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"Renata," I beg, my voice raw. I don’t even know what I’m asking for—forgiveness, a chance, anything that keeps her from slipping away.
"We have to find him," she says in a whisper, her face white as a sheet. Even her lips look pale.
"We will."
"He's here?" she says in a voice so soft I can barely hear her.
"We have to assume that's what he meant. He could've meant The Cove, or he could've just been saying something to terrify us, knowing that he was going to die and wanted to plant fear in us, but we have to assume what he said is true." I close the distance between us and hold her by her shoulders. “Tell the truth. Tell me now. What did he threaten you with?"
She shakes her head. It feels as if Renata is slipping away from me, and I can't do anything to stop it. It's like an endless nightmare, with the woman I love just out of reach, and no matter how hard I try, no matter how fast I run, no matter what I do, I can’t hold her, she just keeps slipping through my fingers.
Memories crash over me—every promise I made to keep her safe, every whispered dream of a future together. They feel like lies now. Lies I had to tell myself because I wanted to believe that I could be more than what I am. That I could be a man worthy of her love. But I'm not that man, and I never was, and never will be.
"We'll find him. We have to."
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Renata
I stare at Ollie—myprotector. The monster. My husband.
The tension is so thick it’s choking me. He stands over the slumped man, blood on his hands, and yet somehow I’m the one who feels like I’m drowning.
Is he dead? I can’t tell. Maybe it doesn’t even matter anymore. He was just a tool, punished by the man I married. The man I thought I could love.
He was a means to an end, and Ollie did what he had to—wrung him out until there was nothing left.
The man’s screams still echo in my head, each one like a dagger twisting in my gut. Ollie’s face is a mask of control—impassive, but there’s something in his eyes that looks like a plea. He blinks, and whatever humanity I imagined is gone. The same darkness I’ve come to expect is in its place, the inhumanity I’ve tried so hard to ignore.
The unease turns into a cold, hard knot in my belly.
He’s here. It’s too late.
A chill wraps around my spine, my worry burrowing into my mind, feeding on my deepest fears. “What does it mean?” I ask, but the words taste bitter. I don’t even know if I want the answer anymore. What’s the point of a next step if every move feels like a death sentence?
Ollie straightens, the lone wolf, the protector who would tear the world apart for me. But even as he promises safety, I wonder. What happens when the threat isn’t outthere,but standing right in front of him?
I’ve only ever loved three people—Isabella, Carlos, and Ollie. The three most unhinged, ruthless people to ever walk this earth. What does that say about me? Why do I gravitate toward the ones that burn everything they touch?
What in the actual fuck is wrong with me?
“First, we assess who’s still here. You. My mother and my sister. Lev and Isabella are at the hospital, and everyone else has gone home. Next, I contact Aleks. We need to find out where he is.” He draws me closer to him with one beckoning of his finger. I step closer to him even though I don’t want to. The smell of another man’s blood still lingers on him.
At my resistance, Ollie’s expression shifts, the concern he showed for me moments ago slipping away like clouds through fingers. Maybe it was only an illusion, something I thought I could hold. His eyes are cold, merciless, his posture rigid. The man I love is gone; the cold, calculating murderer now stands before me.
“I need to keep you safe,” Ollie orders, his voice cold and devoid of any comfort. There’s no tenderness or reassurance, just command. He’s not my husband right now but a general issuing orders.
I swallow, trying to steady myself as the reality of what happened settles in. We’re not safe. The man who’s haunted us has found us, and there’s no time to waste. My only salvation is the man who stands before me now.
“You’ll do exactly what I say while we make sure everyone is secure,” he says harshly. Cold. He speaks to me like I’m one of his soldiers, but I’m not one of his men—I’m his wife, but right now, it doesn’t seem as if he cares.
I shake my head. What matters is doing what he tells me and making sure that we stay safe.
“Keep barking orders at me, Ollie,” I snap, my voice tense with anger. “Keep whispering sweet nothings in my ear and see how far that gets you.”
“Renata,” he says in a growl, his patience threadbare. “Behave yourself. Donottest me right now.”
I grit my teeth because a part of me knows he’s right. This is not time or place.
