Page 42 of Wicked Refusal

“Likehim.”

Her words cut deep. Deeper than I want to admit, even to myself. But what cuts deeper still is the look on her face. Pure heartbreak.

I turn around and force myself to breathe. Long, deep—enough to stifle the flames burning inside me. But all it does is fan them higher.

“I’m nothing like him.”

“I used to think that, you know.” Mia walks up to me, her shoulders squared, her eyes unafraid.Challengingme. “But then you lied to me. You put me in Prizrak’s crosshairs, put my son in danger?—”

“When are you going to let it fucking go?” I ask. “I had it under control! I was going to protect you!”

“Well, tough shit, because youdidn’t!”

Mia is panting hard now, face red and hot. It reminds me of all the ways I’ve seen her like that before: every fight, every argument. Every night spent together in the dark.

“You didn’t,” she repeats. “Instead,Ihad to protect us. I had to crawl back into a monster’s den, all because of the shit you did. So, you wanna know when I’m going to get over it?” Her voice cracks, but doesn’t break. “I wish I fucking knew. Maybe tomorrow, maybe never. But you sure as hell don’t get to demand my forgiveness. Not when you haven’t even apologized.”

Never.

That word gets stuck in my head. It drowns out all else, replacing it with a pounding in my skull, a ringing in my ears.

Then the door flies open.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Maksim wheezes. He looks like he’s been running. “We’ve got a situation downstairs.”

“Not now, Maks.”

“Yes, now, Yulian.”

I turn around with fire in my eyes. “Isaid?—”

“Slavik is dead.”

14

YULIAN

Time slows to a crawl. Just for a moment—enough for Maksim’s words to sink in.

Then it picks back up at twice the speed. “Explain,” I bark.

“Shot through the head,” Maksim says. “At his place, across the street.”

I freeze. It’s impossible. I didn’t hear anything. No gunfire, no commotion, no nothing—how can he be fuckingdead?

But Maksim’s face is paler than I’ve ever seen it, and I can tell he isn’t joking. He’d never joke about this.

My gaze locks with Mia’s. All her fury seems to have ebbed away, replaced by worry. Subconsciously, her hand flies to her belly.

“Go,” she urges. “We’ll be fine.”

I don’t want to go. To leave her here, unguarded, goes against every single one of my instincts. She’smine. I don’t leave what’s mine, ever.

Maksim seems to read on my face how reluctant I am. “I’ll call Nikita,” he offers. “She should be with the movers right now, in the parking lot.”

Parking lot.A thirty-second elevator ride up. It’s longer than I’d like, but it’ll have to do.

“Do it,” I order.