Page 41 of Unrequited

I’m begging, whimpering… pathetic. But I have to make him believe me.

And he does.

He questions me, of course. He’s not stupid. But eventually, he says he’s going. Hepromiseshe’s going.

Thank fuck.

Then I call Semyon.

Rodion.

Matvei.

Vadka.

And I lie toevery one of them.

I make it believable. I make it sound real. And one by one, they say they’re going.

My time is running out.

And I can only pray that it’s enough. That the distraction will hold. That it’llwork.

Because right now? Right now, all that matters is that they go.

I walk around the house. I feel like I’ve betrayed everyone. My brothers, my family—every single person who ever trusted me.

And worst of all? I’ve betrayed the only man I’ve ever loved.

I don’t know what the hell to do with myself now. I walk around like a ghost, every step heavier than the last.

My first call is to Mia. My voice is broken when I whisper her name.

“Mia,” I say, barely getting the words out. “I’ve never needed you to lie for me like this. Never. But I need it now. I need you to lie like your life depends on it. Please.”

I tell her as little as possible—just enough to get her on my side. I don't want her to be in danger. I don't want anyone else dragged into the mess I created. But she gets it. She always does.

“Yes,” she says. “Of course. You were here the whole night. What happened, Zoya? Are you okay? Are you safe?”

“I am now,” I lie. Or maybe I don’t. Am I? I’m not sure anymore. But I reassure her anyway. “I think I am.”

The sob tears out of me before I can stop it. I’ve betrayed them all. Will Seamus find out? God. What happens if he does? Why is that what terrifies me more than even my own brothers finding out? Why is he the one I’m afraid of?

Hehad that message on his phone. Because he was hiding something big. He was in league with someone who wants to burn my family to the ground.

No wonder we rarely left the bar. No wonder everything’s always on edge. He’s been lying to me. Keeping things from me. Playing a game I didn’t even know I was in.

Has he been seducing me this whole time? Was I just another part of the plan?

I sit in the quiet, waiting for the fallout. And it comes faster than I imagined.

Chapter 7

SEAMUS

By some miracleor maybe divine intervention—the Kopolovs don’t show up.

“Destroy them all.” Orders straight from my boss.