Page 148 of Stolen Empire

Would she be terrified?

Would she finally tell me the truth about why she spent my entire childhood running, about what my father really did to earn a pact with the Vetrovs, about whether I have family out there I've never met?

The questions pile up in my mind until they feel like they're choking me.

I want answers.

I want to understand where I come from and why my name carries so much power in a world I never knew existed.

But more than that, I want to survive.

I want to wake up tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that.

And running to Perm won't give me that.

The elevator doors start to close.

I pause and let them shut.

The carriage descends without me, and I stand alone in the hallway with my decision made.

I turn around and walk back to Dimitri's apartment.

The door stands open the way I left it, and I slip inside and lock both deadbolts behind me.

My legs feel shaky as I move to the couch and sit down.

I almost ran.

I almost threw away the only protection I have because fear made me stupid.

I'm such an idiot, and I'm trapped now.

No way out.

The only thing I can do is rely on a man I barely know to protect me.

The water in the bathroom shuts off.

I hear Dimitri moving around, probably drying off and getting dressed.

When he emerges a few minutes later with damp hair and a fresh shirt, he looks at me sitting on the couch and doesn't seem to notice anything wrong.

"Did you pack?" he asks.

"Not yet."

I stand and move toward the bedroom.

"I'll do it now."

I throw clothes into a bag without really paying attention to what I'm choosing.

Then I get dressed in warmer clothing.

My mind is still spinning from what almost happened in the hallway.

I feel guilty and confused and sad.