Midnight Oath (Tasarov Bratva 1)

Something passes over his eyes like a cloud before the sun. It’s not bad, exactly, but I wouldn’t call it good, either. It’s just… Adrik. More of him. More of his distance, his constant sprint away from me anytime it seems like we might be dancing closer together.

He closes his eyes and sighs. “Go pack.”

I want to ask a million questions. I want to press him for answers and an explanation, to know what the caller said and why we’re racing back to civilization based off one two-minute phone call.

But for the first time in weeks, I feel… safe. I’ve spent the last six years of my life navigating a storm in a life raft. And at long last, I have a boat to keep me from drowning. I like the boat. It’s strong, it’s dry, it’s a haven for me and my daughter.

I don’t want to rock it yet.

* * *

The clouds stay mired over Adrik’s gaze as we board and depart.

“You should sleep,” he says without sparing a glance in my direction.

Isabella’s disappointment at leaving the island so quickly was dispelled by the promise of a movie and another grape slushie, so she didn’t notice anything was wrong. Me, on the other hand? Not so easily distracted by sugar.

“I’m not tired,” I say. It isn’t a lie. We hardly slept last night, but I’m wired on nerves and anxiety.

Adrik shrugs. “Suit yourself. I’m going to sleep.”

I spend the next few hours twisting the bracelets on my wrists again and again and again. Like I can coax the universe back into that alignment that I liked if I just nail the right combination.

I look at Adrik again and again, too. Wondering what’s happening behind his closed eyes, in that mind of his that he keeps walled off like a fortress.

As the plane descends and he opens his eyes again, I’m not convinced he actually slept at all. It seems more likely to me he was pretending to avoid talking to me or anyone else.

“Feel better?” I ask.

Adrik looks over. “When we land, you and Isabella will go back to the house with Stefan.”

“What about you?”

“I have somewhere to be,” he says.

“But we talked about this. We want to be with you, Adrik.”

“No.”

I reach over and squeeze his arm. “Please, Adrik. Let me come with you. Please.”

“The magic word won’t help you this time.” His voice is almost a sneer, and I lean back as if he slapped me. “Do as I say.”

Since the moment I’ve met him, Adrik has been cold and domineering. But one night of making love and eating cake was all it took for me to imagine things could be different.

Even now, I’m not ready to give up that hope.

The phone call is what has him so upset. As soon as things are settled, he’ll feel better.

When the plane lands and the doors are opened, Adrik ushers me and Isabella off. His men make quick work of our baggage, loading it into a separate truck to drive back to the compound.

Stefan is waiting on the tarmac next to a black luxury SUV. “Sorry to interrupt the honeymoon,” he says as we approach.

“Take Emery and Isabella back to the house,” Adrik says in lieu of a greeting. “I want you to watch them.”

Stefan frowns. “I thought—well, I figured we’d all go to the—”

“Take them to the house,” Adrik snaps. “If you can’t do your job and protect my wife and child, I’ll have you replaced.”

I blink, shocked to hear Adrik talk like that. I know Stefan works for Adrik, but I’ve always seen them more as friends than anything else. This is new.

For Stefan, too, apparently.

His jaw clenches, but he nods. “Of course, Don Tasarov. I’ll take them back to the house.”

“Good. I’ll be back.”

Then he climbs into a second car and leaves.

As soon as he’s gone, Stefan turns to Isabella with a smile. “Did you have fun on your trip?”

“I guess,” she says with a shrug. “We had to leave. I didn’t even get to swim in the ocean for real. Not with my swimsuit on.”

I stroke her hair. “I know you’re disappointed, honey. But we’ll go back another time.”

“Maybe Adrik won’t want to,” Isabella says. “He wanted to leave early, so maybe—”

“He didn’t want to leave! He wanted to stay there with the two of us,” I tell her. “But… things came up and he had to come back. Okay?”

I’m not sure when it became important to me that Isabella likes Adrik. Just a few days ago, I was jealous of their connection. Wanted to sever it altogether.

It seems like everything is changing so fast I can’t keep up.

Isabella nods weakly and wheels forward to let the men help her into the back of the car.

“Is it a secret, then?” Stefan mutters to me. “Do you not want to tell Isabella about Adrik’s dad? I just need to know if I should—”

“Huh? This is about his dad?”

Stefan looks at me, confused for a second. Then he winces. “Shit. Maybe I wasn’t even supposed to tell you.”

My heart pounds in my chest. In all the chaos of getting ready for the wedding and the honeymoon, I almost forgot about Adrik’s dad. About the condition of our deal.

Adrik only needs a fake wife so long as his dad is alive. So if his dad is no longer alive…

What does that mean for us?

“Tell me,” I say, reaching out and grabbing his wrist. “Please, Stefan.”

He sighs. “His dad took a bad turn yesterday after the wedding. He’s in the hospital.”

“But he’s alive?”

Stefan nods. “For now.”

Relief rushes through me for all the wrong reasons. I don’t care about Vadim. I hardly know the man.

But I care about Adrik. More than I probably should. More than is safe. I just became his wife, and I’d like to play the part for a while longer.

If Vadim is alive, that means Adrik is still my husband.

For now, the little voice in the back of my head whispers. He’s your husband for now.