Page 170 of Vendetta Vows

His face twists into something ugly. "Your parents were trying to keep us apart. They were poisoning your mind against me. They didn't know how to love you like I do."

I stare at him, anger burning at what I'm hearing.

"My parents were trying to protect me." My hands ball into fists. "Fromyou."

"And now they're dead." Kristofer's eyes harden. "Because they tried to keep us apart. Just like how your Russian thug tried to keep us apart."

"Ruslan will find me," I say, my voice steadier than I expect. "And then he'll kill you."

Kristofer starts laughing.

"What's so funny?"

He reaches into his jacket pocket and tosses his phone onto my lap. "Why don't you see for yourself."

The screen shows a tweet from ABC7 less than an hour ago:Shooting at Dragunov Estate. Multiple Deaths Reported. This is a developing story.

My heart stops.

"No..."

He snatches the phone back before I can click on the attached article or do something to contact the outside world.

"Look what you made me do, Jamie." There's a sick satisfaction in Kristofer's voice he repeats those awful words he wrote in my family's blood. "How many more people have to die before you understand that we're meant to be together?"

I can't breathe, and my engagement ring—Liliya's ring—seems to burn on my finger. I was in Ruslan's arms this morning as his lips whispered endearments into my hair.

And now he's gone?

No. He can't be.

Not when we've only just found each other.

The cold truth settles in my bones: this is my fault. All of it. Hannah still tied up in that house. Ruslan dead. His nieces.

Oh god, the girls.

Are they alright?

Or did they die wondering why their Uncle Ruslan's new wife brought this destruction into their lives?

Seven years I spent running, hiding, and erasing Jamie Fields from existence. Seven years I spent believing that if I disappeared completely, the monster from my past would never find me.

But monsters like Kristofer don't give up. They just keep hunting, patient as death itself.

And now everyone I care about has paid the price for my delusion that I could ever outrun my past.

The past doesn't die. It just waits for the perfect moment to rise from its grave and drag you back into darkness.

I can't run anymore. There's nowhere left to go.

"For what it's worth, Jamie." Kristofer's sausage-like fingers land on my exposed thighs, heavy and possessive as he squeezes. "I forgive you."

I shudder from his touch, wishing I was wearing something other than a simple blouse and a pair of shorts.

"I forgive you for running." His lips twist into a wormy smile and he pulls his hand back to start the car. "I forgive you for hiding. And I can even forgive you for spreading your beautiful legs like a whore to that Russian piece of shit."

"You took everyone from me," I say through clenched teeth. "Everyone I've ever loved."

"Not everyone, Jamie." Kristofer's lips twist into a wormy smile. "You still have me."

The car pulls away from the curb.

END OF BOOK 1

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