Page 118 of Beautiful Sinner

It dawns on me then. Julia would have gone to our safehouse if she was looking for me. If Viktor doesn’t have her locked up then…

“Just go to her,” she says. “And leave. Please.”

“We’re going to stay until your husband returns,” Dante says. “And then I’m going to put a bullet through his head.” His phone rings and he makes an annoyed sound in the back of his throat. “Erik keeps fucking calling me. Now is not a good time.”

“It might be important,” I say.

Dante answers his phone with a sigh. “Yes?” He’s quiet as he listens to Erik and then his eyes grow wide. “Are you fucking kidding me? Viktor? Seriously? He’s there with you now and he wants peace?”

I inhale sharply. What the fuck is going on?

“Ok. I’m on my way.” Dante hangs up. “Viktor is with Erik. He told Erik that he wants peace. That he’ll accept you and Julia together. But you have to let him see Julia. You can’t keep her from him.”

“But I don’t have Julia. I know where she might be though.”

“Don’t give her up. Not until I’ve had the chance to talk to Viktor.”

“And what about this?” Inessa asks, waving her hands around at all of the dead guards. “You stormed into Viktor’s home. He’s not going to forgive this.”

“We fucked up,” I say quietly. “I fucked up.”

“You really did.” Inessa doesn’t sugarcoat it.

“Fuck. Dante, what are we going to do?”

“I’m going to talk to Viktor and Erik and you’re going to get Julia. If you know where she is, then go to her. And… shit. Hopefully we didn’t just mess up our once chance at peace by doing this.”

“By being reckless,” I snap.

“Hey. This was your idea.”

“I know. Fuck, I know.” I’m never the reckless one. I’m always the one looking for peace and now I ruined it. I have to go to Julia and hope I can salvage some of this. “I’m sorry, Inessa. I didn’t know.”

“Viktor did almost just try to kill you. I can’t blame you for being angry. But make this right. Please. I’m tired of the fighting.”

Dante and I leave Viktor’s house, along with our men. We leave the bodies of Viktor’s dead guards behind.

I hurry to the safehouse but when I get there, it’s clear to me that Julia isn’t here. I check the whole house just to make sure.

The park, I realize. Maybe she’s at the park.

But after I rush there next and check the whole place, I don’t find Julia. Where could she be? She doesn’t have my home address but I still check there anyway and once again, I don’t find her.

Where the fuck could she be?

I leave my apartment and stop dead in my tracks when I see Connor standing outside.

“You,” I snarl.

“If you’re looking for your wife, you should know, I have her. But you’re never going to get her.”

“You fucker.”

Connor winks. “Sorry.” And then he lifts his gun up and pulls the trigger.

Pain shoots right through my stomach and I drop to my knees.

“You’re going to die, Matteo. Any last words?” He presses the gun to my head.