Page 153 of Black Castle

“Together, we’ll be unstoppable.” His smirk widens, dark amusement dancing in his eyes. “Indomitable.”

She isn’t sure how accurate his words are. He always speaks as if he knows her more than she knows herself. His comments about how darkness lives inside her have proven to be true. Is he also right about this one? She is sure she would have loved a little cottage in Castle Combe with the right amount of books and healthy storage of coffee beans. Maybe a simple husband who does a simple job and returns home at 5pm to help her make dinner. And maybe have a child or two to run around the field in summer.

Isn’t that enough? Isn’t that satisfying and perfect? Has she always wanted more? Has she always desired a part where men who have always treated her like she doesn’t matter, shivers at the sight of her shadow?

“We leave for Russia in two hours.” His voice snaps her out of her thoughts. “You can see your friend one more time.”

Is that supposed to make her throw a series of thank-yous? How is he about to take her away from the place she basically grew up in, to a strange country, and all she gets as a compensation is to see her best friend only one more time?

“C-can I just stay behind for maybe a week—”

“No.”

“If you are taking me away, the least you can do is let me say my goodbyes properly,” she bites out.

“I said, no.”

Her fingers clench on her thigh, but she shouldn’t trigger him.

“Carla wants me to help her look for Isadora,” she says softly. “And even though her being away has been a breath of fresh air, I’m getting really worried. It’s been weeks.”

“I said, no.”

“Please,” she insists. “Her office said she took a leave. The more I think about it, the more odd it sounds. Isadora will never take a leave in the middle of a case. She doesn’t even take leaves.”

“You are not spending another week here, Vivienne,” he grounds out, his expression hardening. “Don’t even bother pushing it.”

“Okay two days,” she bargains. “Let me just give Carla a closure. And besides, I can’t just leave without letting Carla know too. In the absence of Isadora, I am the only one she knows here. I can’t just disappear too when she is already worried that her daughter is missing.”

He exhales, pinching the bridge between his eyebrows. “What exactly do you want, Vivienne?”

“Closure.”

“On?”

“The whereabouts of Isadora.”

She sees a gentle tick in his jaw, a beat passes, and something settles in his eyes, something dark, but she can’t place a finger on it. Then slowly, the corner of his lips curl, a grotesque grin crawling out.

“You know what,” he says, lifting her gently from his lap, his hand resting on her waist to steady her on her feet. “I just figured out something we can do to make our wedding night memorable.”

“What about Isadora?” she asks.

He doesn’t answer.

Chapter Forty-eight

Vivienne

Are we there yet?” Vivienne asks, noticing how Zev has suddenly paused in the middle of nowhere, his hands firmly on her shoulders.

“Yes.” His warm breath tickles her ear and her heart pounds in her chest.

She really had no clue what Zev’s great idea of a wedding night was when they slipped into the car and left the apartment. Or what plans he has that can help her find Isadora within four hours.

And even now, as they navigate through the unknown ground with a blindfold held tightly over her face, the scent of damp air and rotten leaves curling in the air, intense enough to taste, she still wonders what exactly is happening.

“Can I take off my blindfold?” Her hand skims over the black silk material held over her face.

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