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Which is exactly what I wanted.
I start twisting the rings on my finger again. I had turned the massive diamond inside to hide it, and now, the immense weight of the rings seems to grow heavier with each mile the truck puts between me and the distant castle.
My mind is focused on Ivica.
And Konstantin.
Will Ivica have a chance to tell Konstantin the truth before Alla gets to her? Will Alla be furious when she finds me missing?
And what about Konstantin?
Will he get a chance to find out just what his grandmother had done to me?
I stare down at the rings on my finger, giving them another twist, and feel a familiar sting in my nose. Ugh … the last thing I want to do right now is to cry more, but once the tears start, I can’t stop myself anymore.
The driver peers at me in the center mirror, and he asks me something in Croatian as he offers up a sympathetic smile. When I don’t say anything, he exchanges a quick concerned look with his passenger before resuming the drive in silence.
I wish I could’ve seen Konstantin one final time …I think.I wish I could hear his voice calling me Kitty Cat one last time.
But that’s impossible.
There’s a vast canyon between that happy ending and where I am now. We haven’t gone all that far away from the castle yet. For all I know, Alla is rallying her bodyguards to drag me back there, kicking and screaming, so that she can torture me some more before Konstantin comes back.
I shudder as I touch my sensitive skin, still raw and prickling from her needles.
Slowly, my hand moves down to my belly, and I wonder if maybe Iamalready pregnant.
The thought of Konstantin’s baby growing inside of me sends another burst of tears pouring from my eyes.
He might never know.
Maybe there’ll be a way I can get in touch with him …
The driver looks back at me. The concerned expression in his eyes helps chase away some of the nervous clouds swarming my heart. He asks me something again, and I do the only thing I can, which is shake my head at whatever it is he’s saying and mustering up a fake smile to assure him that I’m alright.
He sighs. Whether to himself or for me, I will never know.
Because that’s the exact moment when the glass shatters beside his head.
Blood sprays across the car. Shards rake the passenger’s seat, and both men cry out in pain. Loud thuds slam into the body of the car, one after another. Spiderweb cracks blossom into white balls in the windshield and I huddle myself into the space behind the driver’s seat.
The last thing I see is the passenger’s body convulsing as his shirt changes color from a light blue to a deep crimson. The coppery scent of blood fills the air, and I scream in shock.
The driver tries to yell something at me. But his word is cut short and he collapses forward, honking a single long note as the truck barrels full speed ahead.
He’s dead!
Scrambling upwards, I grab the handbrake and give it a hard pull. The truck starts slowing down immediately, but momentum carries it forward until it slams through theguardrail separating the curving road and straight into a thick olive tree.
The front of the truck is twisted against the bent metal guardrail. Green leaves and fresh olives clatter on the hood like hailstones.
I clamber backwards, and tug at the handle of the door. Adrenaline chases away all sensation of prickling pain still coursing through my body. Time seems to move in slow motion, and I breathe a silent prayer of thanks that the door still works.
I stumble outside, collapsing immediately on my knees from disorientation, and try to get back up.
I reach for my phone, but as soon as I have it, I realize I don’t know what number I can even dial. That’s when I notice the red smears on the glass surface.
When did I get blood on me? I try to wipe it away, but it’s playing hell with the touch-screen’s functions.
