Unable to defend myself.
Then Sacha barged into the room, marching right up to me.
Lev let me go and I gasped, sucking in air.
“I had to jump on a fucking plane and leave Willow alone in that hospital with her sister to come deal with this shit!What. The. Fuck.Adrik?” He shoved his face into mine. “I took youindespite who your father was. I gave you achancewhen no one else wanted to because I thought I saw something honest and decent in you. You were likefamilyto us, man. I don’t fucking get it. Ineverthought you’d do something like this.” A flash of hurt and betrayal flickered in Sacha’s eyes before he stepped back, dragging a hand down his face.
Something cracked in my chest, splitting wide open. The Popovshadtaken me in. They’d been my family for the past eight years. They’d accepted me as I was and treated me like one of their own.
And now they thought I’d betrayed them.
The ache in my chest intensified. Words wouldn’t convince them of my innocence. I would need some kind of proof.
I hung my head. I didn’t have any proof. Not yet. How did I convince them of my innocence?
“How is she?” I asked quietly. “Willow’s sister?”
Sacha narrowed his eyes. “She has a broken leg, but she’ll be okay.”
I nodded. That was a relief.
I hesitated. “I didn’t hurt Annika,” I whispered. “I wouldneverhurt her.”
I lifted my head, forcing myself to confront all the glares that centered on me. Turning my head, I met Efrem’s stare, knowing he was more likely to believe me than anyone else. “I’m telling you, this guy set me up. I would ratherdiethan hurt Annika. You know I wouldneverhurt her.”
I swung my head toward Sacha and met his furious stare. “Youknowme, Sacha. I never evenwantedto be an interrogator. Ihateviolence. I only did it because I didn’t want to disappoint you.”
Something flickered in Sacha’s eyes, but it was gone so fast I couldn’t decipher what it was.
Efrem glanced at his father, then Pavel, and finally, his cousins. “He’s got a point, guys. He hates interrogating people. Most of us have seen how green he gets when he’s forced to use violence to get people to talk. It doesn’t matter who his father was, Adrik’s always been loyal.Decent.No matter what the evidence suggests, I just can’t picture him harming Annika. My gut says he’s telling the truth.”
I heaved out a long sigh of relief. I had one person on my side, at least. But what about the others?
Lev and Dominik continued to watch me intently, their expressions unreadable, while Sacha’s gaze softened just a tad, as if he was starting to believe me.
Vadim, one of the other soldiers, snorted. “I’m not so sure about that. I’ve seen the way Adrik stares at Annika. He’s obsessed with her.”
My face heating, I shook my head back and forth. “It’s not like that.”
“Then tell us how it is,” Pavel growled. “In my experience, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Kirill was a slimy motherfucker. As his oldest son, makes me wonder if you’re just like him and have been fooling us all along.”
“I’mnothinglike him,” I growled. “Ihatethat bastard!”
Pavel and Alexei exchanged a glance. “You meanhated. Past tense. Kirill is dead. Surely you knew that.”
My heart stuttered. “He’s dead? When? How?”
Pavel narrowed his eyes. “Found dead in an alley last year. Multiple stab wounds.”
My breath caught.Multiple stab wounds.Annika’s attacker had stabbed her multiple times…
Bile threatened.Oh, fuck.Swallowing hard, I forced it back down.
If I’d had any doubts before, I didn’t now. Damien was behind this. All of it.
I had caused this.Me.He’d hurt herbecause of me.
Because I’d left him behind.