Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94640 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94640 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
"Anya!" I yell, the desperation in my voice impossible to hide. "Anya!"
I do a mental inventory of who’s home. Rodion and Ember are back at their place. Stefan and Zoya are here, Rafail’s family. Yana.
She’s the closest one. But when I go to her door and knock, there’s no answer.
Fuck.
I try again, but as I turn down the hall, a door behind me opens. Yana stands in the doorway, her eyes blurry, wearing sweats and a T-shirt.
"Semyon? Are you alright?”
"No. I can’t find Anya. The surveillance footage is blank, and I can’t make any phone calls."
Yana is instantly awake.
"Fuck," she says, turning to tug on boots and pulling a gun from her bedside table.
I hear the pounding of her footsteps as she finishes getting dressed. I’m already running.
I head outside, barking orders to the guards and asking questions. No one’s seen her. The estate is locked down in minutes, but without our ability to communicate—
If she did betray me…
I’ll find her, no matter what. I have to.
Chapter 27
ANYA
I wander the grounds, navigating my way as quietly as I can through the areas least likely to be under surveillance. Zoya taught me. While they have guards and cameras everywhere, the service entrance by the kitchen used for staff and deliveries doesn’t have the same heavy guard presence as the main entrances. The perimeter fencing near dense shrubbery leads to hidden pathways only Zoya seems to know about. It seems the youngest sister has had reason to want privacy and found a way to make it happen.
Ophelia has to talk to me, and if it has anything to do with my brother—I can’t risk the Kopolov family finding out.
I never wanted this to be a choice between my family and theirs. I close my eyes as a rush of heat floods me. I need to stay awake, sober and ready, but my strength feels like it’s at an all-time low.
I know the danger, but my friend needs me, and I don't feel like I can trust myself right now.
I call Ophelia, but her phone rings and rings, and she doesn't answer. I text her, but there's no response.
What the hell?
I stare at the gate and mentally go through the motions. I know exactly how to get out of here if I have to, but I can't leave my little brother. My throat catches.
I've just started to feel like I have a family.
I text Ophelia again.
I’m here. Where are you?
Why does Ophelia have news about my brother?
"There she is."
The low, dark Irish drawl behind me sends shivers down my spine.
I spin around to see a man wearing a mask, sitting on a bench, and someone is bound to him. I can't see in the moonlight. I take a step forward.
"Ophelia!" I yell into the darkness, but the man sitting there shakes his head and chuckles. His laughter sends a shiver down my spine.
"What did you do with Ophelia?" I put steel in my voice but can't help that it shakes.
"Your friend is safe and sound in her bed," he says with a smile I can see through the mask. "She did what she was told, like a good little girl. Unlike some other people I know."
I glare at him and take another step closer, even as everything in me tells me not to.
"Don't worry, your husband isn't coming to get you. He has no idea where you are. He's probably running around looking for you.” The man leans forward on his forearms, his eyes meeting mine.
"And your brother is going to fucking love watching that footage I got from the bakery."
My stomach twists into knots.
"You're disgusting," I gasp, covering my mouth with my hand when I realize it is my brother sitting next to him. He's unconscious, his head tilted to the side.
Is he dead?
"What did you do to my brother?"
"He's been sedated," the man drawls. He laughs. "You recognize him, don’t you?"
I stare, disbelieving.
Why is my brother here?
"You see, lass," he continues, "your brother and your father had a lot more to do with this than you thought, didn't they?"
He shakes his head.
"Your father signed you away as easily as he signed off your mother's diamond ring. Tragic what people will do for money, isn’t it?”
We've all been played. Every fucking one of us.
"What do you want from me?" I demand.
“Oh, just the same thing your brother and father gave me," he says with a smile. "You're gonna go back to your man," he says in that drawl. "You’ll pretend that none of this ever happened. You’ll run in crying for help and say that your brother is here.” He leans forward, his eyes glittering. “Aren't you, lass?"
I stare, unblinking. He wants me to spy?
They’ll kill me.
"And then when I ask questions, you give me answers."
“I am not going to be a spy for you!" I shake my head. There has to be another way.