Page 144 of The Bratva Sinner

This is part of the plan.

One of Arlind’s guards shoves open a door, and I see the moon reflecting off the water. That’s what I focus on until I’m standing alone in the dark.

Where’s the cavalry?

“Lila.”

I turn to see Damien emerge from the shadows. Relief washes over me. I knew there was no way Maksim would go in alone.

I run toward him. He’s very calm. Two more men emerge from the shadows. I recognize them as Maksim’s.

“Are you hurt?” Damien asks.

“He said to tell you to take care of Ember,” I blurt out.

He stills like he's just been given an order.

I wait for the action. He should be shouting into a mic I can’t see. Making a phone call. Whistling.

Something!

“Okay,” he says quietly. “Okay. Let’s go.”

The guards move behind me as Damien takes my arm and drags me away from the warehouse.

“What does it mean?” I pull him to a stop. “What does it mean, Damien? Is it a signal? Does it mean to go in? Because if it means to go in, we need to go right now. He’s in there alone, and Arlind will not let him walk out of there. We have to go back!”

“No.”

Panic rolls through me. One of the guards puts a hand on my shoulder. I shrug it off, hard. “Don’t touch me. Nobody touch me. We need to go back in there.”

“We are not going back in.”

I stare at him. “Excuse me?”

“He told us to wait. If we go in, we blow whatever he’s setting up.” Damien’s voice is calm and careful. The voice of a man talking someone back from a ledge. I’m coming apart at the seams. “Trust him.”

“Trust him.” I repeat it because I need to hear how insane it sounds. “Arlind wants him dead. He’s going to kill him.”

“Maksim isn’t that easy to kill.”

“Go to hell.”

I turn back toward the warehouse, and this time, all three men grab me.

“Move,” I say.

They don’t.

“I will go through you,” I say. “I mean it.”

“Mrs. Sokolva.” The taller one has the decency to look sorry. “Please.”

“He is in there alone.” My voice cracks on the last word, and I hate myself for it. I clench my teeth and breathe through my nose. “He’s alone in there because of me. I can’t just wait and see.”

“Lila.” Damien’s hand is on my elbow. “Get in the car.”

“No.”