Lies of My Monster (Monster Trilogy #2) by Rina Kent

My mind is about to explode from the onslaught of information, but I still shake my head. “He has nothing to gain from eliminating a witness to a murder when he thinks the entire family was killed, which means your source is unreliable. You don’t know Kirill, but I do. He’s not the type who does anything unless there’s some sort of gain.”

“How dare you defend him in front of my face, you preposterous child!”

“I’m sorry, but I won’t allow you to hurt him, Babushka.”

“Go do your thing, Albert.” She hits me with the cane on my other side and pushes. “Move out of the way.”

I seize hold of her cane for the first time in my life. My hand trembles, but I lift my chin and continue to stand tall. “I said no.”

“Sasha, don’t make this harder than it needs to be,” Uncle says.

“If you want to kill Kirill, you’ll have to kill me first.”

“Sasha!”

“Aleksandra!” Babushka screeches, pulling her cane from my fingers and stomping it on the ground. “I should’ve known a girl would be good for nothing. You’ve fallen for the monster, haven’t you?”

“N-no.” I clear my throat. “He’s my savior, and I refuse to betray him.”

“If you don’t move out of the way,” she warns. “Mark my words, Aleksandra Ivanova, I will disown you.”

I pause, my fingers shaking and my heart thumping so loudly, I can hear it in my ears.

Sweat breaks out on my temples and upper lip as I stare at my grandmother.

The thought of being a stranger to my family rips my chest open, but no more than the mere thought of losing Kirill.

So I stand there, unmoving.

“Sasha,” Uncle pleads, but I shake my head.

“You are dead to me,” Babushka says with another stomp of her cane. “I will think that you were killed that day with everyone else.”

Then she turns around and leaves, hitting her cane on the ground all the way. Tears fill my eyes, but I don’t let them loose.

“It’s not too late to fix it, Sashenka,” Uncle says gently, pleadingly almost. “Do the right thing.”

“Killing my savior is not the right thing. Far from it.”

“This is not over even if I walk away right now. I will come back for Kirill’s life. It’s my duty toward this family. If you decide to stop me, be ready to kill me.” His eyes soften, and he releases a long sigh. “I wish I’d never sent you to the army.”

Then he follows Babushka out.

As I watch their retreating backs, a part of me rips through my chest, spills out in front of me, and dies a slow death.

The worst part is that I can’t do anything about it.

I’ve always thought I’d be with them for the rest of my life, but now, it feels like everything was for nothing.

I don’t pause to wallow in misery for too long, though. I need to get Kirill out of this hospital. Now.

If Uncle said he’ll come back, he means it. And this time, one of us really has to die.

I run to the hospital’s public phone and dial the number I learned by heart.

“Who is this?” Viktor’s gruff, tension-filled voice sounds from the other end.

“It’s me. Sasha.”

“Lipovsky, you fucking fucker! What happened to Boss? I knew he was following you after your impromptu visit to Russia. I went searching for him, and although it took me hours, I only found traces of blood. That blood better not be his, or I swear to fuck—”

“It’s his. He was shot, and he’s in the ICU at the local hospital.”

“What the fuck—”

“Listen to me, Viktor,” I cut him off and lean closer to the phone. “His life is in immediate danger. You need to make the arrangements to fly him out of here now. I’ll remain on guard until you have everything sorted. Hurry. His life depends on it.”

“Are you the reason he was shot?” he asks with frightening calm.

I bite my lower lip and then quickly release it. “That’s not important right now—”

“Are you?”

“No.” Lie. I was completely the reason behind it, though indirectly. But if I tell Viktor that, he’ll separate me from Kirill, and I can’t have that.

He inhales sharply. “Now, you listen to me, motherfucker. You will guard him with your life until I get there. Once I do, you better not show your face, or I will punch you on sight.”

I tighten my hand on the phone, but I don’t say anything.

It doesn’t matter if Viktor, Kirill, and everyone else hate me as long as I can get him to safety.





4





SASHA





Viktor might be the most stoic person I know, whose personality can only be compared to walls and steel, but he’s also the most efficient.

In just a few hours, he managed to find not only transportation to the airfield, but also a few bodyguards, a doctor, and a nurse who will accompany Kirill on his flight back to New York.

I haven’t been able to stop studying my surroundings for the past hour, even with all the security that Viktor specifically hired to ensure Kirill’s safety.

There’s no telling what my uncle and his men will do. Hell, Babushka might have given him the green light to get rid of me as well if I dare to get in the way of their revenge.