Episode 76

Naomi

I didn’t like anything that I was witnessing at this moment. I didn’t like the fact that my kidnapper was standing before me or how Gavril was giving me a look that seemed to sear my very soul. He looked so defeated, and I didn’t think I had ever seen him like that before. “What’s going on?” I asked, far too scared to say anything else. “Why is he here?”

Gavril finally snapped out of his thoughts and placed his hands on my shoulders, the heat of his skin burning through my thin shirt. I could feel a faint tremor in his touch, and it surprised me. Gavril was never rattled. “I need for you to go with Anatoly,” he said, his eyes meeting mine. “He will get you to a safe house.”

“And you are coming with me, right?” I countered, already knowing the answer.

His jaw tightened and I gripped his wrists with my hands, tightening my hold. “Your men can fight this war for you,” I rushed on. “You don’t need to fight alongside them.”

“There is no honor in running from a fight,” he said tightly