Page 24 of Vendetta Crown

"You're right," he says, a note of admiration in his voice. "How are you thinking so clearly right now?"

"I had to stay rational in the car with Kristofer," I reply. "I didn't have the luxury to break down."

And that's when I realize that I've said his name multiple times now.

Something shifts inside me. It's strange how easily I can say it now, when I used to be unable to even think about it without my heart racing and my hands trembling.

Kristofer.

I say it again in my mind, testing how insignificant it sounds.

When he first kidnapped me, when he had me in that car. His hands crawling up my leg and his worm-like lips against my skin. I was terrified.

But underneath that terror was something else.

It was as if I realized that the monster who'd haunted my nightmares for seven years was just a man.

A sad, fat, disgusting man with stale breath and yellowed teeth.

He was nothing like the devil in my mind during those years of hiding.

I almost laugh at the realization. All this time hiding, all these years of looking over my shoulder, terrified of a shadow.

And when I finally faced him, what did I find? An out-of-shape cop wearing stained clothes.

The idea of Kristofer had been more powerful than the reality.

"What is it?" Ruslan asks, noticing the change in my expression.

"I just realized something," I say. "When I saw Kristofer again, it changed things."

"Changed how?"

"He wasn't what I remembered. Or what I imagined." I wrap my arms around myself. "For seven years, he was this all-powerful monster in my head. But seeing him now, realizing what he's become. He's just a man. A pathetic, cruel man."

I look up at Ruslan, strength flowing through me for the first time since the rescue.

"And I think on some level, I recognized that," I continue. "I saw his weakness. I played on his fantasy of me being his 'good girl' so that I can contact Potyomkin. It was because I knew that he's just a man. A man is dangerous, yes. But a man will make mistakes. A man will bleed. Even ones who think they're monsters."

"No,zarechka,a man will do more than bleed," Ruslan corrects me. "A man can die."

"Yes. In time, Kristofer will die," I say, my voice steadier than I expected. "It's the only way to make sure he doesn't come back to haunt us again."

I tighten the robe around me, using the small gesture to help ground myself. The physical pain from his marks is nothing compared to the psychological comfort of knowing I'm safe with Ruslan now.

"But before that, we need to draw him out somehow."

Ruslan nods, his golden eyes intense as he processes my words. "Kristofer most likely didn't expect Potyomkin to help you. And Semyon probably didn't expect me to survive the attack on the mansion." His jaw tightens. "We've bought ourselves some extra time for now."

"It's only a matter of time before Semyon orders his men into action here in Vegas against Potyomkin," I say, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. The soft mattress provides a small comfort as I consider our next steps.

"Potyomkin knows this too," Ruslan says. "I don't think we can expect his hospitality for much longer."

"What could Kristofer possibly offer Semyon?" I ask, absently running my fingers over the bruise on my cheek. "All the way in Kansas City?"

Ruslan takes my hand in his. "As head of police, Kristofer enables Semyon to expand his reach further east, eventually opening up the possibility of making a play against the East Coast Bratvas. There's also the lucrative guns and drugs trade from the Midwest. All of that goes much more smoothly if you have a reliable man in your pocket."

"And if Kristofer is helping Semyon cover his tracks in Kansas City..."

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