Page 134 of Queen’s Gambit

Too bad she’ll never get to go.

Killing Christov would invoke serious wrath from the rest of his powerful family, but Alina…was another story. Today was my retribution.

No one attacks my daughter.

“Excellent,” I said.

“Do you remember the secured passage?”

The service hallways in Christov’s home weren’t as elaborate as the ones at my parent’s house. They didn’t connect to the bedrooms, but there was a passage that went from my wing to theirs. It explained how Alina had so easily hidden when she tormented me for months.

“I’ve got this. Thank you again for everything.”

“I better go. Wait fifteen minutes, then head out.”

Kira left, and I took a deep breath to steady myself. Walking over to my dresser, I opened the top drawer and grabbed the hidden gun, I’d wrapped up and placed in the back. I pulled it out and checked it one last time before tucking it in the back of my jeans and fixing the fluffy sweater to cover it.

Lilya looked up and smiled when she noticed me standing in the doorway. I kneeled and picked up one of her drawings. It was a picture of Eddie and exceptional for her age.

“This is beautiful,” I said, and her smile widened. “Do you want to paint like Mommy one day?”

“Yes. Can we now?”

“No, not right now, but I’ll teach you. Lilya can you do Mommy a favor?”

She set down her crayon and looked at me, her little face all business.

“Yes, Mommy.”

“Can you draw another picture? One of you, me, and Eddie.” She nodded so fast that her pigtails hit her in the face as they whipped back and forth. “I have to go take care of some things in the house, so I need you to be a really good girl and stay in here. Whatever you do, don’t come out until I come back, or we won’t get to go on our trip.”

“Okay, Mommy. I won’t leave.”

She pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and got right to work. I kissed the top of her head before standing and closing the door between our rooms. Twelve minutes had passed when I glanced at the clock.

“You can do this,” I said under my breath, pumping myself up. I slowly opened my door.

The house was quiet. Too quiet. I was used to having Vlad or someone right outside the door and the typical hum of the staff. Tiptoeing down to the furthest corner of the hall, I pulled the hidden lever on the golden statue, and a small door slid silently open.

The wooden boards creaked softly with each step but sounded loud to my ears. My heart was thumping hard, and it managed to get faster the closer to the exit. I peeped through the tiny hole to make sure no one was in the hallway before releasing the lock.

Reflexes alone saved me from getting a silver tray to the head when I stepped out. Alina swung at me again with a blood-curdling scream.

“You bitch, I knew you’d come one of these days.”

I jumped back out of the way as she swung wildly again.

“Please tell me you’ve sat outside that statue every day for five years,” I said, laughing while her face turned red. “I definitely didn’t think about you that much. Hell, I didn’t think of you at all until you and Christov came after me.”

“Liar.”

Squealing in rage, Alina raised the tray and kicked out at the same time. I didn’t see her foot until it was too late. She caught me in the gut, and I stumbled back, doubled over.

Even though I’d worked on my fighting skills at Wayward and then had Vlad and Mylo keep me in shape, there was no preparation for the ferocity of Alina. Training was nothing like fighting for your life.

When she kicked at me again, my instincts took over, and I grabbed her leg. Alina slammed hard onto the floor when I twisted, but she hit my injured ankle on her way down. I crumbled beside her in pain.

There was no pause to catch our breaths. Alina was like a feral animal, clawing at my face as she jumped on me. Holding her arms at bay, I pushed away from the wall and rolled us over so that I was on top. The battle for dominance went around and around. Vases crashed to the floor, and pictures hung crooked, all victims in the wake of our struggle.