Page 47

47

SUTTON

“Go away, Oleg! I have nothing to say to you!”

“It’s not Oleg.” Artem’s voice rings through my sealed door, loud and clear.

Suppressing a sigh, I wrap the blanket around my bare shoulders to hide that I’m not wearing a bra and head towards the door.

Artem is standing somberly on the threshold, his dark eyes cool and reserved as he looks down at me. “Can I come in?”

I frown. “If you’re here to plead Oleg’s case or something, I’m not interested.”

He shakes his head. “Can I ask why you’re so mad at him? None of this is his fault, you know.”

I feel a tremor inside my chest that feels a lot like guilt. But I bury it down under the wealth of grievances I have against my fiancé.

“He wouldn’t let me see my sister. He won’t even help her!”

Artem’s eyes darken. It’s the first time he’s looked angry in the entire time I’ve known him. “He wouldn’t let you see your sister because, up until now, she was kept behind bars because she decided to go all femme fatale on your ex. And in public, no less.”

“W-what do you mean ‘up until now’?”

“Caught that, did you?” He sighs, his anger softening. “I know it may not seem like it and I know it may not be fast enough for you, but he is trying to help, Sutton. He’s doing everything he can to protect you and your sister as well as deal with the Martineks and their campaign against him.”

I bite my lip but Artem doesn’t give me the chance to butt in. “To answer your question, though, Sydney’s no longer behind bars. Oleg’s lawyers managed to work their magic and cite that Sydney was suffering from severe post-traumatic stress as a result of her long-standing abusive relationship with Paul as well as Anton.”

My jaw drops. “So they released her?”

“It’s not as simple as that. The cops and the public want their pound of flesh. Sydney has been transferred to Alice Matlin Psychiatric Institute.”

My eyes go wide. “A psych ward?!”

“It’s temporary,” he assures me. “It’s more of a rehab center for women with a history of PTSD. I was there yesterday checking the place out and it’s really beautiful.”

“Can I see her?” I ask immediately. “I want to see my sister.”

Artem nods. “That’s why I’m here. I’m to drive you there and back. Oleg’s orders.”

My breath leaves my body in one sharp burst. Blinking back tears, I nod. “Give me a second to get changed.”

“I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

The moment I shut the door, my legs start to buckle. I’m vaguely aware that I might have overreacted in the last few days. Not in general, but at least as far as my behavior toward Oleg was concerned.

I’ve iced him out.

Given him the silent treatment.

Refused to engage in conversation or comfort.

But it seems that, as much of a bitch as I’ve been to him in the last few days, he hasn’t stopped trying to make good on his word to keep both me and my sister safe.

Once I’ve changed into maternity jeans and a billowy white blouse that does a great job of hiding my baby bump, I stare down at my phone, desperate to call Oleg, desperate to hear his voice.

My finger remains poised over the call button for several seconds.

But ultimately, I walk out of the room without ever pressing the button.

“I didn’t just do it for you,” Sydney says, clasping my hand so tight that she’s in danger of cutting off my circulation. “I did it for both of us.”

I shake my head, staring hard into my sister’s eyes, trying to determine, not for the first time, where her head’s at. “Why did you do it at all, Syd?”

“Because I’m the older sister. It’s my job to protect you and over the last few years, I failed at that.”

“That’s not true.”

“I’ve been a victim for so much of my life, Sut,” she continues, her eyes following the ducks in the little pond about ten feet from us. “I didn’t want to go on that way.”

“Surely, there were better ways to do it,” I whisper. “Murdering a man in broad daylight seems kind of counterproductive to your independence, wouldn’t you say?”

“I’ll admit, I wasn’t thinking all that clearly when I followed you guys to that rest stop. I just knew that I didn’t want you putting yourself at risk like that. It was my mess you were cleaning up, anyway.”

I look back at the hulking white building behind us. “I know your heart was in the right place. I just… Fuck, Syd, it’s complicated.”

Sydney bites her bottom lip. “I suppose I created another mess for you and Oleg?”

I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. We can deal with it.”

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention.”

I grip her hand tightly. “I hate seeing you like this… but… you do need to get help, Syd.”

Sydney sighs, her eyes skating across the groomed lawn. “It really is peaceful here. I didn’t expect it to be so nice. When you hear ‘psychiatric institute,’ you think more, like, Girl Interrupted type accommodation.”

She’s right about that. No one had been more pleasantly surprised than I was when Artem pulled up in front of Alice Matlin.

The white building is nestled amongst lush gardens and winding walking paths that lead to serene ponds dotted around the grounds. Ducks come and go as they please.

“How long do you have to stay?”

“A minimum of three months, according to Oleg.”

My head twists in Sydney’s direction. “You mean you talked to him?”

“He was the one that picked me up from the station and brought me here,” she says with a confused shrug. “He filled out all the paperwork, spoke to the nurses, and showed me to my room. He got me a suite, too. I’ve got a kitchenette, a small living room, and a little patio that opens into one of the smaller gardens.”

My stomach twists with unease. “Oh…”

Sydney arches an eyebrow at me. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“I have to see a therapist every day,” she divulges, her nose scrunching up. “And I have group therapy twice a week. I’ve got to admit, the therapy isn’t very comfortable. But the rest of this experience has been.”

I swallow the bitter regret that’s starting to become more and more prominent. “That’s good to hear.”

Sydney grabs my arm and squeezes. “I didn’t get a chance to thank Oleg properly for everything he’s done for me. You will let him know how much I appreciate his help, right, Sut?”

“Of course,” I murmur.

“I never thought I’d say this about any rich, powerful mafia man but… he’s a good one.”

“Yes,” I say. “He is.”

“You’re lucky, Sutton. Somehow, against all odds, you found the unicorn. You might have even broken the Palmer women curse.”

I don’t bother disagreeing with her. She doesn’t need to be concerned for me right now, not when she’s fighting for her mental health.

“Ah, there’s Nurse Tawny. She’s been personally assigned to me.”

“Is she nice?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder at the large, curly-haired woman.

“She’s nice,” Sydney agrees. “She can be scary, too. But last night, I woke up from a nightmare and she was right there to hold me through the worst of it.”

I can’t help but cringe. “That should be my job.”

Sydney shakes her head adamantly. “Your only job is to keep this baby safe,” she says, placing her hand on my belly. “The rest, you should leave up to your man.”

My man.

The same man I’ve been ignoring for the last three days.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” Nurse Tawny interrupts with a polite smile. “But I must take Sydney back to her room. She should rest before her evening therapy session.”

“Of course.” I rise to my feet. “Thank you.” I turn to my sister, gripping her by the shoulders. “I know you find therapy hard, but I think if you give it a real shot, it has a chance of working.”

Sydney shrugs. “Well, I’ve got nothing else to do here.” She winks. “I’m going to miss you, Sutton.”

“Don’t talk as though we’ll never see each other,” I insist. “I’ll come and visit soon.”

Sydney’s eyes tighten. “They don’t really allow guests here, Sut. As far as I understood it, this was a one-time visit, courtesy of the strings your baby daddy pulled.”

My heart drops. “If he did it once, then he can do it again.”

Sydney gives my arm a squeeze. “I think it might help me focus a little better if I didn’t have too many distractions.”

“Oh…” My face falls. “Yeah. Right. That makes sense.”

Sydney draws me in for a tight hug. “We’ll see each other soon, okay?”

I nod, biting back my tears as Sydney starts walking away with Nurse Tawny. I watch them go, my heart beating erratically against my chest.

On the one hand, I feel a kernel of hope take root inside of me. Maybe curses can be broken… right?

On the other hand, I feel this deep, cavernous sadness that I can’t quite put my finger on.

Once Sydney and her nurse have disappeared inside the white building, I make my way to the car park where Artem is parked.

I slip inside quietly, my head foggy with tumultuous thoughts that I can’t tame. I feel unmoored, lost and alone, stranded in a sea of uncertainty.

“You okay?” Artem asks as he backs up.

“I… I’m not quite sure,” I say. “I think I’m just tired.”

As Artem drives me back, I keep my gaze fastened on my window. The ocean zips past us, and immediately, I’m hit with a storm of memories.

I remember shirts stretching against Oleg’s burnished muscles. His scarred hands mapping every inch of my body, relentlessly, hungrily. The smell of salt and sex, mixing with the moonlight falling against our naked skin.

Is it possible that I’ve ruined everything so fast?

We’ve gone from lovers to strangers. I haven’t touched him in days. He no longer holds me at night. We’ve barely even spoken to one another since the incident tore through our world.

He had warned me about unforeseen circumstances.

Fool that I am, I hadn’t listened.

Absentmindedly, I trace my fingers over my swollen belly. This feels like the only piece of him I get to keep close these days.

But how can I reverse it now, when I’m the one that pushed him away?

And for what reason? Artem was right—Oleg did nothing wrong. He was simply trying to protect me.

He was simply trying to contain the mayhem that my sister unleashed.

Oksana warned me. Oleg warned me. Everyone warned me.

Being a Bratva wife was not easy. You need a special skillset to survive it.

For the first time since meeting Oleg, I find myself asking the question—do I have what it takes to be the queen of Oleg’s world? Is it possible that I’ve created the downfall of the one person I cherish more than anyone else in the world?

Simply by… being me?