I know he’ll follow through on what he’s threatening. Giana and Tommas mean nothing to him. They’re only at the other end of his gun because he knows they mean something tome, and the old guilt starts to creep in, twisting around my soul.
I’d be safer without you.
“I’ll come back, then.” The words come out sharply, almost without my meaning for them to, a last resort. The last thing in the world that I want is to leave Sasha now, when we finally have what we both want, when there’s the possibility of so much ahead of us. I feel her stiffen next to me, her mouth dropping open to protest, but I plow forward anyway, shaking my head at her.
“You can have me, if that’s what you want. You can do what you like with me, as long as you let Giana and Tommas go. I won’t argue or fight. The family name, the money, my life–you want those things? Fine, you can have them. But my terms are that I’m the last one you hurt.”
Even as I say it, a strange sort of acceptance settles over me. I don’t want to leave, to let Art take his revenge out on me, for this to be another goodbye. But I know that Levin can keep Sasha safe. I know that even without me, she’ll have protection and the possibility of a life ahead of her.
I can’t be responsible for anyone I care about dying. I know that Art will kill them without question, and I also know that this can’t be the reward that Giana and Tommas receive for their long service to the Agosti family in the end.
They’d saved my life.
Art laughs. “Very poetic, brother. You always did have a way with words. I’ll take you up on that offer–but I’m going to add terms of my own. You don’t come alone.”
I pause. “What do you mean?” I’m almost certain I already know, but I want to hear him say it aloud before I act. Next to me, I can see Sasha standing with her hand clamped over her mouth, staring at me in horror. Levin has quietly stepped closer, his face a cold, calculating mask as he listens to the call.
“You bring Sasha with you,” Art says firmly. “If you come alone, then I will kill one of them. Probably the old lady. The two of you come together, and you can save them both. Your life, and Sasha’s submission to me for their lives.”
“You’re out of your fucking mind.” The words come out from between clenched teeth, an angry snarl. “You think I’m going to hand over the woman I love to you, to let you have her, after everything she’s been through?”
I can almost hear Art’s shrug on the other end. “All she has to do is obey, and I might even let her enjoy it.”
“Tesoro!” Giana shrieks, her voice tinny and fearful. “Don’t do it. It’s not worth it, Maximilian. You’ve escaped, don’t bring her back–”
I hear a sharp thud, and then a cry of pain. “Art!” I shout his name into the phone, my heart beating hard in my chest. “Don’t fucking touch her–”
“Then agree to my terms.” His voice comes from further away, as if the phone was dropped, and then closer as I hear the sound of him picking it up. “You and Sasha meet me here, and I’ll let them live, both of them, relatively unharmed. Just a little bruised and scared.” He laughs. “If just you come, then I kill the old lady. If neither of you come–” he pauses dramatically. “I’ll kill them both slowly. After all, I’ll need to take it out on someone. It will make me very angry if you tell me no.”
“I’m not–”
“Yes!” Sasha’s voice bursts out next to me, her hand suddenly clutching my arm. “We’ll do it. I’ll come with Max.”
“What?” I turn sharply to stare at her, feeling my blood run cold. “No, Sasha. There’s another way–”
“There isn’t,” Art says crisply. “Listen to your woman, Max. She’s clearly smarter than you. Both of you agree, or I start taking pieces off. Beginning with the old lady.”
“Her name is Giana,” I grind out from between my teeth. “And I swear to fucking God–”
Art makes a disapproving clicking sound. “Such language. No wonder they threw you out of the priesthood. Make a decision, Max, or I’ll make sure you hear her screams before you get off the phone.”
“You have to take me with you,” Sasha insists breathlessly. I can hear the fear in her voice, the way she’s trembling all over, but she repeats it, more firmly this time. “I want to help save them, too, Max. You wouldn’t be alive at all if not for them. We wouldn’t have had this time together. We can’t just leave them to what he’ll do.”
“Aww,how sweet,” Art drawls sarcastically. “Such altruism. She really would have made a terrible wife for you, Max. You just can’t get this attached to the staff.”
Levin makes a sharp hand motion, getting my attention, and I look at him with a rising desperation. Sasha’s right that we can’t leave Giana and Tommas at Art’s mercy, but I can’t see how the answer is to hand ourselves over to him.
“Make the deal,” Levin mouths silently, exaggerated so that I can read his lips, his eyes narrowed. “Trust me. Do it.”
My heart thuds in my chest, cold fear gripping me at the thought of taking Sasha back into the jaws of the viper, but if there’s one man whose cunning and judgment I trust above anyone else’s, it’s Levin.
“Fine,” I grit out. “Sasha and I will come back and agree to your terms. But I want to see proof that Giana and Tommas are alive, and that they’ll go free and unharmed, before we give ourselves up.”
“With pleasure,” Art says, that sneering laugh in his voice. “Come back home, Max, and I’ll tell you where to meet me. Make sure you keep this phone on you. I don’t want to have to track you down again.”
I hear Giana’s voice, faintly, calling for me. Before I can answer, the line goes dead, and I’m left with only silence on the other end.
I snap it shut, shoving the phone back into my pocket as I turn sharply toward Levin and Sasha. “What were you thinking?” I exclaim, staring at her. “I wouldneverhave agreed to bring you back to him–”