By now, I was certain that Papa never betrayed Kon or else Riku wouldn’t be so hellbent on killing him. It was cold comfort to be right all along. Really, no comfort at all after what I just did. If Kon believed me, he was heading to his death. And then Papa would be next. Riku would never give up, making promises during the beatings to send my fingers to the Fokins to try to flush him out.
The sound of the door outside my room slamming made me suck in a painful breath. I waited in silence until I heard a car drive off, and straightened up on my hands and knees to retch. Riku and his men were on their way to the place I had sent Kon to lie in wait and kill him.
One of the things that had irked me so much about Kon was his lack of trust. I used to lie in that guest room bed, praying that he would just have a little faith in me. Now I clasped my bruised hands together and beseeched whoever was up there that he still didn’t trust me and wouldn’t go to the ambush.
If he did, I would be as responsible for his death as Riku, and it would kill me. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself, or without him.
“I love you,” I said, as if he could hear me.
A few weeks ago, he was the man I would have given anything to be away from. Now he was the only man I wanted. The only person I shared my darkest nightmares with. And he made them go away. He made me stronger, forcing me to fight. And always kept me safe.
Everything hurt; there was no way to get comfortable, not on the chair Riku left in my room, and not on the concrete floor. But nothing hurt as much as my heart. The realization that I could never have what I wanted, even if I lived through this, had me curled up in a ball.
It was over. All of my fight was gone. Even if Kon lived through the attack, he’d never believe I wasn’t a part of it after the way I ran from him.
What would he think of you now?A little voice in my head whispered, then grew louder through the stinging pain from Riku dragging me around by my hair.What would Papathink? Just giving up like you’re weak. Where’s that spine of steel?
Dragging myself up bit by bit, I returned to the window and tore down the blinds, then smashed my fists against the glass. No guard burst in to stop me. Riku had left me alone, sure I was too battered to make an escape attempt. He was wrong. A long crack appeared in the heavy storm window and spurred me to hit harder, then pound at the boards on the other side when it shattered.
No, I wouldn’t give up, not as long as there was a single breath left in my body. Even if it took the rest of my life to make Kon believe I was on his side. As I whaled on the plywood, I heard a loud crash in between strikes.
That wasn’t me.
Then there was the sound of thumping footsteps in the hall. About to pass out, but furious that I was so close, I ignored whoever was coming to tie me up again and kept working.
“Tati?” a familiar voice called. The only voice I wanted to hear.
I stopped, wondering if this was all my imagination. The door splintered and gave way with a bang as it hit the wall, and Kon stood there, a gun in each hand, fierce and violent. He swore, lowering his guns and rushing to my side, taking my bleeding hands in his.
“You didn’t believe me,” I said, overjoyed.
“Of course not. I could tell you were under duress,” he said, swearing some more as I collapsed against him. My eyes fluttered. It was so hard to keep them open. I didn’t have to be strong anymore, not when Kon was here to be strong for me.“And on top of that, I knew you weren’t with your father, because Grigor’s at Dima’s house, safe and, well, mostly sound.”
“You saved him, too?” I asked, opening my eyes to smile at him.
“Something like that. Damn it, Tati. Don’t ever scare me like this again.”
“Deal,” I told him, wrapping my arms around him as he cradled me close to his chest.
Chapter 42 - Konstantin
Walking up to that house was one of the most terrifying moments of my life. Not for myself, but for what I might have lost. It was dark and quiet. Was she already dead? Then a racket sounded from the back, and I tore inside like the place was on fire, no idea what was going on, but unable to stand by when Tati needed me.
And there she was, as fierce as any warrior, using the last shreds of her strength to try to free herself. She barely stayed conscious long enough to recognize who I was, and her smile felt like sunshine after a long Moscow winter. My girl was going to be okay.
The last thing she tried to tell me was that she held out as long as she could, and I could have shaken her if she weren’t already so weak. While it was a shocking surprise to be able to just walk in and take her away, I wished that Riku were there so I could make him suffer a fate a thousand times worse than what he put Tati through.
There would be time for that, and the men I’d sent to the ambush point would do their best to capture him and bring him in alive. Then he’d pay, and continue paying.
“You’re fine now,” I said when she briefly roused and tried to fight as I put her in the car.
Dima was horrified at her condition, despite not having a single mark on her face. “This might be the time to go to a hospital.”
Tati’s eyes flew open again. “No hospital. I just want to be with…” She reached weakly for my hand as her eyes drifted shut. “No hospital,” she repeated.
“If your doc tells me to send her, that’s where she’ll go,” I said, then had Dima and his guys search the area in case anyone had scurried off when we pulled up.
She slept the entire way back to the house, where Olivia was waiting, her phone clamped to her ear. “They’re here,” she said. “I’ll keep you updated.”