The Killer’s Vow by Aria R. Blue
Vera
The night carries me forward. It cloaks my tears and soothes my broken heart.
I didn’t even wait for him to break it.
I broke it myself.
The only thing I carry with me is Ivy’s Black Book and a brown messenger bag with some necessities hastily thrown into it.
It’s dangerous to be out on the streets alone like this.
That’s why I stole Simon’s car and had the staff help me move my sleeping dog to Simon’s side.
The stars above are the only witness to my tears.
I hope he knows that I’m sorry.
I had no other choice.
This had been brewing in my mind since we left American soil.
My restlessness propelled me forward, making my budding plan more and more concrete. And when I saw Simon standing over Oscar’s sleeping body, I knew it had to be done tonight.
He’s a good man to me.
But he’s not a good man.
And I’m no saint either. That’s why I’m in a stolen car right now, and he’s in a drug-induced sleep.
The staff at the restaurant knew that I was sent by Mexican royalty. They’ll protect my man and my dog with their lives if that’s what it takes.
I actually believe I’m doing the right thing here.
I’m such a good liar.
Especially when it comes to lying to myself.
I don’t stop driving until I reach the edge of the world.
The Mexican coastline.
The silence of the car is broken by the waves crashing against the earth. I crack a window to let some of the salt-tinged air in, but I don’t dare get out.
Not when I have that instinct that has been passed down in my bloodline.
It tells me that I can trust no one.
And some part of me knows that I’m being followed.
A few weeks ago, I would have called it paranoia. But after everything that happened, I know better.
I’ve learned to listen to that wise instinct that’s there for me in times of need.
I take a deep breath of the salty air and plan my next course of action.
I know I have to move quickly.
Simon will be in a deep slumber for the next few hours. But after that, I have no doubt he’ll come after me. Even after everything I told him about how I need to do this alone, I know he’ll try to find me anyway.
I grab a flashlight from the dash and point it toward the passenger seat. The Black Book rests on top of it.
Until now, I haven’t had the courage to open one section of the book.
My own family’s.
The Reznikov’s of Russia.
Our ancestry has deep roots in the motherland, stretching back multiple generations. The government rose and fell, but we held our power. We ruled steady from our thrones of skull and bone.
Nothing touched us or what we stood for.
Until that first day of summer.
The day when everything fell apart all those years ago.
We were banished out of our own country. What was left of my family barely survived the wreckage that followed.
That summer morning was the beginning of the end.
I crack the book open to the Reznikov’s of Russia.
The pages have a creamy-beige hue. You can tell that the book is old, but it’s also well-maintained by those who have taken care of it until now.
I’m gentle with my movements as I flip the pages.
And there it is, staring right back at me.
My name. My papa’s name. My babushka’s name.
All of us are there. All of our secrets and pains are written in fluid black ink.
Things I already know.
Things I don’t.
Things that will change the course of the rest of my life.
I do the only thing I can think of.
I call her.
“Hello?” Her voice is sunshine and ice. The girl who will smile at you as she plots all the ways she can kill you in her head.
“Hey,” I whisper. “It’s me.”
The phone Simon gave me is safe. He explained that it uses a particular satellite for mobile network that erases all data once the call is over.
I just have to hope that her phone is safe too.
“Oh my God, V—” She thinks better of using my real name. Yep, I can trust her all right. “Is everything okay? We’ve been trying to reach you for weeks now. Where are you?”
“I just read it,” I say. “The section on my family.”
“Oh,” Ivy says, her mood shifting to match mine. “I’m guessing you didn’t know about some of the events?”
“Is it always accurate?” I ask her.
“As far as I know, yes,” she says. “I’ve used the Black Book for years now, and it was never wrong.”
“This changes everything,” I whisper. The things I read about my family in the Black Book are worse than any marriage my father could have ever arranged for me. “I wish I never opened it.”
“I’m surprised you held back for this long,” she says. “Most people would look themselves up if given a chance. To see if the dark parts of their hearts are written down in print.”
I feel like I’m back on one of the roller coasters Simon and I loved so much. Only this time, there is no safety belt.
It’s free fall.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why does the book exist?”
“Same reason the Army and the Navy exist,” she answers after a pause. “Just in case we need to protect our own.”
It’s a family treasure, but she gave it to me.
She trusted me with something far more precious than anything money can buy.
Information.
And there must be a reason I held back from opening the pages on my own family until now. I was afraid of what I would find.
Because somewhere deep within, I already knew.
I already suspected something went horribly wrong that summer morning.
“Where are you now?” Ivy asks.
“Mexico.”
“Are you still with Simon?”
“Kind of.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means we kind of broke up.”
“Oh,” she says, losing some of the intensity in her voice. “Oh, well, that changes things.”
“What things?”
“I don’t know if I should tell you now. Is he someone you still trust?”
“As much as I trust myself,” I breathe.
The love and the trust haven’t gone anywhere.
I just need different things right now.
I need to prove something to myself first. That I’m not just the Vera who ducks and covers when under attack. That I’m also capable of picking up a damn weapon and marching into battle.
Simon calls me a tigress.
I want to embody that, fully and completely. I want to live up to his expectations and be as strong as my heart.
A minute ago, I had no plan. All I knew was that I had to get away.
But now, there’s one forming in my mind.
“Ivy?” The word comes out like a siren’s call, seductive and sharp.
“Ooh, you’re using that voice. What is it?”
My smile is a loaded gun. “What voice?”
“My favorite one. It means you’re about to do something badass.”
I smile wider. “Can you do something for me?”
“Anything,” she replies immediately.
“I’m going to Russia. Will you come with me?”
There’s a pause on her end.
“Did you book the plane tickets already, or should I?”