Page 92 of Twisted Fate

I look up at him, and feel a clarity washing through me, cold and sharp as a blade.

"I want to kill him," I say simply. "I want to destroy everything he's built. I want him to know, in his last moments, that the weapon he created is the one that’s killed him."

I should feel some sort of horror at myself, I suppose, at the kind of person I’ve become. But instead, the words just feel cleansing. It feels good to face who I am, to own it, to take control of it—to use the darkness that’s lived inside of me since that night to my own advantage.

I’m not just Kane’s creation. I’m a survivor in my own right. And I’ll survive him, too.

Konstantin just looks at me evenly, unfazed by my viciousness, undeterred by my anger. He understands that darkness. He has it in him, too—he has to, to have lived as the heir to a Bratva family for so long. And he’s not put off by mine.

He reaches for my hand, covering it with his, his fingers interlacing with mine. "Then that's what we'll do," he promises.

I don’t pull away. The storm rages on outside. My fingers intertwine with his, and neither of us says anything. We just sit there, in that blue darkness of the storm—and for the first time in my life, I don’t feel alone.

I feel like I have someone I can count on.

24

VALENTINA

The plan that we come up with is both dangerous and simple, all at once.

We decide that it’s best for me to return to Kane, contrite and apologetic. I apologize for my weakness, for my failure, for losing sight of the mission. I offer to take out Don Genovese and the Slakov patriarch as a show of my good faith, to prove that I’m still loyal to him. I promise to do better, if he’ll give me another chance with Konstantin.

I’m meant to grovel, which isn’t my strong suit. I’m not sure that I can do it, if I’m being honest, but Konstantin thinks I can. Konstantin needs Genovese and Slakov dead, so if I can convince Kane to let me carry out the hits to prove my loyalty, we can kill two birds—literally—with one stone… or rather, two bullets. When I’ve gotten my way back into Kane’s good graces, then Konstantin and I will make a move to kill him.

Leaving the safe house is harder than I expected. We haven’t talked about how we feel about each other. We slept in the same bed last night, but Konstantin didn’t try to touch me. I don’t know what future there is for us—if there even is one at all. Idon’t know if he still wants me, beside the base urges of his body. I don’t know if I’ll survive this.

He drops me off at a coffee shop in the suburbs, from where I’ll call an Uber and head back to Kane’s mansion. We sit there in the parking lot for longer than we probably should, as I try to think of a way to tell this man goodbye—this man who is my husband, and not, and who I feel things for that I never thought I was capable of.

“Be careful,” Konstanin finally says. “Be smart, Valentina. I know you are. Don’t let him get to you, and we’ll take the bastard down. Be patient.”

I swallow hard, my throat tightening until I’m not sure I can speak. I give him a tight, quick nod and slide out of the Mercedes, heading toward the coffee shop.

I don’t look back. When I hear the sound of the Mercedes pulling away after a lingering pause, I wish that I had.

The Uber drops me off in front of Kane’s mansion, and I feel a swimming sense of deja-vu, the memory of coming back here from my Moscow job only a few weeks ago stark in my mind. Everything was different then. I didn’t know the truth. I thought I might be about to get out, to turn over a new leaf, to finally get my revenge and close this chapter of my life.

I’m going to get my revenge. But nothing about it is how I planned.

There are no guards at the door, no one waiting for me with guns in hand. I walk up to the front door as I always have, use my key to let myself in. Rosa is nowhere to be seen. I walk through the mansion, smelling lemon and salt, toward Kane’s study where I know he’ll be.

There’s no shock on Kane’s face when I walk into the room. He looks up, his jaw tightening as he sees me, his face so expressionless that I couldn’t pinpoint what emotion he’s feeling if I tried. There’s nothing there. No rage. No hurt. Not evendisappointment. He doesn’t gesture for me to sit down, and so I remain standing, a few feet from his desk as he looks at me.

His eyes are ice-cold, and a shiver runs down my spine.

“Valentina,” he says finally, and I feel an ache in my chest. A longing, to hear Konstantin say my name again. I don’t know if he ever will. If I’ll survive the next few minutes.

Every moment, from here on out, is a gamble.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t going to come back,” he says smoothly, his voice as cold as his eyes. “I take it Abramov is not dead.”

I swallow hard, dropping my gaze, doing my best to look contrite. Ashamed. Like I’ve failed, and I’d do anything to make it right. “I failed you,” I say softly. “I’m sorry, Kane. I couldn’t do it. I lost sight of… I lost sight of what I was supposed to do.” I look up, only to see that his expression hasn’t changed. Somehow, that’s even more frightening. “I made a mistake.”

He studies me for a long moment. I know he’s looking for tells, for deception, a crack in my demeanor that shows I’m playing him. I let him look, keeping my expression appropriately chastened, slightly desperate.

"Yes, you did," he agrees finally. "A very costly mistake. How can I trust you now, Valentina? I told you how important this job was to me. How I trusted no one with it but you. And you failed me.”

I nod, pressing my lips together, my face a mask of regret and shame. “I want to make it right,” I say softly, looking up at him. “I know that Genovese and the Slakov patriarch are meeting with the Abramovs. I know that they were behind the other assassination attempts. I can take them out for you.” I slip a little desperation in my tone, a need for his approval, his mercy. “Let me show you that I’m still loyal to you. That I can fix this.”

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