“I know where she lives, where she works, and what route she takes to the grocery store. Accidents happen all the time in this city.”
“Leave her alone,” I demand through gritted teeth. “She has nothing to do with this.”
He chuckles, low and menacing, before he replies, “She’s leverage, thanks to you deciding to betray me.”
I clench my hands into fists on the table as rage fights with terror for control of my emotions. “I never betrayed you. I left an abusive relationship.”
“You left me for him. That’s betrayal in my book.”
“I left you before I ever met Maksim.”
“Details,” he scoffs, waving me off. “The point is, you’re going to help me, or people you care about are going to get hurt.”
“And if I do help you? What then?”
“Then everyone stays safe and happy. You feed me information, I use it to protect my interests, and nobody has to get hurt.”
“For how long?”
“As long as necessary.”
The open-ended nature of his demand makes it clear that this would never end. Once I start giving him information, I’d be trapped forever, betraying the man I’m falling for to protect people I’ve grown to care about.
“I need time to think.”
“You have one week. I’ll be in touch about how to contact me.” He stands and straightens his jacket like we’ve just concluded a pleasant business meeting. “Don’t do anything stupid, Alyssa. Too many people are counting on you to make the right choice.”
He walks away without looking back, disappearing into the crowd like he was never there. I sit frozen at the food court table with my mind replaying everything that just happened.
Troy knows where I live, who I’m with, and enough about Maksim’s family to target innocent people. Worse, he’s made it clear that my presence in Maksim’s life has put everyone at risk.
I’ve brought danger to people I care about, which makes me feel sick. Diane, sweet Diane who welcomed me like a sister, is now a target because of my choices. The triplets who now call me Aunt Alyssa could be next.
I can’t tell Maksim about this. He’d want to handle it his way, which would mean violence and escalation and probably more danger for everyone involved. But I can’t cooperate with Troy either, not when it means betraying the man who’s shown me what real protection looks like.
There has to be another solution. Some way to end this threat without destroying everything I’ve found with Maksim and his family.
As I sit in the mall surrounded by normal people living normal lives, I realize that the peaceful afternoon on the hillside might have been the last truly happy moment I’ll have for a very long time.
Unless I can find a way to solve this myself.
Chapter 21 - Maksim
Watching the woman you’re falling for pull away from you feels like drowning in slow motion.
Alyssa has been distant since her trip to the mall earlier today, and every day that passes makes the growing space between us more obvious. She avoids my eyes during breakfast, finds excuses to leave the room when I enter it, and treats me like she can’t stand the sight of me.
“Everything all right?” Harrison asks as I stare at my untouched dinner for the third night in a row.
“Fine,” I lie, pushing the plate away.
Alyssa didn’t join me for dinner again tonight. She claimed she wasn’t hungry, but I suspect she’s eating in her room to avoid spending time with me, which hits my stomach like lead.
I pour myself three fingers of whiskey and retreat to my office, where I can brood in private about how spectacularly I’ve managed to fuck this up. Clearly, my confession on the hillside spooked her more than I realized. All that talk about wanting a future together, about building something permanent—I pushed too hard, too fast.
She’s pulling away because she wants her independence back. Because the Bratva life isn’t what she signed up for, and I’m too wrapped up in my own feelings to see that she needs space to breathe.
The whiskey burns going down, but it doesn’t touch the ache in my chest that’s been growing stronger every day.
