Page 67 of Broken Embers

“Where are you?” Sabrina breathes. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Tara laughs. “No. I’m okay. I was saved from the RMSAD. And… well…”

She lifts her hand.

There’s a ring on her finger.

Sabrina’s mouth falls open. “You’re engaged?”

Tara grins. “Married.”

“Married?” I echo, stepping closer to the screen.

“To whom?” Sabrina stares in shock at her sister’s hand.

Tara laughs. “The man who saved me. Who risked everything to do so.”

And then the screen shifts slightly.

A tall, handsome man steps into view beside her.

Jet-black hair. Piercing eyes. Cold, calculating stare.

Sabrina stiffens beside me. “That’s him,” she whispers. “The man in the woods—the messenger.”

My hand tightens around her waist, pulling her slightly behind me. Protective. Instinctive.

Tara doesn’t seem to notice the shift.

“I’m married to Ruslan Dragunov,” she announces, as if dropping a bomb.

“Hello,” Ruslan says. His voice is smooth, velvet-wrapped steel. “Nice to finally meet you both.”

I nod curtly, keeping my expression unreadable.

Sabrina manages a polite smile. “Where are you? If you’re still in Russia, we’d love to see you. Especially Mom.”

Tara falters. “We… we can’t,” she says, her eyes flicking to Ruslan, who smoothly takes over.

“We’re laying low for a while,” he says. “Some of my former clients have recently been arrested. There’s… interest in tracking down all associations.”

I don’t miss the pointed nature of that comment.

“Thanks for the alliance,” I say coolly, moving the conversation away from who got his ‘client’ locked up. “I’ll have my legal team review the details and get back to you.”

“Of course,” Ruslan says smoothly, his gaze raking over us. “It’s a mutually beneficial agreement.”

There’s a long pause.

Tension simmers under the surface.

Sabrina clears her throat. “Where are you going to lay low?”

Tara blinks. “You know I can’t tell you that.”

“But—” Sabrina falters, panic bubbling to the surface. She glances at me helplessly.

I step in. “She wants to ask you something.”

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