Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 87695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Pointy nose. Narrow eyes. Blonde hair. Pretty, but older. Probably in her fifties.
Seamus’s voice slams into the back of my head like a hammer. “Alina! Get down!” He comes storming over to me right as Molchanie turns away, her blonde braid flying across her back. Seamus reaches my side and pushes me behind him as he kneels and aims his gun.
“Wait!” I scream but he’s already shooting. Molchanie disappears into the back of the building.
“Stay here,” Seamus says and runs after her. But he only makes it to the entrance of the storage area. Instead of following, I watch him visibly struggle with the decision. But he pulls himself away, cursing as he hurries back to my side. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. Seamus, how did you know?”
“I followed you. I was too fucking slow though. Forgot the damn address and drove around in circles.” He grips my arm tightly. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I had to talk to her. I had to do it.”
“She could’ve killed you.”
“But she didn’t. She doesn’t want to kill me. She just wants…” I trail off, shaking my head. What does she want? I don’t even know at this point. Something about keeping me away from crime family men like Seamus. Something about avoiding her mistakes.
But that’s not bothering me.
“Come on. I’m taking you home. We can talk about it there.”
No, that isn’t bothering me at all.
Seamus pulls me along. I stagger after him. My head’s reeling as I think back on that glimpse of Molchanie’s face.
Her voice… those eyes, that nose, her chin…
“I need to go home,” I say out on the sidewalk.
“That’s where we’re headed.”
“No, not to my place. I need to go to my father’s place.”
He shakes his head. “Not tonight.”
“Seamus.” I tug back against him. “Listen to me. Please. Take me to my father’s place. It’s important. I’ll explain after, but right now, please do it.”
He stares at me. I can tell he doesn’t like this. I already went against him by coming here.
But I see something else in his face. Something I didn’t expect.
It’s trust. Real trust. Even though it hurts him.
“I’ll take you, but I’m staying nearby.”
“Good.” I touch his face. “Thank you.” I kiss him.
My life is about to change.
Because if I’m right, I know exactly who Molchanie is.
Chapter 31
Alina
“Iknow it’s going to be hard, but please wait here.” I lean across the car and kiss Seamus on the cheek. “Can you do that for me?”
“The last thing I want is to leave you alone right now.”
“I won’t be alone. My father’s place is protected.”
“I’m not sure anywhere is protected from her.” He touches my leg, and I can see the tension in his face. He wants to make sure I’m safe, but I need this right now.
“Please, Seamus. For me.”
He nods sharply. “Thirty minutes. Then I’m coming in after you.”
That’s not ideal, but I don’t argue. I kiss him again before leaving the car and hurrying up the front steps to my father’s house. I use my personal code to get through the gate and into the front foyer, slightly surprised that it still works. Men are lurking, tired-looking guards, and they give me surprised looks as I march back toward my father’s study.
Word of my arrival should be making its way back to him. Which means I don’t have much time.
I start tearing the place to shreds.
This room was sacred when I grew up. The thought of entering my father’s space without his express permission would’ve been impossible. I was always such a good girl back then, and I never would’ve broken his rules, not even if it meant saving my own life.
Now I’m starting to understand the cracks in my family.
The little spaces where I’ve fallen through.
I start at the bookshelf. I’m looking for one specific photograph. It’s a picture I haven’t noticed in a very long time. I rifle through books, riffling the pages at random. I find old money, ticket stubs, and a few torn pieces of paper, but not the picture.
Next, I go through his desk. It’s like desecrating an important crypt. I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I’m moving in a waking dream. I can’t stop myself, not even if I really tried. I flip through papers, over files, across junk, and still there’s nothing. I sit back, glancing at the door, my heart racing into my throat. If I don’t find it before my father gets here—
One last idea.
I go to the picture frames. It’s not in any of them, at least not outwardly. Mostly they show my father, my brother, and a few of me, alongside important members of the family and a few powerful politicians.
I pop out the backs and check to see what’s hiding behind them.
There are more old photos. Pictures I haven’t seen in ages. A few show me and Taras when we were little kids. I was such a baby and Taras was a sullen teenager. It’s no wonder we’ve never been close. He basically helped raise me.