Beatrice.
"He's not protecting you, Beatrice. He's keeping you in place until his family decides what to do with you."
Nathaniel's words followed me all the way home, circling in my head like vultures. Gerald—no, Liam Volkov—had been lying about everything. His name. His allegiance. His reasons for helping me.
I'd trusted him. Let him into my life. Let him see me at my most vulnerable.
And he'd been reporting to the same criminal family that wanted to use me as leverage in some war I didn't understand.
By the time I climbed the stairs to the apartment, my hands were shaking so badly I could barely get the key in the lock.
Gerald was waiting inside. And I had no idea how to look at him now that I knew the truth.
The apartment door swung open before I could turn the key.
Gerald stood
