So, I give up. I let him sit me on the bed. I allow him to hold my shoulders.
He tilts my chin and forces me to look at him. “You’ll never come second. I promise.”
I shake my head. “Liar.”
It’s a painful blow. It’s the worst thing he could have said. It drives the nail right into my coffin. I break eye contact but don’t turn away. The warmth of his fingers on my skin serves as an agonizing reminder of what I’m going to lose.
His silence asks more than his lips ever could.
I bow my head. I close my eyes. I push his hands away.
“Because,” I whisper weakly as my heart cracks in two. “That’s the one promise you were never able to keep.”
Chapter Twenty
Pavel
Liya is shaking when I release her. I know what she’s feeling. It’s the same one I get every time she steps away from me. The chill of her statement sends me toward the other side of the room. I approach the closet. I almost open the door just to do something that isn’t worrying about the future. Just for a taste of that old familiar normalcy.
I glance at Liya.That’ll never happen again.
This isn’t what I want. The arguments, the tension, and the detachment are driving picks into my heart every single day. She denied my kiss just days ago. Now, she’s denying my help.
It’s like she doesn’t even want me around anymore.
“You can’t do this alone. You need my help.”
“I’m not doing it alone, Pavel. I have help. And it’s not you.”
Help—that’s laughable. The DA is only playing on her team because she has valuable information. He doesn’t care about her. Not like me. Not the way my Bratva—my family—cares for her. I just don’t understand why she can’t see that.
I focus my gaze on her.Unless she was promised something I can’t deliver.“What deal did you make with Berkowitz, Liya?”
“Safety. For everyone.”
Disappointment and irritation churn my gut. While most of my days are spent putting the finishing touches on my plan, some of them are spent in despondent silence. My office has become my second bedroom. Liya doesn’t seem bothered by that.
But she does seem bothered by me making an effort to save Zoya.
My mind circles around one thought and one thought only. It’s the same one that seems to surface whenever Liya gets this way—when she wants to enact her plan without any influence from me.
I cross my arms. “You don’t think I can do it. You don’t trust me to do it.”
She launches herself from the bed and turns when she reaches the closet door. Her arms tighten around her shoulders for protection. But is she protecting herself from me, or from the truth?
“I’m tired of this, Pavel,” she says. “I told you how I feel—that I don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t wantanyoneto get hurt.”
“The DA might get hurt.”
“You think he’s going to be there in person? He’s the DA for Chrissake, Pavel! Not one of your Brigadiers!”
I click my tongue twice. “Liya, haven’t you learned yet?”
She shakes her head in disgust. “Don’t you fucking patronize me, Pavel.”
“Are you sure this is the right move?”
She lifts her chin proudly. “Yes, I’m positive. This is the only move we can make. Because anything else will just show that Felix is still in control of everything and everyone.”