband.”

“So? Just because he’s your husband doesn’t mean we can trust him. You left without a word. You then show up and shoot our uncle. You’ve changed. I don’t know Mikhail. Maybe he’s holding you hostage for all I know. We could be walking into a trap.”

“No,” I say. “It’s not a trap. Trust me. If you can’t trust Mikhail, then you can trust me. I’m your sister. I want you safe more than anything. This is our chance. We have to go.”

“I don’t know…” Ana says, sidling up to Sasha. “She makes a point. We don’t know your husband.”

“You want to be prisoners to our uncle?” I ask. “Because that’s what it sounds like you are. You’re prisoners. This is a chance at freedom. I’m your sister. You know I would never put you in danger. You know that.”

Sasha’s eyes flash with anger. “The sister I know would never have left us in the middle of the night to defend ourselves without her. You left to save yourself. You didn’t leave to save us.”