I grab her and pull her close to me; hugging her so tight, she can’t let out that howl I know she holds in. But she needs this too. I never had someone to ground me in a moment of despair … but she does.
“Where?” she says after a while.
“In your home.”
“How did they find out where she was? Where we live?” She sniffs.
“Vladim’s men regularly search the city for new kids to snatch. It was only a matter of time before they finally saw her tattoo and realized it was her.”
She grinds her teeth. “I should’ve been there. She’s all alone.”
“No, you getting captured doesn’t do her any good.”
She pushes herself away from me. “I don’t care; at least, she would’ve had me. Now, she has no one. No one. She’s all alone and in the hands of monsters.”
“You wanna go there? Walk right into their hands?” I snarl.
“You don’t understand. She’s my sister. My blood. My family. The only one I have left.”
She’s right. I don’t understand. I never had a family. Not like hers. Mine ditched me when I was so young, I barely remember. She has something I don’t have, and maybe, just maybe, I’ve been jealous of her all this time.
At least, she has someone who wants her and is waiting for her to return home.
I sigh. What am I doing, really? Keeping a girl away from the only family she has left.
If that doesn’t make me a monster, I don’t know what does.
In a fit of rage, I turn around and punch the wall with my fist. “Fuck!”
It hurts, but the pain isn’t nearly as bad as the guilt I carry.
“Did they say anything about keeping her alive?” she asks hesitantly.
“Yes … but only if I bring you to them.”
“So they want me,” she says, pursing her lips.
“Vladim says she’ll live … as long as you come to the house by yourself.”
“How long do I have?”
“Two hours.”
A deafening silence drops between us, and in that time, the small crack becomes a chasm.
“I have to go to her.”
She doesn’t need to say this.
I knew, deep down in my gut, this was coming.
It was only a matter of time.
The only thing I shouldn’t have done was fool myself into thinking she could stay here forever.
“She needs me, Viktor. I have to save her.”
“Even if you know you won’t be able to? Even if it means sacrificing not only her but also yourself?” I ask, but I already know the answer. I just want to hear it from her.
“I’d die for her.”
That.
That’s what I wanted to hear.
It’s exactly what I feel … for her.
“I need to be there. Even if there’s only a small chance we’ll make it out alive, I have to try to get her outta there.”
“I know,” I say, glancing at her over my shoulder. “Which is why I’m going with you.”
“What?” Her jaw drops. “You’d risk your own safety for my sister?”
“For you,” I say, with a smile. “Because I know I can’t keep you here, but I won’t let you die either.”
“I’m not gonna die that easily,” she says, crossing her arms. “But you can’t come, Viktor.”
“Why?” I growl.
“Because they’re looking for you too.”
“No, they want you.”
“And if Vladim’s there? Do you think he’d let you live?”
“I don’t care if he lets me live!” I yell. “All I care about is making sure you’re alive and happy.”
Her face softens. “Please … don’t.” She swallows. “I’d feel horrible if something happened to you.”
“You would?” I shake my head, as if I can’t even believe it, even though she’s saying it straight to my face.
“Of course. I don’t want you to get hurt, Viktor. This is on me. She’s my sister. My responsibility. Let me go after her myself.”
“But you know it’s a trap.”
“So be it. And if it is, I doubt Vladim would care enough to be there himself, right? He’s too fucking busy to be bothered to come find us himself.”
“I guess,” I murmur. “But his men … They’re still there.”
“I can handle them.” She balls her fists. “I’m a tough chick.”
“Right.” I nod, letting it all sink in.
“You know I can do this,” she says after a while.
I know she can. That isn’t the point.
She wants to go there—without me—and I know that once she goes, she’ll never come back.