Page 90 of Wicked Vows (Suvorov Bratva 2)

And when I’m done, I lift my head and nod. “Thank you, Zoya.”

She nods and stands up, helping me to my feet. It’s weird to walk away from the purple cushions and the lovely little nook overlooking the city. For a second, I can pretend that I was at a sleepover instead of inside a steel fortress.

But what good is pretending when bad guys wait around every corner?

When I reach for the doorknob, Zoya says, “Wait.”

I turn to her, expecting to hear more about guilt, Jonas, or how Pavel’s office is much quieter now.

But instead, she says, “When I first saw you, I wanted so much to hate you.”

I cringe inwardly. “I get that.”

“I really tried.”

Cool. Great. That makes me feelfantastic.

“But not now,” she adds. “Not anymore.”

I struggle to keep my expression curious. My emotions are all over the place, and now hunger is in the mix, sending me from depressed to ravenous in mere seconds.

She takes a deep breath and says, “Now, I can see why Pavel loves you so much.”

I blink rapidly, trying not to focus on that one word.

Love.

“I can see why he would abandon me for you,” she says, but the thin smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

I shake my head. “Pavel hasn’t forsaken you, Zoya. He cares about you. He’s protecting you now, isn’t he?”

She scoffs, her lower lip quivering for a second as she glances away. It almost looks like she might cry. But she regains control as she focuses on me once more.

“Pavel is only protecting me because of you, not because of any feelings he has for me.” She scoffs bitterly. “Certainly not because hecaresabout me.”

When I try to get a word in, she advances, shaking her head.

“You can’t deny it,” she accuses. “If Pavel had his way, I would have been out on the street at best and six feet underground at worst.”

It’s a terrible truth. And one I simply can’t deny.

But I can do something about it.

“As long as you’re under my protection,” I vow. “Nothing—not even Pavel—will be allowed to harm you.”

A tear rolls down her face. It’s surprising at first, considering her eyes didn’t well up, but I can see now the way her skin pulls taut in a strained effort to keep more tears from appearing.

“That’s exactly what Jonas kept telling me,” she whispers. “You have a good heart. It would break mine to see you suffer the same fate as Jonas.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

Her lips peel back in a knowing smile. It’s not at all amused, the dark jokes having receded minutes ago. “The deeper you get in this world, Liya, the more likely you’ll meet the same fate as your brother.” She drops her gaze to the ground and adds, “I hope not. I can’t stand to lose another Bernadetti.”

These last words echo in my mind as I return to my bedroom. Each syllable punches through my brain, reminding me of everything I’ve done to get to where I’m at. The people I stepped on and manipulated, the horrors I’ve seen, the horrors I’vedone.

Have I gone too far?

Is there even a chance for me to be saved if I have?

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