Ghost (Boston Underworld #3) - A. Zavarelli Page 0,84
thoughts. When I look up, Nikolai is beside him.
“What do you want?”
“Franco called me,” he says. “And I am here to accompany you to Bulgaria.”
“No.”
“If you don’t allow me to travel with you, then I will travel on my own. Either way, I am going.”
“This is not sanctioned by Viktor,” I tell him.
“I don’t care,” he replies. “Let me redeem myself, Lyoshka. You cannot do this alone. You know that.”
“I am deaf. But I have no problems ripping a man’s heart out. This I can assure you.”
“Yes,” he answers. “But first you have to get past the guards.”
“Alexei,” Franco cuts in. “Please. Be reasonable about this one thing. Going alone is a death sentence.”
For once in my life, I don’t care.
But I think of my unborn son upstairs. And it guts me to imagine him growing up without a father. It is the only reason I give my nod of approval.
“I don’t want Talia in this house while I’m away,” I tell Franco. “Not with Magda. You will need to take her to Viktor’s compound, where she can be watched.”
When he gives me a curious glance, I polish off the rest of the cognac in my glass.
“I want eyes on her every minute of the day. To ensure my son’s safety, of course.”
46
Talia
The sadness is back.
Choking me. Suffocating me.
I miss him. I can still feel his hands on my skin. His breath on my lips. His taste. It’s haunting me.
I need him. But he isn’t here.
“Miss Talia?”
I blink, and when I look up, Magda is hovering over me. A sad smile on her face.
“You need to come downstairs,” she tells me.
“Why?”
“Alexei has gone for a few days, and he would like you to stay somewhere where he knows you will be safe.”
Her words feel like a lie.
Because Alexei no longer cares.
He ruined me. Just as he promised he would.
I don’t have the will to argue anymore. I only have the energy to take each day as it comes. Each hour. And each second.
My hand is on my stomach, protective, as Magda guides me downstairs.
The house is empty. Lonely. And it no longer feels like my safe haven, but like the prison it now is.
“Why won’t he just let me go?” I ask Magda. “Let me go back to Boston.”
She seems surprised by my words, and then sad.
“You are married,” she answers. “Having a baby together. Things will get better. You must give it time.”
“Don’t say that.” I pause on the stairs. “Don’t lie to me, Magda. You can’t keep trying to give me hope when you know…”
My voice grows too emotional to speak, and Magda pulls me in for a hug. Tears spill down my cheeks, and she tries her best to comfort me.
“I am so sorry this has happened,” she tells me. “I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t. I have tried. And I cannot get through to him. Franco has tried. You have tried. He is so angry. So jaded. He has never been able to trust.”
“Magda,” Franco’s voice interrupts the moment. “I am sorry, but we must go now.”
“What about you?” I ask her. “Aren’t you coming?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “Franco will return and we will keep the house running as we always do. But you will be safe with Viktor. His family will take good care of you. It is the safest place for you when Alexei is out of the country.”
I nod, and she gives me one last hug before leading me outside.
There is a convoy of cars awaiting us. Three different SUVs.
Either for my protection, or to ensure I don’t escape.
I would be lying if I said that the thought hasn’t crossed my mind in the last two months. I want to run. I want to forget I ever knew him. Ever felt his touch.
Because I cannot bear a lifetime of this pain.
I just can’t.
Franco takes me by the arm and leads me to the SUV positioned in the middle. Once I am buckled in and secured, he climbs into the driver’s seat.
All three cars pull out of the driveway, leaving the lights of the house behind. I can’t help but look back at it with a foreboding sense of alarm.
It feels as though I will never return, and I don’t know why that scares me so much.
The drive is quiet. And since I know it is long, I settle in to the seat and keep myself occupied with the constant stream of thoughts running through my mind.