Page 30 of Her Darkest Possession

The determined blaze that tells me she's more than some fragile thing I need to shelter.

That she's a force to be reckoned with.

Mybritvochkawho isn't afraid to draw blood.

"Come back to me," she whispers against my lips. "Both of you."

I nod once, sharply. "Lock yourself in that panic room. No matter what you hear. I will come get you when I return."

She squeezes my hand one last time before letting go. I don't look back as I stride from the room.

I can't.

If I do, the pull to stay with her might be too strong.

And we've already delayed for too long.

Roma picks up the moment I dial him again.

"The men are assembling right now on 44th and 10th," he says. "They'll be ready by the time you get out here."

"Good." I tell him. "Call Vasya. I want him there too."

Roma raises an eyebrow. "Vasya? You sure? After everything?"

"I am," I nod. "We need to present a united front to Killian for this, all three of us."

"Understood, my pakhan." Roma replies. "Anything else?"

I check my gun and feel the familiar weight in my hand. This is something I understand instinctively. There's a brutal simplicity to what I'm setting out to do.

To fight. To protect what's mine. To kill for them if I have to.

And Amara is mine now too, not by blood but by choice.

By the fact that she matters to Indigo.

"Nothing else for now," I tell him as I step out the door and get in my car. "We have a sister to bring home."

9

ANATOLY

I pullup to the meeting spot on 44th and 10th, where Roma has already assembled our men. Ten of them stand silently in their suits, faces impassive but eyes alert.

Roma nods at me as I approach, and I notice Vassily hanging back a few feet away from the group.

Something's different about him. His usual swagger is gone, replaced by an uncharacteristic hesitation.

He can't quite meet my eyes.

I know why.

Mother must have told him what happened two days ago. About the gun I placed in her hand and the order I gave.

Did she also tell him that she saved her own skin? Or did she leave that part out of it, as she always does?

"Fucking busy out here." I say to Roma as I scan the street.