Page 144 of Vendetta Vows

"I'll find him," he finally says. "But if we do this, it'll have to be careful."

I nod once, sharply. "Fine."

Nodding, Artyom stands up and walks toward the door. He pauses with his hand on the knob and glances back at me, something like a smile tugging at his mouth.

"By the way... congratulations on your wedding,bratishka."

Without another word, Artyom leaves. The soft click of the door punctuates his exit, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I turn to the window, my gaze drawn to the tower where Aurora sleeps. My princess in her tower. The thought comes unbidden, and with it a sharp memory of Aurora's voice in that alleyway when we first met, dissecting the script with her passionate frustration.

"She can't just be a damsel in distress. She'd have to be the one to confront her past, and he has to be the one who empowers her to do so."

I sigh and drain the whiskey in a single gulp.

How am I supposed to empower her to confront Kristofer when every instinct screams at me to hunt him down myself? How do I give her the strength to face her nightmares when all I want is to eliminate them for her?

The buzz of my phone interrupts my thoughts. I glance down, surprised to see Sienna Voss's name on my screen. After blackballing her from Hollywood, I didn't expect to hear from her again.

I open the message.

It's just a single text to an Instagram link.

Something about that link sends an ominous chill sliding down my spine. I tap the link, and my heart stops.

It's the photo of Aurora that Sienna took at Nikoforov. Her eyes wide with panic as she tried to stop Sienna from taking it. But it's the caption beneath that captures my attention:

Meet Ruslan Dragunov's latest fling: Jamie Fields. Disappeared seven years ago and declared dead until I caught them together at Nikoforov. I always knew this town was dirty, but I didn't realize just how dirty it really was.

My grip tightens until the phone case creaks in protest. My first instinct is to call Artyom back and have him handle Sienna permanently. But I force myself to think clearly through the red haze clouding my vision.

This isn't a problem I can solve with violence.

This accusation, these lies... they're already out there, and Sienna is no fool.

She attached my name to the post both as a threat and as insurance that I won't take any actions against her. She knows that if I do, the entire internet will explode with gossip.

And then all the Twitter sleuths and Reddit weirdos will start looking into Jamie Fields. They'll inevitably find a connection between her and Aurora Castellanos.

All of sudden, I find myself without any room to maneuver.

And I realize just how difficult it's going to be for me to protect Aurora.

From Kristofer. From Tamara. From the world.

From her marriage to me.

38

AURORA

The phone buzzesagainst the nightstand, jarring me from my thoughts. Hannah's name flashes across the screen. My stomach twists before I even answer.

"Hey," I say, keeping my voice light.

"Aurora." Hannah's tone already tells me something's wrong. "Have you been on Instagram?"

"I haven't, why?"

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