Page 4 of Scarlet Promise

And I understand every word.

Melor knows I speak Russian…doesn’t he? Or does he think I’m an American-born bratva princess who doesn’t speak the mother tongue?

I don’t know, and I don’t care.

Their words are crystal clear.

Not only is Ilya calling in favors, but…

Demyan.

He’s back.

My heart leaps.

If he’s back, then Ilya has all the help he needs. Demyan and Ilya will stop at nothing. And they’re the kind of force only the arrogantly stupid mess with.

But my elation plummets.

Demyan’s back.

And I’ve been keeping so many secrets from him. He’s not a forgiving, bending man. He’s our father’s son. He’s better than our father, but there are learned behaviors, rigidity in his disposition. He may be goo when it comes to his kids and his wife, and even me, to an extent.

But he’ll see all these secrets as betrayal. Especially now that Ilya and I have crossed the line from fake to real.

He’s going to be so furious at me when he finds out the truth.

They finish talking, and Melor leaves without a backward look.

Demyan’s back. Ilya’s on the warpath and calling in favors. They’re upping security here and getting ready for anything.

This is all my fault.

“Piss in a corner. I don’t care,” the man says, stalking out after Melor.

I rush forward, but he slams the door in my face. Even as I grab the handle, the locks activate, and I’m a useless prisoner once more.

Even if I could get out, even if a miracle happened, and I either snuck past him or managed to fight him off, there’ll be others. And I don’t know where we are. If we’re somewhere I could run and get help, it’d be one thing, but I could be in the middle of nowhere, on chained-up private property.

I could be anywhere in Chicago or the suburbs.

I’m trapped.

And what if I’m not something to be ransomed?

What if I’m the trap to lure both Demyan and Ilya to their deaths?

I swallow and pray to a god I barely believe in this isn’t true.

But, somehow, I fear it is.

Chapter Two

ILYA

We’re wasting time.I don’t know how much more Demyan’s going to make me waste.

Demyan’s making calls, because apparently, he doesn’t fucking trust me. He’s got Pavel out searching for her, and now Erin’s saying something to her stubborn husband. I catch the words “work with him.”