Page 76 of Ruinous Need

Fear claws at my insides. They’re going to try to drag Lisette away from me. I can’t let that happen. Every cell in my body wants to fight them off to my last breath if necessary. But that would put her in danger.

Instead, I know what we need to do.

Run.

Run like the cowards I’ve been hunting for all these years. I never thought it would be me, but now, with Lisette by my side, I see how safety can matter more than loyalty or justice or facing the people you know you owe something to.

“Where’s Daria?”

“Out on security patrol,” Markov replies.

She hasn’t reported the intrusion to me. Maybe she’s been taken down. I hope not.

I guess we’re leaving alone. I looked down at my designer suit. That won’t cut it, not out in the elements. I grab a ski jacket, combat pants and a pile of outdoor gear in a smaller size for Lisette. This snowfall will not make running easy.

I did plan for this. I always have a Plan C. About ten miles along the lake, over a hill, there’s another cabin. It’s secluded and hard to find, sheltered by a bank of trees.No one knows about it — not even Markov.

We could take a snowmobile, but that would only attract attention. We’ll go on foot. Stick to the trees. And we have to hope like hell this snow doesn’t get any heavier.

The creak of a floorboard startled me and I whirl around. She looks ghostlike in her white nightdress. I pushed that thought out of my head.

She’s not dead. I am going to protect her from the Bratva — the way I couldn’t protect my mother. The way I couldn’t protect Lev.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her, swiping a thumb over her cheek. “I seem to keep waking you up in the middle of the night with some disaster. But they’re here.”

Her face whitens. “The Pakhan?”

I nod.

“You’re not… Not giving me to him?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” I step closer, shoving the bundle of warm clothes into her hands. Outside, the gunshots are getting closer.

“We need to go now.”

“I don’t even know how to use this,” she tells me, turning the pistol I handed her over in her hands.

“Hopefully, it won’t come to that. I’ll be by your side the whole time. I’m not leaving you.”

I know how selfish it is.

To leave the men who have agreed to fight on my behalf to overthrow the Pakhan alone with Markov in command. It will tear them in two just like it’s tearing him in two. They’re fighting their brothers, men they grew up with.

But I don’t know who gave up our location, and I have no clue how else to make sure Lisette is safe. We’re going to go it alone.

I press a kiss to the top of her head before we head out the door.

“It’s going to be freezing,” I tell her shoving a beanie onto her blonde head, her silken hair still messy from sleep. “But we’ll stay together. I promise.”

CHAPTER 32

LISETTE

I’M BORED. SITTING here in the dark, leaning against Viktor while we hide.We’re tucked inside a thick sleeping bag, but it’s barely warm enough in the freezing night.

We made it halfway to the cabin along the trail before the snow got too heavy. We ducked into a woodshed to shelter, a ramshackle little structure tucked under a tree. It’s mostly keeping the blizzard away from us, but every so often agust sends a painfully cold sprinkle of ice down.

At least I have Viktor for warmth. The man runs hot, and I don’t mind being tucked up on his lap. Especially not when I crave reassurance like right now.