I was completely wrong about her. Everything between us was real. My heart snaps back together, the broken pieces healing in an instant as she moans sweetly against my mouth.
But we’re in danger here; Van is lurking just outside, and he could decide to check on her at any moment.
Now that I have Tia back, I don’t want to do anything that will put her in danger. Reluctantly, I pull away from the kiss.
“You have to come with me, Tia. I can keep you safe,” I say.
She shakes her head. “If I go with you, that asshole will kill everyone. He’ll kill innocent people as punishment for my actions. I can’t let that happen, Andrei. I’m sorry. There has to be another way.”
My heart aches as I listen to her, ready to protect the people who work in her home as though they were her own family.
It’s more than her half-brother has ever done for her.
“There’s a party tonight,” she says, explaining what’s going to happen and what Boris has planned for her future. “He isn’t going to hurt me; he wants to use me. For now, I’m safe, at least until we can find another way to be together.”
I listen, carefully plotting out a way we can work together to put an end to Boris’s reign of madness.
“Where is the party?” I ask.
“I don’t know. He won’t tell me things like that,” she shakes her head.
“Tatiana. What’s taking so long?” Van’s voice is rough and edgy as he snaps at her from outside the changing room.
“One of the dresses was difficult to zip up. I’m almost done, just give me another two minutes.”
“Hurry the fuck up,” he shouts, then his heavy footsteps walk away, and I let out a breath of relief.
My heart is racing as I push my phone into her pocket. “It’s on silent. But I’ll be able to use it to track you. If you are in any danger at all, you call Nico. His number is on there. He’ll get a message to me. I’m going to him now, anyway. I think we’ll need his help on this.”
She nods. It’s the best plan we can piece together on such short notice.
“I don’t know when I’ll see you again, Tia,” I say tightly.
“It’s okay, I know you’re alive. I’ll wait for you,” she laughs.
I grab her and kiss her again, terrified to leave her, but I don’t have any choice.
She pushes me out of the cubicle, glancing nervously towards the door where Van is waiting impatiently. I run towards the other exit and slip away unseen. Leaving her is much harder than I thought it would be.
I hang around, hidden in the parking lot, watching Van lead her back to the car. I wanted to make sure he hadn’t worked out I was there or discovered the phone in her pocket and taken it out on her.
But she seems fine, and her face is relaxed, touched with hope.
All she has to do is stay safe until tonight’s party.
It has to be tonight. I can’t wait any longer than that to see her. I can’t sleep without her safe in my arms.
After what I learned today, I am even more convinced that she is the woman of my dreams. I wish I’d come to find her sooner, that I’d considered another side of the story, and not just assumed she was like her brother.
It broke my heart to see her tears. She must have been devastated, thinking I had died in that explosion. I can’t imagine how I would have felt if I thought she’d be killed. It would have destroyed me.
I watch quietly until their car is far down the road and out of sight, then I start my engine and turn in the direction of Nico’s home. I’m going to need his help on this. I’ll have to explain everything, but I trust him with it. I don’t have a choice; if I want to save Tia, then in all honesty, I’m going to need all the help I can get.
And there isn’t a lot of time to plan.
Chapter 24 - Tatiana
I have to fight the urge to smile.
