He didn’t respond and any shred of my heart that was left withered and died. It was hard to believe that only a day ago I had been so happy, ready for my future with him. “Did you even love me at all?” I whispered brokenly.
His jaw ticced, but it seemed that he had lost his tongue. “I see,” I said, swallowing my tears. “Then you are no different than my father. You are a monster, Artem, and I can’t believe I ever let you in my heart.”
Artem flinched, but the car stopped, and he pushed open the door, grabbing my arm. “You think I am a monster?” he growled, pulling me toward the glass door. “Let me show you just how much of a monster I can be.”
I was helpless to stop him, a thousand thoughts running through my mind. Artem had never forced me to do anything sexual, but real fear threaded through my veins at this Artem. Had he lost his mind? Was he going to make me pay for hitting him?
I gulped as we rode in the elevator, Anatoly and Irina glancing at each other now that they had caught up with us. It seemed they were worried about what Artem had planned for me, and my stomach roiled at what he could do.
There was nothing he could do that would hurt me as much as him killing Harvey. I didn’t care about my father any longer, but my brother was my flesh and blood, my sibling.
The doors opened and we stepped directly into a large space, everything black and white with the biggest picture-window balcony I had ever seen. If this were just another day, I would have marveled at the view of the city below, or the comfortable-looking leather couch that sat before a granite fireplace and huge TV hanging above it.
Instead I couldn’t even drum up any excitement. Right now, it looked like another prison with a monster.
“Emma!”
I closed my eyes. Now my brother was going haunt me. His voice sounded so real. “Harvey,” I whispered, a tear rolling down my cheek.
“Are you okay? What happened? Why are you crying?”
My eyes snapped open and I found my brother’s anxious face before me, his hands on my shoulders. “What?”
He looked over at my husband. “What happened?” he demanded. “Why does my sister look like a freaking ghost?”
I let out a sob and crushed my brother against me, hugging him tight. “You’re not dead!”
“No, he’s not,” Artem said wearily.
“What the fuck is going on?” Irina asked for me, glaring at her brother. “What did you do, Artem?”
He sighed, raking a hand through his hair. “I need a fucking drink.”
Harvey released me, his anxious gaze nearly tearing me apart. “Are you okay, Emma?”
I reached out with a shaky hand and touched his cheek, relief pouring through me. “You’re alive.”
His eyes widened. “Shit. What happened?”
I couldn’t tell him. It didn’t matter. Harvey was alive, which meant that Artem had not killed my brother after all.
Oh God, I needed that drink too.
“Come on,” Irina said, linking arms with me. “You look like you are about to fall down. Let’s get some answers.”
We found Artem in the kitchen, its sleek black-and-white granite and stainless steel appliances fitting the rest of the penthouse rather well. He had a glass of clear liquid in his hand, with a bottle of vodka on the counter, and he tossed it back quickly, grimacing as he did so. I swallowed as Irina grabbed four more glasses and poured the liquor in each one, handing them out. “Drink,” she said, holding hers up. “We all need it.”
I did as she instructed, feeling the burn all the way to my stomach before placing the glass on the island before me. “Start talking,” I said after a moment. “Before I have a nervous breakdown.”
“I got a Harvey lookalike,” Artem started, his gaze distracted. “I contacted my brigadiers here and made sure that it was a lowlife criminal that no one would miss. The asshole liked to rob the elderly, so he was perfect to be used in this plan.”
“But we didn’t anticipate your father shooting,” Anatoly added with a grimace. “The plan was to dump him with your father and be long gone before he realized it wasn’t your brother.”
“We had to get Irina back safely,” Artem stated, clearing his throat. “I had no intention of handing you over, Emma.”
The softness in his voice tore at me, but I forced the emotions aside for now. I couldn’t focus on anything but what had just transpired.
“He wasn’t supposed to die,” Artem continued, pouring another drink. “That was unfortunate timing.”
I turned to my brother, disbelieving that my life had taken a hard right turn again. “And you knew about this?”
He nodded, looking at my husband. “Artem called me and told me that he was going to set up a plan to get his sister back. He gave me the code to this place, and I was just supposed to wait here until you showed. This is a great place, by the way.”
Artem chuckled before drinking another glassful of vodka. “I’m glad you like it. Feel free to use it whenever you want as long as I’m not here.”
“Sweet,” Harvey said, grinning.
“I had to get Irina back,” Artem said, his eyes meeting mine. “I had to get your father to think that I had Harvey and force him to hand her over. I just didn’t expect him to be so desperate.”
“It’s because he’s going to jail,” Harvey piped up. “Campaign finance fraud, money laundering, you name it.”
I sucked in a breath. My father was going to jail for a long time then, and if any evidence about his involvement in Artem’s parents’ murders was discovered, he would be going down for those too.
We wouldn’t be seeing him for the rest of his life, and I was fine with that. After today, I didn’t know the man who had been there. He was evil, and to me, he didn’t even exist any longer. “We need to tell Mom.”
“I know,” he sighed. “We can leave tomorrow.”
“No,” Artem bit out. “No one leaves until they have captured Declan. I can’t risk him attacking again.”
I decided that it wasn’t worth the fight with Artem this time. At least my brother was alive, and I didn’t have to kill my husband for shooting Harvey. “Fine, but the moment he is, we are going to see my mom.”
He nodded. “All right.”
“Well then,” Irina stated, moving away from the island and her empty glass. “I’m going to have a shower and then order some food for us. It’s been a hell of a day.”
Anatoly poured another glass, downing it quickly. “I’m going to make some calls.”