Midnight Sanctuary (Bugrov Bratva #2)(17)

“Lev?” I ask.

She nods. “He wakes up early these days.” Her eyes flit towards the basement door in the corner. “Sir… he’s still asking for—”

“No.” Her mouth snaps shut and she nods meekly. “If he asks again, shut it down.”

“Of course, sir.”

She ducks upstairs and I pivot in the direction of the basement. All the pain and hurt and suffering—it’s all because of her. If it weren’t for Alyssa, Lev wouldn’t have been abducted and Polly wouldn’t still be gone; my brother wouldn’t be going through Alyssa withdrawal symptoms and my sister wouldn’t be facing sexual enslavement at the ripe old age of fourteen.

“Blyat’,” I growl as my body takes over, fueled by the rage burrowing its way through me.

Abandoning my coffee, I charge down towards the basement. The soldier on guard duty opens the door at the sight of me and I power through without breaking stride, ready to unleash my anger on her.

She’s lying in the fetal position on the bed, but I can tell at a glance that she’s wide awake and that she has been for a while. I would know—we’ve got matching dark circles under our eyes.

“Did you find Polly?” she asks the moment she sees me.

All that question does is fuel my fury. But she’s right—the onus is on me to find Polly. It always has been.

“‘Find Polly’?” At the sound of my voice, Alyssa flinches, even though she’s still far out of arm’s reach. I keep my distance—if I get too close to her, there’s no telling what I’ll do. Kiss her, fuck her, throttle her… each option seems worse than the last. “How am I supposed to find Polly when you’ve given me no information?”

“I told you—”

“I already knew about the rings. Tell me something I don’t know. You were with her for almost two days and you’re telling me you didn’t pick up on anything while you were there?”

She pales. “I-I’m trying to remember… but the drugs he gave me—”

“Don’t hide behind excuses.”

Her eyes flare wide. First, there’s shock; then anger. She springs up off the bed, her slip sliding over her skin like butter. “You think I’m using that as an excuse?” She laughs hysterically. “You think I don’t want to get Polly back as fast as possible? You think I’m enjoying this?”

“It’s your fault she’s been taken. I would think you’d be trying harder to remember—”

“Don’t you think I want to? I’m spending every damn minute in here going over and over it in my mind, trying to piece together what happened! I’m killing myself trying to remember, Uri!”

I grab her elbow and yank her towards me just so that I can snarl in her face, “Try harder.”

I don’t know what to think when I look at her. I don’t know how to be, who to be. It’s not escaping my notice that she’s lost weight. Her slip hangs off her shoulders, the thin straps revealing her protruding collarbones. Her skin is pale and the arm caught in my grasp feels fragile enough to crumble if I push too hard.

“You coming in here and yelling at me isn’t going to help!” she cries out. “None of this is going to help. God, Uri, you can’t even look at me.”

“Because when I look at you, all I see is betrayal. I trusted you and you stabbed me in the back.”

A broken sob escapes her lips. “Do you really think I need you to tell me how badly I fucked up?”

Her warmth is rubbing off on me and I realize what a dangerous position I’m in. She’s going to lure me in with her siren’s eyes, her soft pleading words, her love for my siblings.

No. I will not be sucked into that black hole again. It may feel like heaven for a few seconds, but I know now that it’s a trap.

So I release her, pushing her off me so that she stumbles back a few paces.

“Please see that, Uri,” she begs as her voice trembles. “I care about getting Polly back just as much as you do. I need you to believe that that’s the truth.”

I swallow the acrid taste in my mouth. Guilt serves no purpose here. It doesn’t bring Polly back even one second sooner. So if Alyssa is torturing herself, locked down here all alone… so be it.

It’s the least she deserves.

“You’re right,” I murmur. “I can’t look at you. And starting from now… I won’t.”

I turn my back on her and start striding towards the basement door. I need distance—room to breathe, to let this cloying guilt work itself out of me. I don’t feel bad for Alyssa. I can’t. I won’t.

“Uri!”

I ignore her. She can scream for me until she’s blue in the face, but I’m not turning back. Until—

“I’m pregnant, you know.”

I freeze at the threshold. All I can hear is her words echoing in my ears, accompanied by the booming thrum of my pulse.

Pregnant.

Pregnant.

Pregnant.

Then: liar.

I underestimated the little siren. She really is capable of anything. I would’ve thought that stooping this low is beyond her… but I guess I would’ve thought wrong.

I spin around slowly and walk over to her. She looks more fragile than ever, cowering in my shadow, caged between me and the wall by her bed.