Page 74 of Konstantin

And I don’t break. Not for anyone.

EMILIA

Without Konstantin near me, it’s like I can finally breathe again. Like his presence doesn’t cling to my skin or coil around my ribs like a vise. I needed space, real space, to remember who I am and why I’m doing all this.

My home is too quiet as I walk inside after having a run. No scent of his cologne in the air, no low murmur of Russian-accented commands, no flicker of that glinting stare watching me like I’m both prey and prize.

I kind of miss it.

See, no! Don’t do that!

Fuck. I’m never this pathetic.

I take a long sip of my water before grabbing my phone and making the call I’ve been dying to make.

I haven’t seen Nate for a couple of weeks, not since this whole operation began. The guilt weighs on me like an anchor around my throat, but it’s been impossible to get away and I can’t risk one of Konstantin’s men following me.

I tap Reyes’s name. He hasn’t called, which is hopefully good news. The phone continues to ring, but he finally answers.

“Emilia…hey… What’s up?” His voice cracks slightly, the nervous energy laced through his words, and I immediately know something’s wrong.

“You tell me. Why do you sound like you’re scared of me? What the fuck happened to Nate?”

Silence presses into my chest. Something’s wrong. I can feel it.

“Reyes, I swear to God if you don’t start talking right now, I’m gonna?—”

“There was an incident two days ago.”

My stomach instantly free-falls. I picture my brother dead on the floor, blood all around him.

No, no, he’s fine. I expected shit to go down again. He’s okay…

“What kind of incident?” I keep my voice steady.

“He was jumped in the yard while working out. Three guys. Skinheads. We think it was planned.”

I go cold. My fingers tighten around the phone. “Is he okay?”

“He’s alive. Got stabbed in the leg, but the blade missed anythingvital. He’s stitched up and recovering.”

I can barely swallow past the lump rising in my throat. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?!”

“I wanted to, but he told me to keep you out of it. Em, I’m sorry. Being caught between you two hotheads isn’t a place I wanna be, but I’m trying, alright?”

My chest rises and falls with long, shallow breaths. “Let me make it clear. When he tells you not to tell me shit, you tell me shit. Got it? Because if this happens again, I will make sure you lose you goddamn job! We understand each other?”

Blood rushes to my head; I can almost hear it in my temples.

“Yeah, okay. I’m sorry. You’ll know everything from now on.”

“Good. ’Cause remember, in exchange for you protecting him, I keep your little secret about supplying the prisoners with drugs.” Heat flashes through my veins. “If that’s too much work for you, I can let your boss know what a bad boy you’ve been.”

“Jesus, alright. I’ll do better. You think I wanted this to happen?” His tone grows sharper.

For a second, it sounds like he has a pair of balls. The fucking coward.

“I don’t care what you wanted. I care about what you’re getting done. We won’t have this conversation again.”