Page 56

“Definitely.” Emin groans in the backseat, and I realize I have to cut our call. “I have to go. I’ll text you; sounds good?”

“Alrighty then. See you tomorrow.” I disconnect the call and smile while I’m driving towards Lana’s estate.

This is unusual for me, because normally I kill my subjects. I don’t return them. If Lana had killed Hana, I would have killed Emin as well. Her only saving grace is that she returned my cousin. Otherwise she would have gotten her best friend back in pieces.

While I’m driving, the face of the little girl from years ago flashes by. Why do I feel such an attachment to her? And why now?

You have arrived at your destination.

Fucking GPS.

I didn’t even realize that I had arrived at Lana’s estate. I crack my neck and bite my lip. Despite hating her guts, I’m equally excited to see my ex. I want to be able to see the look of horror on her face from what I have done to her dear friend.

I get out of the car and open the passenger door to where Emin is.

His expression is bleak—sullen eyes, hollow cheeks, and his lips are slightly parted.

Not that I give a shit.

I grab him by the back of his head and hold him like that until we reach the gates of Lana’s estate.

I inch closer to him until my lips are near the shell of his ears. “I hope you’ll tell her what I did to you.”

“Don’t destroy each other. Dario is the real enemy.”

“She better–” I swallow my words as the gates are opening, and once they are open, I see the cavalry.

Five guards all decked out in professional gear and her.

Lana looks dreadful. Her hair is plastered against her skull from the rain, but she is not wearing anything appropriate for this occasion. It’s like she ran out of the house the moment she saw her friend.

“Let him go, and we’ll let you live.” A guard orders me as all of their weapons are now pointed at me. The bored look on my face only aggravates them, and I tune their pleas out. The only thing I see is Lana.

She is desperate to save her friend.

I shut them up by putting my gun against the side of Emin’s head. “The only person I am willing to talk to is your boss.”

Lana steps forward and lowers her weapon, raising her hands.

“Nobody will harm you; you have my word.”

“Like I would ever trust you again.”

She nods. “Fair. But I did return Hana.”

She did.

Our eye contact is a physical collision. Through the rain I can see that her gaze is sharp with murderous grief, while mine is filled with resentment. Yet, the pull between us is undeniable, and I’m disgusted by my body’s reaction.

I holster my gun and push Emin forward. Then I take my gun, again, and point it at the back of Emin’s head.

Let her five guards draw their weapons; I don't care. Let her look at me like I’m the monster who took her father's breath away, because her hatred is a shield for the truth she is too blind to see. She ruined me over a lie, yet standing here in the freezing Sarajevo dark, all I want to do is bridge the distance and destroy us both completely. I want her to hate me, but more than that, I want her to remember exactly how it feels to belong to me.

Emin’s weakened state makes him walk slower, but he is almost with his best friend again.

The internal war in me is making me lose focus. My father indoctrinated in me that I shouldn’t let my enemies win, or show any sign of compassion. My finger on the trigger is itching to fire, while my heart is telling it to stand down.

Then it all changes.