Chapter 243: Too late

Viktor looked at her for a long time. I will make sure you are okay, Sienna. I will bring you home safely, even if it is the last thing I do in my life.

He said it only to himself. The words stayed in his head, along with everything Carina had told him. Her voice kept coming back, soft and heavy at the same time. What will happen when the Don finds out who Sienna really is?

The thought made his chest go tight. Viktor did not scare easily. He had seen men die and had done things he never spoke about. But this was a different kind of fear. It was the fear of losing one person.

Sienna finally slept. It was not deep sleep, just a few short minutes. When she opened her eyes, the sky outside the window was clear and pale blue, with no clouds at all.

Viktor was still looking at her.

He had not blinked, or so it seemed. He had not slept the whole night. Yet he looked fine, calm and strong, as if the long flight had touched everyone except him.

"You did not sleep," she said quietly.

"I was not tired," he lied.

She knew it was a lie. She said nothing. A few minutes later, the pilot’s voice came through the speaker. They would be landing soon.

The plane touched the ground at exactly 11:30 a.m.

It had been a long fourteen hours. Sienna’s back ached, and her head felt heavy. When the door opened, warm air rushed in, and the bright sun hurt her eyes.

A black car was already waiting at the bottom of the steps. The driver stood next to it and did not look at them.

"Would you like to change into something more comfortable?" Viktor asked.

"I’m fine, Viktor."

He studied her face for a moment. Then he took her hand, and they walked toward the car together. His hand was warm and steady. Sienna held on tighter than she wanted to admit.

They were only a few steps away when a figure stepped out from behind the car.

Both of them stopped.

It was a woman in a red suit, with her hair pulled into a neat bun. Sienna looked down at her own red suit. She touched her own bun. It was as if someone had given them the same dress code.

Helena’s eyes moved from Sienna to Viktor. They went cold. "Why did you bring her?" she said. Her voice was low and shaking. She was trying hard to control her anger, and she was losing. "Why, Viktor?"

Viktor did not answer. His jaw tightened.

"Hello, ma’am," Sienna said. Her voice was calm, but her heart was beating fast. "I wanted to come. That man sent an invitation, so I came."

The woman turned to her slowly.

"I don’t like this," she said. "Damn it, I don’t like this at all." She pushed her hand through the air as if she wanted to break something. "I knew going there to see you was a big risk. I should not have done it." She looked over her shoulder, and then at the road behind them. Her eyes were quick and afraid.

"He found me too." The words fell between them like a stone. Sienna felt the cold run down her arms. She looked at Viktor. He was already looking at the road, and his hand was no longer soft in hers.

"Viktor," the woman said sharply. "Listen to me. I need you to turn around."

"Helena..."

"There is a blue van in the alley behind that building." She pointed with two fingers, without looking. "Get on it. Get out of here now."

"We just landed," Sienna said. "And I’m not leaving."

Helena did not look at her at first. When she did, something in her face broke, just for a second. Her eyes went soft, and her voice went soft with them.

"He cannot lay eyes on you, Katty." Helena’s face closed again, hard and sharp. "Leave him to me," she said to Viktor. "I will handle him. Just go. Now." Far away, behind the buildings, an engine started.

It was a heavy, slow engine, the sound of more than one car. Viktor heard it too. His whole body changed. The tired man from the plane was gone, and in his place stood someone dangerous and ready. He pulled Sienna close to his side.

Behind Helena, two car doors closed.

Two figures stepped out into the sunlight, and neither of them was in a hurry. The man wore a white suit, clean and bright, so white it almost hurt to look at. The young woman beside him wore white too, as she always did.

Don Konstantin. And Carina.

Sienna saw them first over Helena’s shoulder. She did not scream or step back. Her voice came out calm, almost too calm.

"Too late," she said. "He is here. And he brought his other daughter." His other daughter. The words hung in the air. Carina’s eyes met hers for one short second, and then slid away.

Helena moved before anyone else did. She stepped to the side and spread her arms a little, and her body covered Sienna completely.

"Don’t look at him," she said, hard and quiet. "Sienna, do not look at him." Then, without turning her head, "Viktor. Now."

"Let’s go, Sienna." Viktor’s hand closed around hers. His whole body was ready to run.

"We didn’t come all this way to run, Viktor." Sienna’s voice was smooth and warm.

"Helena, Helena." Don Konstantin did not raise his voice. He never needed to. He walked forward slowly, hands loose at his sides, like a man taking a walk in a garden.

"If he found, Helena," Sienna said, "it means he already knew where to look. Or he had a hint." Viktor stopped. Running now would only be a signal, and every man near those cars had a hand close to his jacket. He felt it and knew it.

"Oh my God," the Don said, and his voice changed. It dripped, soft and sweet, like a man in love. "My darling Helena. It is so good to see you."

Helena turned to face him. Her back stayed straight. She kept her arms a little wide, and her shoulders stayed where they were, always between him and Sienna.

"Konstantin," she said.

"Look at you." He stopped an arm’s length away and let his eyes move over her slowly. "Just as beautiful as ever." He paused. "Do you know what I see, though?"

She said nothing.

"You look tense."

Behind her, Sienna could hear her own heartbeat. It was loud in her ears. She felt Viktor’s fingers tighten on hers until it almost hurt, and she was glad of it. It was the only thing that felt real.

Then the Don took one more step to the side, just one, like a man wanting a better view.

And he saw her.

Only a piece of her at first. A red sleeve. A hand held in a man’s hand. Then a little more, until he could see her face.

Everything about him went still.

The smile did not fall from his face. It simply stopped, as if someone had pressed pause. His eyes went wide, and they did not blink. He looked at Sienna the way a person looks at a ghost.

Nobody moved. Even the wind seemed to stop. Then Konstantin began to walk toward her.

He did not look at Helena anymore, or at Viktor. He walked like a man in a dream, and each step was slow and heavy. Helena’s hand closed into a fist at her side. Her nails cut into her palm.

It was over. She knew it, and she could see that Viktor knew it too. He had already seen her face. Whatever small doubt he might have had was gone, burned away in a single look.

Don Konstantin knew exactly who Sienna was.