Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 68931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
I laugh humorlessly. “Why not a kidnapping? I mean, you had me in your clutches.”
“Is that what you wish I’d done?”
“I wish you’d left me alone, like I’d begged you to.”
One corner of his mouth curves up. “Do you?”
“Yes!” I drag in a calming breath and modulate my tone. “Of course I do. I told you, I don’t want you in my life. I never did.”
“What life?” He takes a half-step forward and leans in, forcing me to press my back against the railing. His eyes glint harshly. “You didn’t have a life. At best, you had an existence.”
“Thanks to you!” Forgetting all caution, I glare up at him. “You ensured I’d be alone, went to great lengths to make it happen.”
“And yet you didn’t get your brothers involved.” He cocks his head. “Why? Is it because deep down, you wanted my attention? Because you knew you’d miss it if it were gone?”
My mouth drops open. “What? No! That’s insane. I never wanted—that’s bullshit.”
“Is it?” He brushes another windswept chunk of hair off my face, his touch making my body feel overheated despite the cooler air brought by the rapidly advancing storm. I instinctively draw back, and his lips curve mockingly at my reaction. Gripping the railing on both sides of me again, he leans in and says softly, “You had no idea what you wanted, my beauty. You still don’t. But I will show you. And once I do, you’ll realize how wrong you were to send me away all those years ago. You’ll understand the truth of us as well as I do.”
Chapter 16
3 Years and 4 Months Earlier, New York City
“You’re coming to my premiere tonight, right?” Risha asks, drumming her taupe nails on the table. At my lack of response, she leans in, brown eyes narrowed. “Right?”
“Of course. I’ll be there.” I take a sip of my mimosa and steal another glance out the window. Yep. The man is still there, loitering across the street. I’m pretty sure he’s not part of my security detail, so he’s got to be his. Fuck.
“Hey.” Risha snaps her fingers in front of my face. “Earth to Alina.”
I blink and refocus on my friend. “Sorry, what?”
“I asked if you’re bringing anyone, so I know how many seats to reserve for you, and you totally ignored me. Again. What’s going on with you?”
I force a smile onto my lips. “Nothing. Just thinking about finals.”
“You’ll ace them, I’m sure,” Risha says and waves at the waiter. As we wait for him to make his way across the crowded restaurant, she says, “So? Are you bringing anyone or not?”
“Not.”
“Oh, come on. Seriously?”
“Fine. I’ll ask Natasha. She’s flying in from Moscow this afternoon. If she’s not too jet-lagged, maybe—”
“That’s not what I meant.” Risha gives me an exasperated look. “I’m talking about a guy. Or a girl who’s not a platonic friend. Or—fuck, I don’t know—a bear. Whoever, whatever you’re into.”
I grin. “I’m not into bears, I promise.”
She regards me dubiously. “If you say so. How about my friend Lana then? She—”
“I’m not into girls either.”
She pounces. “So guys then? How about Julio? He—”
“No.” My voice comes out harsher than I intended. I take a breath. “No Julio, no Raj, no Dennis, no Lana, no setting me up with anyone. I’ve told you that a million times.”
“But—”
“But nothing. I don’t need any help on the dating front.”
“Yeah, right,” Risha mutters, but at that moment, the waiter comes, saving me from her badgering. We place our brunch orders—buckwheat crepes for me, an egg-white omelet for her—and once he’s gone, I pepper Risha with questions about her upcoming movie and she forgets all about my lack of boyfriends.
As she speaks, I steal another glance out the window. The man is gone, but I don’t feel relieved. He’s just out of sight, I know. He and whoever else Alexei hired to stalk me.
A familiar tightness squeezes my temples at the thought, and I take deep breaths, trying to focus on Risha’s chatter in an effort to stave off the headache. I’ve been better this year, going entire weeks without taking so much as an Advil, and I intend to keep it up. This is the first spring in years during which I’ve felt more or less like my old self, and I’m not going to let Alexei’s goons set me back.
I didn’t go back to school after that awful winter break. I stayed in Moscow, battling debilitating migraines and a depression so deep I wasn’t sure I’d ever emerge from it. But I did come out of it after a few months, thanks to a cocktail of antidepressants and specialty painkillers that reduced the duration and frequency of the migraine attacks. And thanks to the fact that Alexei left me alone—or so I thought at the time. It wasn’t until I returned to college the next fall and attempted to resume normal life that I learned the truth.