Vera I  have no money, and I can’t borrow anything from Ruslan without him asking what it’s for, but I have other options.In the past, I witnessed many of my childhood friends stealing things from the pharmacy where I grew up. Candy, beer, pregnancy tests, whatever – it’s all the same to an underpaid teenage cashier. They don’t care what you take, so long as you don’t make a scene.Ruslan’s house is huge, so I choose to strategize my escape in a more practical way than launching myself from the bathroom window. That might work if I never planned on coming back, but I need access to the house once I return again.There’s a guest bedroom on the first floor, and the windows unlock easily enough for me to remove the screen and slip through without making much noise. I haven’t been outside of Ruslan’s house since we arrived, and it was dark enough to obscure the surrounding neighborhood.I’ll have to make sure I know my way back.

Vera I'd practiced for this conversation multiple times before I got back to Ruslan’s house, but I just can’t spit out the words in a way that makes them sound good.I feel like such a coward, using my studies and meaningless college experience to hide the truth. Ruslan deserves better than that, especially with the grief he’s been carrying like a hot stone for two weeks now.“Why?” he asks, his eyes full of betrayal. “When did you decide this? Be honest, please.”“It’s been creeping up on me for the last week. Every day that passes, I can feel my grades falling further and further into a place where I’ll never be able to fix them. If I lose my scholarship, I’ll have to move back in with my family and work a dead-end job. I can’t do that, not after seeing how proud my parents were when I got accepted.”His face falls, and the guilt begins to settle in much worse than I expected it to.Why am I feeling so guilty? This i

Ruslan I pull up to the abandoned building in the industrial park, my heart racing as I think about what’s to come. Yan is sitting next to me, silent as always, but I can tell he’s justas tense as I am.I knew Yan wouldn’t put me in a position where I felt undermined, but there’s something about facing one of Misha’s attackers that rattles me.Retaliating is a part of the bratva life, and it’s something you have to be willing to do in order to maintain your presence as a respected authority figure. I’ve taken out my anger and hostility on plenty of rivals who deserved it, and I hoped that this would be no different.But right now, I can already tell I’m going to have trouble separating myself from the context of this interrogation.Intimidating people has always been fun for me, especially toward those who throw their weight around and expect to never be caught for it.Knowing that this man thought he had a g

Vera It feels so strange to be back at Ruslan’s house again.I had forced myself to detach from my memories of him,and part of that was coming to terms with the fact that I’d never see the inside of this place again.However, it doesn’t take long before I feel Ruslan’s hands gliding over my body as we enter. He wants one thing right now, and he’s not going to wait a moment longer to have it.The heat in my lower belly swells as he grabs my wrist. He turns me toward him as he presses me into the wall behind me. His hand slips down my chest, teasing my panty line and sending a chill up to my nipples.I’ve been doing my best to avoid thinking about Ruslan since I left, but all of the repressed sexual desire that I’ve shoved down is bubbling back up faster than I can contain it. His smell, the taste of his tongue in my mouth, the incredible feeling of his fingertips against the fabric of my panties – it’s all flooding bac

Vera I  can’t shake off the guilt that’s weighing on me.Yan’s death was directly my fault, and I don’t know how tomake it right. If Yan didn’t feel like Ruslan entrusted him to protect me, he would have been able to seek shelter before he got shot. I have no doubt that Yan had seen many firefights in his day, and likely could have responded with a swift and experienced hand.Instead, he chose to stay by my side.My emotions threaten to burst forth, spilling out all over the place just to leave another mess for us both to clean up.“I hate to ask, since the answer seems obvious, but are you alright?” Ruslan asks, sliding his hand from my thigh to my shoulder and giving a reassuring squeeze.Tears begin to fall straight from my eyes, overflowing onto my shirt as I struggle helplessly to stop them.“I’m so sorry about Yan, Ruslan. I know I keep saying it, and it’s probably making all of this