“There were five or six men, I think—I can’t remember now. I was outnumbered and unprepared. And proud. I tried to fight them off on my own.”
“One versus six,” Natalia gasps. “How did you survive?”
My jaw clenches. “Ironically, Maria saved me. The moment I saw her die, I was filled with this black fury, an uncontrollable hatred. Her death gave me the surge I needed to kill them.”
She shudders, drawing me back to her molten green eyes. They’re wet with tears. “I’m so sorry, Andrey.”
There’s a lump in my throat that I haven’t allowed myself to feel in quite a while. Somehow, though, her presence makes it bearable.
“That’s why you’ve been so overbearing with my security.”
I brush a stray tear from her cheek. “I don’t repeat my mistakes, lastochka. I’m not willing to risk your safety aft
