008: DELETE

Yara’s POV

Kieran reached into the center console, pulled out a black charging cord, and tossed it into my lap. He didn't say a word. He didn't even look at me as he did it. He just turned his attention back to his own phone, his thumb flicking across the screen as more alerts rolled in.

I plugged the cord into the bottom of my dead phone.

The screen stayed dark for a grueling two minutes before the battery icon finally flared to life. The moment the system booted up, my phone went completely chaotic…it vibrated so violently in my hand that it felt like a live wire.

Dozens of text notifications flooded the screen. Missed calls, DMs from accounts I didn't even follow.

And then, Tessa’s name popped up, flashing repeatedly. She was calling for the tenth time in the last ten minutes.

I glanced at Kieran. He didn't look up, but his jaw clenched slightly. “Answer it and keep her quiet.”

I pressed the screen and lifted the phone to my ear. “Tess...”

“YARA! Oh my god, Yara, are you alive? What is happening?!” Tessa’s voice blasted through the speaker so loudly I had to pull the phone an inch away from my ear. She was breathing hard, practically hyperventilating. “I just took my break and opened my phone. You are on the front page of the Daily Dirt. There is a picture of you outside a police precinct with Kieran Volkov! with His arm is around you! Yara, tell me right now, were you sleeping with Kieran Volkov while you were with Jeriah?!”

The accusation made my stomach churn. “No! Tess, let me explain…”

“Because if you were, that is literally iconic, but also I am losing my mind!” Tessa rushed on, completely ignoring my attempt to speak. “Jeriah just announced his engagement to that Donovan witch, and twenty minutes later, you are spotted outside a police station with the captain of the hockey team? The internet is literally melting down. People are saying you left the press conference, had a mental breakdown, and Kieran found you. Is it true? Are you guys dating? How do you even know him? You never told me you knew him! Yara!”

I felt Kieran’s eyes slid toward me. The weight of his gaze was suffocating. I couldn't tell her the truth. I couldn't tell her that I had watched him execute a man in her hotel’s parking lot. If I told her, she would become a target too, the Volkov family would clean her up just like they cleaned up their other messes.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, forcing my voice to sound tight and exhausted rather than terrified. “We’ve been… seeing each other, Tess. Quietly. For a little while.”

A loud gasp echoed over the line. “I knew it! I mean, I didn't know it, but oh my god! So when you came to meet me crying tonight, it wasn't just about Jeriah? It was about Kieran too?”

“It’s complicated,” I said, my grip tightening on the phone. My eyes remained fixed on the leather seat in front of me. “Jeriah found out. That’s why he did what he did at the ceremony. And my landlord… it’s just been a disaster. Kieran came to get me from the station because things got out of hand with the paparazzi after I left the hotel.”

“Yara, this is insane,” Tessa breathed, her tone shifting from starstruck excitement to sudden worry. “But are you safe right? Where are you right now?”

I looked out the window. The SUV was currently pulling into the private, heavily guarded underground parking garage of a luxury high rise in Tribeca. Massive concrete pillars lined the space, and there were no other cars in sight except for expensive vehicles that looked like they belonged to VOLKOV sports.

“I’m with him,” I told her. “I’m safe. I’m going to stay at his place for a bit until the media cools down. Don’t worry about me, okay? I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay… okay. Keep your head down. Jeriah is going to absolutely lose his shit when he sees those pictures.”

“Goodbye, Tess.”

I ended the call before she could drag any more lies out of me. I let my head drop back against the headrest, closing my eyes. My chest ached. I had just lied to my best friend to protect a killer, all because I didn't have enough money in my bank account to choose dignity over survival.

The SUV came to a final stop.

Pavel got out of the front seat, walked around to my side, and opened the door. He didn't offer his hand. He just stood there, waiting. I gathered the edges of my ruined dress, trying to keep the long slit closed over my thigh, and stepped out onto the cold concrete of the garage.

Kieran followed me out. He didn't look tired. He looked like a man who was entirely in control of his environment. He nodded toward a set of double steel doors at the far end of the garage.

“The private elevator goes straight to the top,” he said, his voice flat. “let's go.”

I walked beside him, my broken heel clicking sharply against the polished concrete. Pavel walked behind us, carrying my two black trash bags like they were expensive luggage. It was a bizarre, humiliating sight.

We stepped into the elevator. Kieran pressed his thumb against a biometric scanner on the wall, and the panel glowed blue. The doors slid shut smoothly, and the elevator began to rise rapidly, the numbers on the digital display skipping up to the penthouse floor.

When the doors opened, I expected a home. Instead, I walked into an exhibition of cold, intimidating wealth.

The penthouse was massive, an open concept space with floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the entire glittering skyline of Manhattan. The floors were dark, polished hardwood. The furniture was minimalist…sharp angles, black leather, and gray stone. There were no family photos. No warm colors. It looked more like a corporate headquarters for a modern dictatorship than a place where people lived.

“Drop the bags by the door, Pavel,” Kieran ordered as he stepped into the foyer. He began unbuttoning his shirt cuffs, tossing his silver cufflinks onto a marble console table. “You’re done for the night. Monitor the blogs. If anyone leaks the hotel camera footage before our people erase it, let me know immediately.”

“Yes, sir,” Pavel muttered. He set my trash bags down on the floor and stepped back into the elevator, the doors closing silently behind him.

I stood in the center of the vast living room, feeling entirely small and out of place. My bare thigh caught the cool breeze from the air conditioning, making me shiver.

“Where’s the charger?” I asked, turning to face him. I held up my phone. “I keep my word. I’ll delete the video now.”

Kieran walked over to a mini bar near the windows. He poured himself a glass of amber liquid from a crystal glass jug, took a slow sip, and then pointed toward a black docking station on a side table. “Use that one.”

I walked over, plugged the phone into the dock, and waited for the screen to light up. Kieran walked over and stood right behind me. He was so close I could feel the heat radiating from his massive chest. He smelled like expensive whiskey now…

I opened my phone’s gallery and there it was, the ten second video, I pressed the trash can icon and a prompt appeared, delete this file?

I looked at Kieran through the reflection in the glass window. His face was entirely unreadable, his eyes tracking my thumb. If I didn't press it, he would probably have Pavel dump me in a ditch. If I did press it, I was officially bound to this monster for the next six months.

I tapped the screen. Delete.