Page 64 of Twisted Fate

“Not yet.” He watches me evenly, his gaze narrowed. “You did well. I’m pleased, Valentina. But I want you to wait. Don’t go near Abramov. I want to see that you can follow my instructions. That you can be patient.”

I nod, but I can feel myself tense, a reaction that I fight to hide. I’m meant to meet Konstantin tomorrow night, to go over the rest of our plan. I’d hoped that Kane would send me directly after him, as soon as the hits on Genovese and Slakov were done. Now, I’m unsure of what to do.

I’m going to have to sneak out. Come up with some other excuse as to where I’m going, say that I need time alone. To go for a walk, get dinner, clear my head. I’m not a prisoner in this mansion, so far as I know. But that could change.

“Whatever you say,” I manage deferentially, and Kane smiles, pleased.

“Perhaps I was hasty to be so angry with you, Valentina. You made an error. But I can see you want to make it right. Don’t worry. I won’t make you wait long.” He puts the photos in a drawer, closing it firmly. “Get some rest. We’ll discuss this soon.”

I nod and turn to leave, fighting every instinct in my body to put an end to him here and now. But that’s not the plan. It would be reckless, foolish. And I haven’t survived this long to be reckless now.

Back in my room, I shower, washing off the sweat and exhaustion from the night, and slip into bed, missing Konstantin all over again. I feel like I need to see him tomorrow night for more than just planning. I need to see him .

The next night I make up an excuse that I’m going out, that I need a drink, and to decompress from the missions, from my two kills the night before.

Kane buys it, nodding and telling me to be careful, before returning to his reading in his study.

I throw on jeans and a T-shirt, my hair pulled back into a ponytail as I head to the rendezvous point that Konstantin and I decided on.

We chose a small café in a neighborhood that’s not near where either of us typically go.

Konstantin is already there when I arrive, sitting in a spot that allows him to see the entrances and exits.

He clocks me immediately, and I think I see a glimmer of pleasure in his eyes.

It makes my pulse beat faster. My heart does something strange when I see him—a quick, hard squeeze that leaves me momentarily breathless.

It's been two days since we parted, but it feels like weeks.

I slide into the chair across from him, careful to keep my expression neutral for any watching eyes. "It's done," I say simply.

He nods, studying my face. "You okay?"

The question catches me off guard. No one has ever asked me that after a mission before. Not 'Was it successful?' or 'Were you seen?' but 'Are you okay?'

"I'm fine," I say automatically. Then, more quietly, “I was glad to take them out, honestly. Now you’re safe from them, too. It made the kill—easier. Different.”

Konstantin’s gaze holds mine, and I can tell that there are things he wants to say but isn’t. I want to pry them out of him, but the truth is, I don’t know how. Not in the way that I should in a healthy relationship, anyway. I’ve never had one.

“My father still doesn’t know about you,” he says finally. “He asked when you’d come for family dinner, and I said you weren’t feeling well. He perked up at that—I think he thought I meant you were pregnant.”

I swallow hard. The thought of Konstantin getting me pregnant feels different now. I see a flash of heat in his eyes, and I know he’s thinking the same thing.

“I have my own men that are loyal to me,” Konstantin says.

“Two days. Forty-eight hours from now, that night, me and my men will breach Kane’s security and get onto the grounds.

You need to be ready to help us. We’ll back you up while you take him out.

I have cleaners who can take care of the evidence. ”

I nod, my heart rate picking up at the thought. “I have to be the one to do it. However I want to do it.”

“Of course.” Konstantin’s eyes meet mine, and he reaches across the table, his fingers brushing the back of my hand. “Whatever you want to do with him, volchitsa . I’ll be there to back you up.”

Unexpectedly, tears prick the back of my eyes. This man is nothing that I ever expected, and everything that I didn’t dare imagine for myself. My heart aches at the thought of losing him, of him walking away at the end of all of this, and yet…

I don’t know how to say what’s in my head and in my heart. I’ve spent my entire life blocking out my emotions, stuffing them down, bottling them up. Feeling gets you killed, in my line of work. I learned long ago how not to feel.

But I think Konstantin understands that, too.

“And after?” I ask, testing the waters. Konstantin’s eyebrows rise, ever so slightly.

“We’ll figure it out,” he says simply. “Do you know what you want, Valentina?”

“I—no,” I admit, as much as I don’t want it to be the truth. “I haven’t ever had a chance to imagine what my life would be, after it was done. After I got my revenge. And now that it’s close?—”

His fingers squeeze mine. “When it’s done,” he says quietly. “Then you figure it out.”

I don’t know what kind of future two people like us have together. What we could be, outside of what I’ve been and who Konstantin is. But I can’t help hoping that we’ll get the chance to find out.

“When it’s done,” I echo, tightening my fingers ever so slightly around his, too.

The moment stretches between us, fragile and precious.

For a few heartbeats, we're just a man and a woman in a café, touching hands across a table, full of a tentative hope for a future that neither of us had envisioned before this.

Then I see it—a reflection in the window behind Konstantin.

A familiar face among the pedestrians outside.

One of Kane’s men. He doesn’t keep active security at the mansion—he has alarms and cameras and everything else except actual bodies there to protect him—but he has his goons, and I recognize one of them.

"We need to go," I say, pulling my hand away. "Now."

Konstantin doesn't question me, immediately alert. "Back exit?"

I nod, already rising. "Meet me at your car. If I'm not there in three minutes, go without me."

He looks like he wants to argue, but there's no time. We split up, him heading for the back, me making for the front door as if I haven't noticed anything amiss. My hope is that Kane’s man didn’t see me with Konstantin yet. That my cover story for the night isn’t completely blown.

Outside, I scan the street, trying to spot Kane's man again. He's gone from his previous position, melted into the crowd. Not good. He could be calling for backup or circling around to the back exit. He might have seen Konstantin. He might be calling Kane, telling him about my lie.

My heart beats rabbit-fast in my chest as I cut through the gelato shop next door, pushing past startled patrons as I head toward their rear exit, which opens onto the same alley Konstantin should be using.

I burst through the door just in time to see him engaged in a silent, vicious struggle with the man I spied outside.

The man who must have circled around, intending to cut me off.

My blood runs cold as I break into a run toward them.

They're evenly matched—both big men, both skilled fighters.

But Kane's man has a knife, and he's maneuvering it toward Konstantin's throat with terrifying precision.

Konstantin is trying to reach for his gun, but the other man has him in a vise grip, the two of them struggling to break loose of each other.

I don't hesitate. Three quick strides and I'm on them, drawing my own knife and going for the other man’s kidney.

He lets out a cry of pain, his grip on Konstantin loosening just enough for Konstantin to break free and deliver a crushing blow to his temple.

The man crumples to the ground, bleeding out rapidly.

"Did he hurt you?" Konstantin asks urgently, his gaze sweeping over me. I shake my head quickly.

"I'm fine," I assure him. "But we need to move. If he's here, there might be others. He might have called for backup. We need to go."

We break into a run, heading for where Konstantin left his vehicle.

We make it halfway to the car before they catch up with us—a black SUV screeching to a halt at the end of the alley, four men pouring out with weapons drawn.

We turn, ready to retreat, only to find our path blocked by another vehicle, and more armed men.

"Run," Konstantin growls, shoving me toward a narrow gap between buildings. I hear the fear in his voice, fear for me , and my blood runs cold. I turn, just in time to see him pulling out a gun, clearly intending to cover me while I run.

“Konstantin—” I shout his name, in the same instant that I feel a sharp sting in my neck, like a bee in the summer.

My hand flies up, and I feel a small dart protruding from my skin. Tranquilizer.

"Konstantin," I manage to say, my voice already slurring. "Run."

The world tilts sideways. I see Konstantin turning back for me, horror on his face as I stumble.

He reaches for me, but he's too late. My legs give out, and I'm falling, falling into darkness. I hear the sound of footsteps behind me, other men coming to take me away, to surround us so that Konstantin can’t get free?—

The last thing I see before unconsciousness claims me is Konstantin fighting desperately to reach me, Kane's men closing in around him like wolves. And the last thought that flits through my mind, as I try to reach for him and can’t raise my hand, as I feel hands on my body, lifting me up, is that I should have told him how I feel.

That even in the midst of all the lies and chaos and betrayal, I should have, at some point, told him that even though I was sent to kill him…

I fell in love with him instead.