Chapter 30

Yaroslav

M y day has been filled with frustration. I missed Kim at her grandmother’s care home and got caught up there longer than I cared to. I hoped Kim might head straight back home as she claimed she would. but having done some digging with the rideshare company she used, I found out she went back to her old apartment instead. I spoke to Emma before leaving, just in case she was coherent enough to tell me what Kim had talked to her about. I hoped she hadn’t found out David started the fire and that’s not why she went there. Unfortunately, the conversation was a dead end. Emma thought I was someone else, no doubt someone long dead.

When I arrived at Kim’s old apartment, I was too late. Her neighbor Abigail insisted on inviting me in for coffee, again taking up precious time, only to tell me Kim had left a short while ago, heading to the pharmacy for her.

The pharmacy was another dead end. The suspicious prick behind the counter wouldn’t tell me a thing, but if Kim had been there. She wasn’t anymore. After that, I couldn’t find her. I walked around looking for any sign of her, I even went to both of her workplaces in case she’d gone to visit, but no luck. I knew she wasn’t home either since my men were on strict orders to call me the second she arrived. So that left me scouring the city wondering, where the hell she was and why she ran off?

After hours of fruitless searching, I gave up and headed home, planning to enlist more help to widen my search. On the drive back, my phone rang with the news that Kim had finally returned home. “Good, make sure she doesn’t go anywhere,” I ordered, stepping on the gas.

***

Racing up the driveway, not bothering to shut the car door behind me, I tear into the house. “Where is she?” I demand to the terrified-looking twenty-something manning the door.

Too frightened to speak, he simply points up the stairs. I race up them two at a time and almost collide with Kim as she scuttles out of the seldom-used bathroom. Her eyes widen in surprise and fear when she sees my thunderous expression, she shuts the door behind her and flattens her back against it, trying to create as much space as she can between us. I try to calm myself down, I don’t want to frighten her. I was just so worried about her. Being fearful for someone’s safety is a new experience for me and I don’t like it one bit.

“Where the hell have you been?” I growl.

Kim looks flustered and genuinely scared, more so than I would have expected her to be. She’s seen me like this before and usually, she fearlessly calls me out and doesn’t take any shit. Her eyes well up with tears and I feel like the world’s biggest asshole.

“Did something happen? Are you okay?” I ask, softening my voice.

Big, fat tears burst forth as she breaks down sobbing. I reach out to comfort her and she flinches from my touch. “What’s wrong? Whatever happened we can figure it out together, you’re safe now,” I soothe, fearing that the worst has happened.

“Am I?” she asks, looking up at me with those big, beautiful eyes that melt my ice-cold heart.

“Of course, I would never let anything happen to you, I would never hurt you,” I swear, willing her to believe me.

“But you’ve hurt other people,” she states confidently.

Shit, why is she saying this? How much does she know?

“Yes,” I reply cautiously, not wanting to lie but not wanting to over-divulge.

She nods slightly, as though happy that I’ve not lied, I’m glad I chose not to. Her sobs subside as she builds up the courage to ask me her next question.

“You’ve killed?” she asks, setting her jaw in determination as though bracing herself to hear my response.

I pause for a moment, unsure how to respond.

“If you lie to me, I will know and I will walk out this door and you will never see me again, Yaroslav. I promise that. I can handle and accept a lot of things, but I need you to always be honest with me.”

I can tell she’s not messing around. So, despite every ounce of my upbringing screaming against it, knowing that the one thing I shouldn’t do is admit who I am, I tell the truth. Right now, I’m more afraid she’ll leave because I lied, not because of the truth.

“Yes.”

She doesn’t seem surprised, and I know that somehow, she’s figured it out. “Today,” she says, and I realize what she’s asking, she’s asking if I’ve killed anyone today. Which can only mean one thing, she saw me. I should never have let her sleep in my room where she could find the passageway. No wonder she ran off.

And yet she came back.

Perhaps there’s hope after all.

“Yes. I killed a man today,” I admit, not mincing my words.

She flinches slightly but doesn’t waver, my strong, brave koketka. “Why?”

“Because he betrayed me, and insulted you,” I say unapologetically. Now she knows the truth, I won’t pretend to be someone I’m not.

Her eyes widen in surprise as she takes in what I said. “And those offenses are punishable by death in your eyes?”

“In my world, there is no room for weakness. Where did you go?” I ask, wanting some answers to questions myself.

She eyes me suspiciously and raises an eyebrow, “You don’t know that already? A man with your resources.”

“I know you went to see your gran, Abigail, and to the pharmacy. But you’ve been gone four hours since then.”

“I bumped into Marta, we went for coffee,” she says simply, as though she’s not dropping a bombshell.

“Marta, as in my sister Marta?” I ask, surprised. It’s hard to catch me off guard but Kim’s managed it.

She nods and I realize that perhaps she didn’t see me after all. That my sister must have betrayed me and told my secrets to Kim. My eyes darken as I try to suppress my rage. Even estranged from me, my sister is meddling in my life. What’s her angle, what does she want from me?

Could she be trying to take my place as head of the Volkov Bratva? She’s the first child, the eldest, after all. Perhaps she’s decided that being a woman shouldn’t exclude her from the family’s wealth and power.

“So, what did she tell all my secrets in exchange for?” I ask coldly, my body tense as I think through the possibilities and what this could mean.

Kim shakes her head sadly at me, “Marta didn’t tell me anything, she wouldn’t betray you like that. I didn’t need her to tell me anything, I’d already seen enough.”

So, she did see me then. If I could kill that prick Ivan again I would. He’s not even been dead twenty-four hours and already he’s come back to haunt me.

“Then, what did she want?” I ask, confused.

“She wants to be a part of her brothers’ lives. She misses you both. She regrets how things turned out between you and wants to try to mend things,” she explains, her eyes imploring.

“Is that why you came back, to pass on this message?” I ask, fearing her reply.

Perhaps she’s come back just to tell me this and leave again. The thought is almost too much to bear. But despite how brave she’s being, I don’t see how Kim could want to be with me, now she knows the truth.

She shakes her head, and I think my heart might break. “No. I came back because Marta convinced me to. She told me to trust my heart and to believe that, despite what I’ve seen, you are the person I know you to be. That you would never hurt me and that you are a good man.”

Perhaps I’ve been wrong about Marta all these years. The thought is an unsettling but not unwelcome one. My heart soars as I realize what Kim’s telling me. “So, you’re not leaving?”

“If I’m being honest, I have no idea what to do,” she says with a dejected sigh. “This all feels so surreal. I don’t think I’ve had time to process it. I need you to start being honest with me, about everything. I need to know what I’m getting myself into, that being with you doesn’t put my grandmother at risk.”

“Of course,” I reply eagerly, now the band-aid has been ripped off I find myself wanting to confide all to Kim. “Come on, it’s been a long day and neither of us has slept much. I’ve not eaten either, and I’m guessing nor have you. Let’s go downstairs and eat, I can answer your questions there.”

“Okay, but first I need you to promise me one thing,” she says somberly.

“Anything,” I reply, wanting to do whatever I can to keep Kim in my life.

“Please, speak to Marta. At least give her a chance,” she implores me, gazing deep into my eyes.

Considering she’s giving me a chance now she’s discovered the real me, I can’t refuse this request. “I will, I promise,” I vow.

Kim nods and allows me to guide her downstairs, stealing a nervous glance back at the bathroom door as we go. My gut tells me there’s something she’s not telling me, which worries me. What could be worse than finding out your new romantic interest is a murderer and crime boss?