It’s stuck with me.
Just like I’m stuck.
And that’s when it hits me.
I’m trapped.
I grab Willow’s hands. A sob makes its way up my throat, but I don’t let it out. I don’t want anyone to hear me cry in public about Pavel. Our outfits make us look like college kids, but drawing attention to ourselves could attract too many nosy people.
And like Willow said, the NYPD is still out to get us.
I take a few shallow breaths and focus on Willow’s shirt. Beneath her collar, bruises that have turned purple overnight peek out at me, hinting at her suffering.
I squeeze my eyes shut. “I just want it all to be over.”
“I know, sweetie.” She hugs me. “I want it to be over for you too. I would sleep better knowing you’re safe.”
“What about your safety?”
She shrugs. “Liya, you’re pregnant. You kind of take priority here.”
“But your safety matters too, Willow. I care about you. If anything ever happened to you, I would—”
Tears spill from my eyes and soak her shirt. She holds onto me for what feels like a long time as I let myself process. I knew it would hit me again. I just didn’t think it would be so soon.
I rub the naked skin of my left ring finger. “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”
“You have options.”
“What options?” I scoff. I sit back and rub my eyes. They’re raw from losing sleep, from crying, and from rubbing them. “Because you’re right. I’m just running.”
“Or you fight back.”
I shake my head. “We’ve already tried that.”
“You’ve done ityourway,” she points out. “But you haven’t done it any other way.”
I give her a curious look. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ve been fighting fire with fire this whole time.” She frowns and looks away for a second. “Which I can understand. It’s how criminals do things.”
“Go on.”
She nods. “So, what if you did things differently? What if you fight fire with water? There are always legal ways of doing things. What if you press the NYPD in other ways?”
“Pavel doesn’t have any connections in the NYPD.”
“Lucky for you.” She gives me a knowing smile. “My father donated a bunch of money to Marion Berkowitz during his election. That name sound familiar?”
“Not particularly.”
“He’s the Manhattan DA.”
“You think we should team up with a DA?” I scratch under the back of my beanie. “I don’t know, Willow. That sounds like a huge mess.”
“I get that. And I also get that your hands are tied here. But this is a chance to let you deal with your problems through the right channels.”
I shake my head. “It won’t fix my marriage.”