Page 108 of Shadows of the Past
I memorize his face, desperate to remember every detail for Andrea, for all the nights I feared he’d come after me. I want to remember him like this: helpless, gasping, almost gone.
“Get off him, Julia!”
I look up, and that heart that I thought was broken breaks all over again. Because there stands Lupe. With my gun in her hands. Trained on me.
“Lupe,” I whisper, praying to any god who’ll listen that she understands what a mistake she’s making. But her face is set, determined and I know that look; I wore it myself the night I shot Vlad’s man to save Maksim. That’s why I let go, giving Aleksandr his first gasp of air.
He coughs, rolling toward her.
I step back, trying to collect myself. To Lupe, I’m a stranger now, someone who disappeared from her life too many years ago. It’s been so long that she can’t remember I would have died for her, every single day, no matter what.
“She tried to kill me,” Aleksandr croaks, and I don’t even bother to deny it. It’s not a lie. I want him dead, for Andrea, for Vera, for Zoya, for every soul he’s destroyed.
Lupe still has the gun up, her shoulders relaxing just a little as Aleksandr steps behind her. She can’t see his smile, his look of triumph. And there’s nothing I can do. I’m out of moves. My own sister is choosing him over me, and it hurts like hell.
His hand slips over hers, finger curling around the trigger. For a moment, I see her stormy eyes soften because she thinks he’s just going to take the gun and they’ll leave together. She’s naive, and it’s my fault. I never warned her that not every prince has a pure soul—some are rotten to the core. She doesn’t even realize when his finger finds the trigger with hers, but I don’t look away.
Think, Lupe.
“I love you, coneja,” I say softly, and I know she hears me.
I look into the eyes I prayed every night I’d never forget and watch as she points the gun at my chest.
“Your friend came back to the house after we left...didn't he,” Lupe says to Aleksandr, her voice trembling.
But Aleksandr squeezes her finger, and the gunshot is the last thing I hear.
Everything blurs into searing gray, heat ripping through my stomach like a wildfire. Agony blooms, raw and all-consuming, and the world tilts out from under me. My knees buckle. My sister’s face, her eyes, are the last thing I see as darkness crashes in. My final thought is a desperate, silent plea to whatever god might be listening.
Tell Max I never meant to leave him.
Chapter 40
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Maksim
This is a terrible idea.Every instinct in me screams to go back for her, but I know Julia would never forgive me if something happened to Amalia. Gunfire rattles all around us, and with our men locked in combat, there’s no one else to get her safely to the car.
“We really screwed up, didn’t we?” Amalia says in a small voice as I scan the perimeter, making sure we’re not about to be surrounded.
The answer is obvious. I can’t understand how they ever trusted that snake, but then again, they didn’t grow up in my world. They were sheltered from all the rot and darkness. It’s easy to be fooled by a charming face, especially when you’ve never learned to look for the fangs beneath.
“Wow, you can’t even lie to me,” she murmurs, and I finally turn to face her.
“Your sister is in there with a killer, someone who can make an innocent soul bleed. When this is over, we’re going to have a serious talk about your taste in men.”
She drops her gaze, and for a moment, guilt twists in my gut.
“I told her there was something off about him, but he was always so sweet to Lupe,” she says, and I believe her. I know just how good he is at hiding his true nature.
My phone buzzes. Of course, Roman couldn’t stay away for more than a few hours.
“I’m getting on the jet now. I’ll be there in three hours,” he says, and it hits me. This man got engaged less than eight hours ago.
“You don’t have to come. And I’m in a hurry…”
“Stop being stubborn and admit you’re not fighting alone anymore. I needed to know Victoria and Luna were safe; that’s why I didn’t come with you right away. But I’ll be there, just like you were for me.”
