Page 134 of Scarlet Promise

He stops pacing and looks at me, so I keep pushing.

“I do. I promise. And I’m sure that we can broker a deal with Demyan and Ilya, in writing, that you get the bratva when the time limit on the will is up. Whatever you want to say, I’ll back?—”

“Shut up or I’ll shut you up permanently,” he snaps, returning to his pacing.

“But—”

“I said shut the fuck up!” he yells. He stalks up to me. “There’ll be no deals made. Ever. Ilya has the one thing I want. The only thing.”

“The bratva,” I say eagerly. “And I’ll make sure he’ll give it to you.”

“Fucking lies. All you do. Lie, lie, lie!”

“I’m not.”

“You don’t have that power.” He begins pacing again, his steps brisker.

He’s not even listening. I think he’s dismissed everything I’ve said.

“No one has that power. And if I can’t have it…” He stops pacing and turns to me. “Without it, life means nothing anyway. So why not go out with a bang?”

He smiles. A big, ugly, twisted smile that punches me hard in the gut and chills me down to the bone.

It hits me then what he means.

He’s expecting to die.

He not only wants to cause as much pain and destruction as he can on the way out, but he also wants to take Ilya with him.

Chapter Thirty-Two

ILYA

Wild barkinggreets me as we burst into Alina’s hospital room, where a frantic Erin and Isla are waiting.

Albert jumps at me and tries to tear past me, but I catch his shaking body and hold him.

The two women start talking at once. With Albert’s added noise, I can’t make anything out.

“Albert, stop. I’ll get her,” I say, trying to calm him. I then hold up a hand. “Girls, one at a time, please.”

Erin’s in Demyan’s arms, and Isla rushes up.

“An orderly came to take her to her ultrasound, and we didn’t even think…” Isla says.

“Think what?” I ask.

Erin pulls free and puts a shaking hand on Demyan’s arm. Her eyes find mine, and we share a moment.

This is the hospital where she was kidnapped from and where I was shot.

“They should have better fucking security,” Demyan snarls. “I pay for the best fucking security. Heads will roll.”

Erin struggles to calm him and then looks at me. “I mean… It’s too early for an ultrasound. They will do them early, but hemade it sound so urgent, and we were eager to get Alina out of here. It’s my fault. I should have thought.”

“No, it isn’t.” I glance at Demyan. “Who was this orderly?”

“Late twenties, good-looking,” Isla says. “But he seemed nice, and we were trying to keep Albert in his bag, so I wasn’t paying the kind of attention I should have.”