Page 122 of Fallen Empire

Because when someone decides what you can and can’t handle—what you do or don’t deserve to know—they're not protecting you. They're managing you.

And right now, I was living the consequences of their silence.

At least Savannah knew who was coming for her. She’d sat across the dinner table. Slept beside him. Memorized every inch of her predator’s face over the years. She had time to brace for the war that found her. She’d been prepared.

But me?

They’d told me everything I needed to know, without saying anything at all.

They left me blind.

I could’ve helped. I could’ve connected the dots. I could’ve told them everything I knew… if they’d just let me in. If they hadn’t made the decisionfor me.

But they did.Hedid.

How would I ever trust him again?

Ben didn’t want to protect me—he wanted to control the outcome.

He chose silence, not safety.

And now I was the one paying for it.

He never showed me a picture. Never gave me a description. Not a hair color. Not a height. Not a voice. Not a face. Only a name.

Aleksei Koslov.

And because of that. Because he chose to keep me in the dark…

He handed me to him on a silver fucking platter.

The paper bag slipped from my fingers. The coffees tilted, foam seeping through the lids before they hit the sidewalk.

For a split second, I stood frozen.

I didn’t breathe. Didn’t blink. Didn’t move.

My brain screamed at me to run. My body didn’t listen. It lagged behind, caught in the space between logic and panic.

This wasn’t happening.

Not in broad daylight. Not on a busy street.

Notto me.

I took a shaky step backward. Then another.

“I do intend to have agreatday, Ms. Pierman.” He said behind me, casual as ever, throwing the words I’d said to him moments ago back at me.

Then I saw it. My life flash before my eyes.

A second man, one I hadn’t even noticed, stood beside the sleek black SUV.

I took a step back. Then another. I turned to run, but it was already too late.

He moved fast. Too fast.

His arms locked around my waist like steel, lifting me off the ground and dragging me back.