A/N: Thanks everyone for stopping by to read the last chapter and your comments and reviews. I am glad I was not the only one that felt that strongly about the upcoming TV show.

Guest - I try and post a new chapter the earliest every other day. I try and make sure my chapters are longer so if you have to wait it's worth the wait. Therefore, it takes me a little longer to write and then do the proof reading. If I can get them done faster...I will certainly try. :)

Russia2774 - I love when Rose gets to kick some arse too.

Mill56 - I couldn't agree with you more. I don't even recognize the VA world in the TV show. She basically just made another Vampire Diaries and used VA names. So disrespectful to the wonderful world that Richelle Mead created and the characters as well.

Facelesssilence - I had to stop watching TVD because of Julie. It was so awful after the first couple of seasons, and I think she really enjoyed taking the couples that people shipped and making sure they never ended up happy. I really believe in her mind there can never be a happy ending. She doesn't believe couples can last forever, and I don't want to see her ruin my beloved Romitri.

Just-kiwi - I know. :( Imagine the feels I got writing it...

pjwalterman - Will Mikhail ever tell Dimitri...that remains to be seen ;)

Cassiopeia Lia - You'll find out now :/

Thanks again! Enjoy this next chapter. Fair warning...maybe some tissues.


Chapter 6 – Breaking Ties

Because that is who you are, Rose. Destruction and pain.

Victor's words repeated in my head over and over again as he laid back on the bed content with himself in the fact that he was about to cause my whole world to come crumbling down.

I on the other hand, curled on my side for the last few hours dreading what I knew I was going to have to do. If I attempted to sleep—which is what I really needed to do—sleep couldn't find me.

Break Dimitri Belikov's heart. And shatter mine in the process.

I distinctly heard Victor make another check in call with the burner phone to his contact. His next would be in the morning, once we were on the move again.

I had been laying on my side, facing out the window, my eyes glancing up each time I saw a pair of headlights come into the motel parking lot. My ears strained for every voice I heard just outside the room. All while my heart felt like it was going to crack each one of my ribs until I suffocated slowly and painfully.

Night had fallen now. I had checked in with Lissa one more time briefly. Just to confirm that everyone was still under house arrest while they continued their line of questioning to each one of them. They had spent all day being questioned by different guardians, including the intimidating Hans.

Dimitri's had been the hardest. They had threatened to put him in the cells after he had intervened with the guardians trying to stop Victor and me. The only reason it hadn't happened, was because everyone else I loved had vouched that he probably hadn't been thinking straight. He was my mentor and me his student and reacted to me being in trouble. It still didn't mean that he wasn't going to be watched more closely from now on. If I did what Victor asked me to do, then it might clear him from any further suspicion if he didn't show any interest in coming after me.

Everyone but my mother would be confined to their rooms. There was one thing I was certain about. One thing I knew would happen once night would fall and it would be time to go to sleep. One thing that Hans and the rest of the guardians at court wouldn't—couldn't—be prepared for.

Adrian finding me in a spirit dream.

He would do it. There was no way his curiosity wouldn't get the best of him. That he wouldn't want to know why I broke Victor out of prison. Why I hadn't bothered to let anyone in on why I had done what I had done. To ask where I was now and what I planned to do going forward.

I just had to simply fall asleep.

I turned abruptly on my back, my hands coming to rest on my stomach. Victor had fallen asleep over an hour ago. The bastard was still too weak without blood, the protein bar and water I had given him earlier only doing little to give back some of his strength he had depleted during the escape.

I knew I would need to get him blood and soon, but that seemed like such an insignificant matter now. Everything did when I had ruin one of the best things that had ever come into my life.

How was I going to make him believe that I didn't love him? Just even thinking the words felt like such a betrayal for everything we had been and done together. Everything we were to each other.

Because that is who you are, Rose. Destruction and pain.

I closed my eyes tightly, the words like a cut to the skin each time I heard them in my head. I hated Victor, but it was hard to believe that he wasn't right about that. I did bring destruction and pain everywhere I went. To everyone that I loved.

Mason's face flashed before my closed eyelids.

Go to sleep, Rose, I chastised myself. I opened my eyes to stare at the chipped and stained ceiling above me. I still didn't know what the hell I was going to say, especially since whatever I did say, I didn't mean, but it had to be done. I had to keep repeating the other words from Victor.

Break his heart to save him.

I drew in a long shuddering breath…and closed my eyes, until everything faded to black.

I knew the moment I was being pulled from my restless slumber into a spirit dream with Adrian. The area around me was black as everything slowly started to come into focus. I still couldn't locate Adrian, but I groaned when I saw the red provocative dress, he chose to put me in.

"Hello, little dhampir," he said, his voice a fleeting whisper in the wind. "I was waiting forever for you to fall asleep."

I looked around, but I still didn't see him. "Adrian…" his name came out as a drained and exasperated plea.

He materialized at once, his brows drawing together. He frowned. "Rose? What's wrong?"

I ignored the question. "What am I wearing?"

He grinned. "I saw this in one of the stores at court. I kept telling myself how your rockin body would look in it. If you care to know, I was right."

I didn't crack a smile. I stood there numbly, as I looked down at the thin red material that showed off way more of my curves and assets. It would be the exact kind of dress I would love to wear for Dimitri, just so I could see that fire and lust in his eyes again. Now, it made me want to crawl into a ball and weep.

I clasped my arms in front of my chest. "Put me in my regular clothes," I blurted angrily.

Adrian looked momentarily surprised by the indignation in my voice. "Rose, I just…"

"Just do it," I snapped, tightening my arms around my stomach.

Adrian looked at me for a long moment, before his eyes softened. He snapped his fingers, and just like that I was in a pair of jeans and cotton top. "Better?" he asked.

I nodded mutely.

"Rose, talk to me. We need to know. All of us. What could possess you to break out Victor Dashkov?"

I shook my head. "I can't…"

His brows drew together in a stern line. "Can't?" He shook his head. "The Rose Hathaway I know—"

"You don't know me," I interjected bitterly. He recoiled back as if I had physically slapped him. I dropped my eyes to my shoes, my voice lowering. "No one does."

I reined myself back in, feeling the edges of darkness start to creep in around me. I just needed him to get Dimitri so I could get this over with and wake up.

Adrian crossed his arms over his chest, his expression turning to one of great concern. He knew. I wasn't good at fooling anyone. He knew something concerning was going on here. The longer I was in this dream the longer my resolve would crumble, and I couldn't let that happened.

"Rose—"

"I need you to pull in Dimitri," I cut in, stopping him from saying whatever he was going to say next.

"Is that all I am good for?" he asked, his voice cracking with hurt emotion. "Just a conduit between you and your cradle robber."

I closed my eyes, trying to not make this worse. "I'm sorry, I don't…please, Adrian," I said in a strangled voice.

His anger melted away, casting one long distressed glance in my direction. "Rose…"

"Please," I begged, my eyes still trained on the floor between us.

"Okay," he replied precariously.

My heart slammed against my ribs. A moment later, I felt the haze before I knew that Dimitri was there. I looked up, just as Dimitri appeared in full form. In his black pants, muscle shirt, and his duster.

He looked to Adrian who was standing behind him, his arms tucked over his chest, his one foot crossed over the other ankle. He looked annoyed that Dimitri was being brought into this dream. He wouldn't deny me though, since it was my only request.

Dimitri's low voice cut in the room. "Rose?"

It was only a single word, but it still managed to sound like his sleepy voice. It made sense since we were pulling him in from a spirit dream, but the one single note of my name, reminded me of the time when we had woken up from our nap after our lovemaking in the cabin.

My name had sounded wonderful and sweet coming from his lips just then. Just like it always did. I was desperately trying to go back to that happy place. That moment when everything seemed so bright between us. When it felt like we were able to take on the world together. Now, it felt hopeless and so far from within my reach, when it had only been a week ago.

He took a purposeful step towards me. Even though I had seen his disproving and troubled look from earlier when he had saw me escaping with Victor, that was replaced now. Replaced with a mixture of relief and worry—for me.

His eyes immediately roamed by body. Not in a way that said he was checking me out and remembering our time in the cabin like I had just been. No, his appraisal of my body was as if he was taking inventory. He had seen me get shot. I remember the stricken look on his face when the guardians had actually used bullets on me. That always felt like it was cheating since we trained so hard with combat fighting and stakes.

I was still pissed about that.

I tucked my arm behind me out of his view, even though it pained me to do so. His eyes looked back to mine, and I already felt like I had been gutted under his gaze. If I continued to look at him, I was going to fall apart. I couldn't do that. I was going to have to be strong enough for the both of us for what I was going to do next.

Break his heart to save him.

I blinked, the spell between us broken. He sensed a shift in me, taking a long step forward. I immediately took a step back. I could see the hurt in his expression at my action. In the small confines of the spirit dream, our bodies were already so close together as if we were two magnets drawn near each other, I could barely breathe. If I was going to make it through this, I needed him at a distance.

"Oh, good. I'm not the only one she seems to be repelling at the moment," Adrian muttered behind Dimitri.

Dimitri lifted his arms, palms out slowly as if he thought I was afraid of him. As if he thought I was a caged animal, ready to lash out a moment's notice thinking he was a threat. It was probably the most accurate thing in this moment. Even though I was wearing a V-neck top, and it was loose around my body, everything felt as if I was being suffocated from the inside like a boa constrictor would its prey.

"Roza…"

My name. My name in Russian. How it would do the funniest things to my inside when it would come off his lips. He didn't do it often. The first time I had ever recalled him saying it, was when he had saved me from Natalie who had turned Strigoi. He had been so worried as he carried me to the infirmary. I had wanted to sleep so bad during the pain, but when his frantic plea for me to remain awake—by calling me Roza—it had set a hot bomb off in my chest.

My heart started pounding so loud, that I was sure that both Dimitri and Adrian could hear it. Dimitri took another step forward, but this time, I was immobilized to take a step back. I had to hope and pray that my body hadn't betrayed me. That he couldn't see the reaction of what he did to me anytime he was near.

Break his heart to save him, my mind repeated to myself. It was the mantra I had to keep telling myself to try and make it through this nightmare.

"Don't come any closer," I warned, my voice thick with emotion.

Dimitri stopped, his expression growing hard, I had never seen him so serious. Even when Mason had died, and I had snapped, lashing out at anyone that tried to get near me or his body, Dimitri had been the only one to break through that barrier. To calm me down. Now, his expression was turning pensive. The line between my eyes had him frowning. He without a doubt knew something was very wrong.

"Roza, talk to me," he pleaded.

Roza.

"No," I said despondently. "There's nothing to say," I added quickly.

"You break Victor Dashkov, a man you hate out of jail, and there's nothing to say," he said calmly, but I managed to hear how affronted he was by that comment.

I just stared at him. He was about to say something, but I opened my mouth to beat him to it. "I came…I brought you here…"

"Roza—"

"It's over," I said, my tone distant. Aloof.

I heard a cough that ended up as a choking sound come from Adrian behind us. I glanced over Dimitri's shoulder, his eyes wide and shocked at those two words I uttered.

Dimitri on the other hand, his gaze never faltered from mine. His look told me that he didn't believe a word of what I was saying.

"What's over, Rose?" he asked, taking another step forward.

This time, I did take a step back. He knew damn well what I meant by those two words. Adrian knew and he was the outsider looking in. I strained to control the tremble in my voice. "Us," I answered.

He shook his head. "No. I don't believe that." He took another step forward. "I don't believe you," he added, his words coming out thickly in his Russian accent.

As usual, his face betrayed nothing, but I could see something in his eyes. Mostly because I was so entuned to him by now, that he might be able to hide himself off from everyone else, but not me. I had always been able to read him so clearly. I could see that intensity building there. That quelling look that always made me just want to drop all my walls and tell him my deepest and darkest secrets.

I had to stand firm though. I had to do this. I had to protect the ones I love. That was him. Olena. Karolina. Sonya. Viktoria. All the rest if they got it in their head to come after me.

Break his heart to save him.

My heart was slamming against my ribs, my hands sweaty as they balled into fists as I attempted to find my strength. "It's true." My voice turned wobbly, as I tried to get through my next words. "I—I don't love you," I lied.

His steps faltered. Anger and hurt twisted on his face. He looked so pained. "What's going on, Rose?"

Somehow my voice sounded calm even though I felt anything but that. "I want you to leave me alone." I looked past his shoulder. "All of you," I said into the shocked and now grief-stricken face of Adrian. "Stop trying to find me. Don't look for me. I don't want to be found. I don't want anything to do with any of you," my voice was on the verge of breaking now.

"I don't believe you," Dimitri repeated softly.

My stomach pitched violently, because I wasn't doing good enough. I wasn't selling the narrative. I had to so I didn't fail him. Them.

Break his…

I couldn't even say it anymore. I was one more crack away from falling apart right here and now. I had to turn angry. That was the only thing that might get me through it.

I took another step back. "I don't care what you believe. It's the truth. I don't love you. Not anymore." A knife was being thrusted into my chest deeper and deeper with each word I uttered. "I see it clearly now, that maybe I never have."

Dimitri's long legs moved him forward before I could even maintain the distance between us. "Is Victor telling you to say this? Why are you doing this, Roza?"

I wanted to cry. "Because it's the truth," I bit back, removing my arm from his grasp. "I owe you the truth. You at least deserve that."

For the first time since he appeared in the dream, he had gone deathly pale. "I don't believe you," he said again, this time without as much bravado as before. He was starting to doubt. "You can't fake the kind of love we had, Roza. I felt it. I know you did too."

I had to force my expression to say otherwise. "Did…did you ever think I just used you, so I didn't get kicked out of school. Lissa…Liss was all that mattered to me," I retorted.

"I know you love me," he argued. Another crack in his armor.

As if I could ever forget. Water started to brim at the back of my eyes, but I forced it back. There would be time to cry later. How did this all get so messy?

Because that is who you are, Rose. Destruction and pain.

I steeled my gaze, squaring my shoulders as I looked up at him. His pleading eyes looked back into mine, but I was taught by the best. I was taught by him. I schooled my expression managing to give nothing away.

"Love fades. Mine has," I said.

Dimitri's eyes went wide as if I had just staked him right in the chest. I might as well, based on the haunted look in his expression. I had finally broken through his resolve. I had actually gotten him to believe it was true.

I hated Victor Dashkov.

I hated myself.

Dimitri's arms dropped to his side, his chin dropping to his chest. I had wanted to him to stop looking at me the moment he entered the dream, and now I wanted to shout for him to not believe it. To never let me go.

He took a step back.

Then another.

My heart shattered into a million pieces in those few seconds. There was never going to be a way to put it back together. What I had just done…there was no coming back from this.

I stepped forward; moving around him, only stopping hesitantly when we were shoulder length apart. "Just leave me alone," I reminded him.

He wouldn't look at me. "Whatever you say, Rose." I started to walk towards Adrian. I wanted out of this dream, and I wanted it now. I heard Dimitri's steps turn behind me as he called my name. I glanced back, and he was determined to hold my gaze as he said his next words. "Mine could never fade."

I bit my lip to keep it from trembling. "You should let it. There is no hope, for us. There never will be a future for us."

Destruction and pain.

I severed the last thread of what was between us. I walked right up to Adrian; grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled him to me as I placed a long passionate kiss on his lips. Adrian's arms snaked around my waist. They were wrong and lean and not Dimitri's.

When I pulled away, I shouldn't have looked back. I needed to look away, but I just…couldn't. The way Dimitri looked, was if I had just destroyed the one thing that he valued most. His soul.

"End the dream," I said in a resounding voice to Adrian.

Adrian licked his lips, still trying to recover from the kiss I had planted on him. "I, uh, that…"

"End it now!" I barked.

The black walls started to crumble around us, the last thing I saw was the devastation in Dimitri's eyes, that I had left behind.

Tears slid from my eyes and down the sides of my temples, as I blinked them open. The room was dark enough, only the dimmed lamp between Victor any me providing light. I laid there for a moment; immobile, my heart in complete shambles.

I just broke the heart of the only man I ever loved. The only man that I knew would ever be able to hold a piece of mine. I could tell as I was starting to leave, he still didn't want to believe it. He wanted to hold onto hope for us.

Love fades. Mine has.

That had done it. That had casted the doubt that he was so desperately trying to hold onto. Each word a shatter to my own soul. It was as if I had cut the cord to the one bright light in my life.

I couldn't get the haunted look in his eyes out of my head. The haunted look I put there when I made it certain by the passionate lip lock, I put on Adrian right in his heartbroken face.

Victor was right. I did bring nothing but destruction and pain everywhere I went. I shook my head, feeling the unsettling edges of blackness at my mind.

I gave him a sidelong glance, his back to me as he slept in the other direction. I had to admit, he looked uncomfortable with his handcuffed arm extended to the bedpost behind him.

Good.

I swung my legs over the bed. It took every considerable effort to push myself up from the bed, both my inside and outside of my body feeling as if someone had taken weights to hold me down. Slowly trying to suffocate me to death.

I wiped away the tears that were flowing down my cheeks, the back of my palm wiping against my nose. I tip toed past Victor's bed, only to find out the bastard was still awake.

"Like you have anything to be uncomfortable about," he squawked.

I stilled; my hands clenching to fists at my side. My head snapped up, seeing my reflection in the glass of the one picture on the wall. "What did you say to me?" My clipped words coming out through my clenched teeth.

Victor turned to his back, giving up the pretense that he was sleeping. The only thing that turned was my head, my look telling him all that he needed to know. I didn't except him to feel remorse or sadness for me but seeing the enjoyment over my predicament made the darkness I had been pushing back creep at the edges of my vision.

"You want to know what real pain is, try having your daughter murdered in front of you," he spat. "So, you have to break his heart." He rolled his eyes as if I was being melodramatic. "Big deal."

His words were the final thread to make me snap. Before I had known what I was doing, I was across the room, my hand around his throat as I started to squeeze. I could feel my lip curl upwards. "This is your fault!" I hissed.

"Rose. Rose!" he wheezed.

The first of the disorientation hit, and I knew what was coming. What always came when this hit. My hand instantly let go, Victor's violent coughs filling the room, as he attempted to suck air back into his lungs.

I stepped back; just as the translucent shining lights started to swirl around me. No! I stumbled back ever more, the water filling my eyes again, as I raced to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. My back slammed against the bathroom wall, my body leaning against the sink as I brought my hands to my already closed eyes trying to blink them away. Every time they visited; it was unbearable. All of the dead swirling around my head. All of them shouting for my attention, trying to make me believe that their reason for visiting—no haunting me—was a message I had to receive. A message I would have to pass along, or they would never fully rest.

It was a downside to Lissa bringing me back from the dead to become shadow kissed. Sometimes I wondered if even coming back was even worth all of this. I certainly wasn't in the mood to be able to fight them back, and they must've known that as well. They had patiently waited for another moment when I had been unable to guard my emotions. They lived at the edge of my mind, like the Strigoi's had waited at the edge of the wards to attack the academy that day.

This time…I didn't have Dimitri to help pull me back. I had saw to that.

"Your strong Rose. You can do it. I know you can." Dimitri's words from the cabin tried to break through.

Even when I had hurt him. Even when I broke his heart, it was as if my conscious still knew he was the one thing I still needed.

"Go away!" I yelled to the ghosts swirling around me.

I knew they weren't there really. If anyone walked into the bathroom right now, my hands waving around at the air above me, they would have a possible case to lock me up in the looney farm. Maybe I'd let them if it could make them all go away. The only thing that could, would be anywhere where wards could protect me. Now that I had left court and was on the run, this could become a more common occurrence if I didn't manage to trap them back in the depths of my mind.

I gritted my teeth as the swirling got worse. Allowing them to stay around me, without putting back up the barrier could be dangerous. The fact that I was keeping them out made them angrier. They would attempt to want to jump my body so they could take over and do whatever it was they were trying to do. If that happened, I didn't know if I would be strong enough to take back over. I could be lost for good.

I gulped.

"Leave! Go! I don't want to see you!"

I closed my eyes tighter trying to make the faces go out of focus. Even with my eyes closed, I could still see their pain in their expressions. I could hear their wails. It was as if I was experiencing all of their tragedies over and over again, all at one time.

"Please… just go!"

They weren't listening as my head dropped in between my legs, my body rocking back and forth as I tried to mute them all from my mind. I had to do something, and I had to do something quick. It was becoming too much, and I couldn't keep them at bay. Not with the emotional and physical exhaustion I was fighting against.

There was still one ace up my sleeve. The one thing that I didn't know if it would work, but if it did, it would force them all back behind my guarded gate.

I lifted my head; my eyes still closed. It was going to be painful knowing in reality he was lost to me now, but it was the one and only thing that seemed to help me control them and push them back.

Going to my happy place.

Dimitri.

I started to slow my breathing the swirling ghosts starting to get angrier knowing they were losing their momentum. It was working, I was starting to push them back, their luminescent arms and hands trying to extend out to hold onto me. I pushed farther until the only thing that remained was Dimitri and me.

Dimitri looked around at our surroundings. "This is your happy place?" he asked, the combination of hesitation and amusement in his voice.

He looked so handsome in his everyday guardian attire. It really wasn't fair that one person could be this attractive. His shoulder length hair framing his face. His brown eyes, and that maddening gaze that would make my entire body hot to the touch.

"It's where I fell in love with you," I whispered.

If you asked me more than six months ago if I would have ever liked a single thing of St. Vladimir's, I would have laughed in your face. Now, I couldn't walk around the place without pulling up some memory of Dimitri and me that made me smile.

The track where he made me run laps and pushed me to beat my own best time.

The gym where he had taught me to become the badass guardian I was becoming. Some of our best stolen kisses too.

The edges of the woods just beyond the practice fields, when we wanted to do field training. And steal some private moments together if we were lucky.

The memories flashed in my head like I was flipping through a photo album fondly. That would be all I would have left now. I closed my eyes and shook that depressing thought away. Not here. Not now. This was my happy place.

Dimitri closed the distance between us, his arms coming to wrap around my waist and pull me to him. My hands flattened around his chest, as I tilted my head back so I could look up into those brown eyes of his. It was one of the most common eye colors, but not his. Depending on the angle, depending on the brightness of the sun when they would hit it just right, they could turn more of a rich amber. The color was sexy and reminded me of the color of whiskey.

"I love you, too, Roza." His voice was a caress, wrapping me in a secure blanket.

I pulled him towards me, so I could rest my cheek against his chest, his arms wrapping around my body and holding me close. The steady thump, thump, thump of his heart was all the comfort I needed.

"What do you need, Rose?"

I sucked in a large breath and let it out. "Just this. Just hold me like this," I answered.

I felt his arms instantly pull me closer as all of my fears, reservations, and problems faded away. But like no good thing in my life could last, and as quickly as I had found peace in his arms, it was starting to fade away. I struggled desperately to hold onto Dimitri and this moment, but he started to dissipate like a fleeting wind.

I blinked. My eyes were no longer focused on the bathroom floor anymore. I knew what was happening. I was being pulled into Lissa's mind. This was so not convenient in this moment.

Lisa was with Adrian and Christian, but no one else. They were in her room. Were they already freed from their lockdown? Had everyone already been interviewed and questioned? It wasn't the sense I was getting. It wasn't uncommon for the rules to be a bit more relaxed for royalty then just guardians. Especially, when one of them happened to be a princess.

"I don't believe you," Lissa said sternly.

Adrian's eyes narrowed. "She did. She kissed me. On the mouth. It was hot," Adrian remarked.

My stomach plummeted. I knew exactly what they were talking about. Adrin was recounting what had happened in the spirit dream between Dimitri, Adrian, and myself.

Christian crossed his arms over his chest, his brows drawing together. "Rose? Rose Hathaway? In front of Dimitri?"

It wasn't surprising to me that they would be surprised that I would do that. I would never have done it under normal circumstances. Don't get me wrong, Adrian was good-looking. He was charming and funny, and I could see why all the ladies flocked to him. But he wasn't Dimitri. He didn't hold a candle to him. He didn't really hold anything of my heart.

"She told him she didn't love him," Adrian recanted as if this was everyday gossip. "Dimitri or I didn't believe it at first, but then…"

"Then, what?" Lissa asked immediately, hanging on to his every word.

"She told him love fades. Hers had. Then she marched right over and planted a big one right on my lips," he said, pointing to his mouth like it was the ultimate prize.

Adrian sounded amused, like he was enjoying a bit of Dimitri's pain. It made me mad that he was acting this petty because of a crush that he harbored for me that I didn't and wouldn't ever return in that way.

"It doesn't make sense," Lissa said wearily. "I've seen them together. Rose loves Dimitri. More than anything."

Through the bond, I could feel Lissa's sadness for me. She knew how much I loved Dimitri. How much he meant to me. I could sense she wasn't believing this either, but Adrian's recanter of everything made her question everything she thought she knew.

"Poor Dimitri," Christian remarked. "Has anyone checked on him?"

Lissa shook her head. "He's still in lockdown. Out of everyone, they are trying their hardest to find some connection that he was behind helping Rose escape. They are adamant that she had to have had help."

"He wasn't with her, though," Christian pointed out. "He had been at the gym, and there were several witnesses to account that he had been there during the time. Plus, they spoke of his surprise when he had seen Rose with Victor as well."

"They still think he conspired ahead of time with her," argued Adrian. "In my interview, they asked if I had seen Rose and Dimitri together alone and how often it occurred."

Lissa's expression turned to outrage. "But they are always together. They love each other."

I cringed that Lissa was speaking so openly about it, but then again, it wasn't like anyone in that room didn't already know that. Even some semblance of Adrian had to know that was the case beforehand. At first, he had always thought I was playing hard to get, but that wasn't the case. He understood it now.

"Like that's the real reason I could give them," Adrian replied sarcastically. "Although part of me wanted too," he added through a mutter that was still loud enough to hear.

Lissa stood, as she started pacing back and forth in the room. It was one of her tall tell signs she did when she was stressed, worried, or in deep thought. All three of those emotions she was currently exhibiting. Emotions I had put there.

"So, what, they think Dimitri helped her but then ensured he had an alibi?" Christian guessed.

Adrian grinned. "That's what I gathered from my interrogation." The way he said the word made it seem as if it was more of a candid discussion instead of an actual interrogation that I knew guardians were capable of doing.

Lissa's eyes grew hard. "Dimitri would never have let Rose go on her own with Victor. For god sakes, she was shot in the escape!"

Christian frowned. "I'm with Lissa. It was too sloppy. Dimitri is too prepared for all outcomes."

Ouch. Thanks, Christian.

"Was…was she ok?" Lissa asked.

All teasing from Adrian had vanished. "I asked her, but she was tightlipped on why she did it. She looked tired but determined. There was definitely a reason that drove her to do this, and whatever it was…it's big."

I could see the wheels spinning in Lissa's mind. Wondering why I would do this. How could I have done something like break Victor out of jail. Especially after what she had known he had done to her and to Dimitri.

She stopped pacing, straightened her shoulders as she faced both Adrian and Christian with a determined expression. "We have to break Dimitri out. He will know what to do. He will know how to find Rose. He found us last time."

"Yeah, I don't think big scary Russian is going to be much help," Adrian spoke up, a pained look on his face.

Lissa's brows furrowed. "What do you mean? Why not? Dimitri—"

"Just got his heart stomped on," Adrian cut in. "Besides, Rose was explicit that she didn't want anyone looking for her. She told him and me in laymen terms not to come. Said she didn't want to be found and that she wanted nothing to do with us. Any of us."

Lissa's gaze never wavered. "She doesn't get to tell us whether to care or not. She doesn't just simply get to walk away," she replied flatly.

I groaned. I would be a big fat hypocrite to be mad at Lissa when I would do the exact same thing if the roles were reversed, and she tried to ditch me.

"I don't know…" sighed Adrian. "You didn't see Dimitri's face like I did. That was one really pissed off Russian."

Lissa lifted her jaw. For the first time in a long time, she looked every ounce of royalty that she was. "You let me handle, Dimitri."

Christian shot her an amused smile. She caught his glance and her eyes brightened. If I had to guess, they were already back together or pretty close to it. That was one of the only comforting things after these last two hellish days.

"Tasha was able to tell me from her contacts that the guardians already found their abandoned car at the first rest stop. They are confident that they haven't made it too far," said Christian.

Lissa started chewing on her thumbnail. "Did she say if they think their close to finding them?"

"She didn't say," he answered. Lissa frowned. "Do we want them to find them?"

"Rose doesn't do anything without a reason. If she broke Victor out, she likely had no choice."

"So, no to hopefully them finding her," Adrian remarked.

"What do we do?" asked Christian.

I didn't get the answer to his question. It was as if I had been thrown from the connection with Lissa. As if she had purposely put a wall up to keep me from getting any information about what they might or might not be planning.

Either way, that meant we had to move. We already were at risk by staying too long. We hadn't put enough distance between us and the guardians, but with Victor's disease and needing to rest and my getting shot, we had no choice.

We weren't going to just be going up against the guardians at this point. Everyone would be looking for us. Every law enforcement available. If I knew Lissa—like I knew I did—she was going to attempt to find some way to locate me.

I lifted myself off the bathroom floor, getting my bearings back together. I could use more sleep and time to plan out our next strategy, but that quick trip in Lissa's mind, told me that I had only been lucky so far. It was only a matter of time.

I threw open the bathroom door and marched back into the room. Victor was wide awake now, watching me curiously. I guess I couldn't blame him. I had almost killed him a little while ago.

"Which Rose came back?" he asked sardonically.

"Can it," I barked.

I walked over to his side of the bed, his handcuffed arm coming up to shield him in the event I tried to attack him again. I pulled the key from my pocket and uncuffed his hand from the bedpost, and then removed the cuff from his wrist.

"You have five minutes to use the restroom and freshen up," I ordered.

Victor rubbed at his wrist. "Why? Are we leaving now?" he asked, sensing the urgency in my voice and mannerisms.

"We stayed far longer than we should," I answered impatiently. "We need to keep moving."

He arched a brow. "And where do you plan, we move too?"

"Wherever could lead us to Sonya Karp." I pulled the burner phone out of my pocket. "So, call whatever contact you have, and get me a clue. I'll do all the rest."