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Chapter Fourteen

Dante

G oing after Ivan should be easy. For one thing, I know where he lives. Over the years, when I went digging into Erik and Sergei, Ivan’s name popped up. I just never bothered paying much attention to him. He was never worth my time before.

Now, I’m going to kill him. The fucker thought he could stab me, kill me, and end this war. But I’m going to make him pay.

I’m going to make sure Erik knows that he will never win this war.

But as I drive to Ivan’s house, I can’t get Nadia out of my head. The way she spoke so confidently that I could change. That I could stop this war if I just put aside my hate. She made it sound so easy. For a moment, she made me believe I could actually be the man she wants me to be.

Nadia helped save my life. That doesn’t go unnoticed. But she didn’t save me because she’s in love with me. She saved me because she’s a good person. I haven’t corrupt her. Not yet anyway. And I won’t stop until I have.

I won’t stop until Erik and Anya are fully broken.

“We have to be smart about this,” Matteo says from the passenger seat. “Ivan is probably expecting you. He probably has back up. If he willingly stabbed you in a crowded room to end this war, then he’s shown he’s capable of anything. We have to be smart about this. No barging in and hoping for the best.”

“But that’s my style. Ivan won’t be expecting it. ”

“If he’s even home.” We arrive at his house and park across the street. Matteo nods to the dark house. “Looks like nobody is home.”

“Or nobody is awake. It is almost midnight.”

Matteo sighs. “I’m just not sure this is the best idea, Dante.”

“The fucker stabbed me. He needs to go.”

“I know. But barging in is only going to get you hurt.”

“Are you on my side or theirs?”

The hurt in Matteo’s eyes makes me feel guilty. “Yours. I’ve been with you for the past three years now when no one else was. That’s why I don’t want to see you die.”

I think back to Nadia. She would tell me not to do this - not just to save Ivan’s life but my life as well. My mind warms to the idea of her. Maybe in another life we could have had a future together but in this life, vengeance is the only thing I can have.

What I want can’t be a reality. If I keep Nadia, she’ll only resent me more.

But I’m not doing any of this for the love of a woman. I’m doing this to right the wrongs done to me and that’s what I need to focus on. Getting distracted is not going to help my cause.

“I won’t die,” I say more cheerfully than I feel. “I’m just going to have some fun.” I get out of the car and keep my footsteps light as I head across the street. After a moment, I hear Matteo follow.

Ivan lives in a brownstone. There are no guards out front but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any inside. And knowing a lot of Mafia and Bratva men, Ivan probably has security cameras. In fact, my eyes land on one near the front door. Paranoid fucker.

I don’t bother covering my face. I want Ivan to know that I’m coming for him.

I walk right up to the door and shoot the lock with a silencer. The doorknob breaks right off and the door swings open.

Slowly, I step inside.

An arm swings right for my head and I duck out of the way at the last second. A guard. He grunts as he throws another punch. I block it and hit him right in the nose. He stumbles back, clutching his face. Matteo joins the fight and grabs the guard from behind. I land a hit to his stomach and his balls for good measure.

His groan is loud in the quiet dark house as he falls to his knees. I shut the door behind me. I don’t need any pedestrians walking by and seeing this. This is Mafia business.

The guard whimpers when I press my gun to his head.

“Where is Ivan?” I don’t bother keeping my voice low. I want him to hear me coming .

As if on cue, I can hear footsteps upstairs. Running. The low murmur of a few voices, male and female.

“Ah. There they are.” I shoot the guard in the head and he falls right to the floor.

Another guard comes running down the stairs, shooting at us. Matteo and I dive behind a wall that leads to the living room.

“This is why we should have had a plan,” Matteo mutters.

“Plans are for pussies. This is a lot more fun.” I run out from behind the wall and fire at the guard like a madman. A bullet lands in his leg and knocks him to the ground. I quickly shoot him in the head after that.

I pause. No more guards come running down the stairs. That was all Ivan had. Just two fucking guards. Idiot.

My footsteps are loud on the creaky stairs. “Oh Ivan? I’m coming for you.” I chuckle at my own dramatics.

I hear the sound of crying coming from a girl. The sound makes me stop in my tracks. It reminds me so much of Nadia, I almost lose my nerve. When I first kidnapped Nadia, she was so afraid. It shocked me how shy she was considering her sister is a spitfire.

But Nadia has become more brave and strong since I’ve had her.

This girl, who’s crying, sounds so afraid, it makes guilt hit me right in the stomach. And I fucking hate feeling guilty.

“Whoever is crying better stop,” I snap.

The girl only cries harder. I hear a man shush her and tell her that everything will be ok. It’s Ivan. I would remember the voice of the man who stabbed me. I’ll probably remember it for years to come.

I reach the top of the stairs and look around. The hallway is empty and all the doors are closed. Ivan is a Bratva man so there’s a good chance he has a gun with him. I can’t just walk into any of the rooms. He could blast me to fucking pieces.

Slowly, I inch to the closest door and press my ear to it. The sounds of the crying girl get louder. Bingo.

I test the doorknob but unsurprisingly, it doesn’t open.

“Don’t come in here!” Ivan shouts. “I have a gun.”

“No shit, sherlock. I figured you would. But I’m getting in no matter what.” I glance behind me. Matteo isn’t there.

With a quick look down the stairs, I see him at the bottom. “What are you doing?”

“In case anyone else shows up. I’ve got your back. ”

I know Matteo does, despite him not agreeing with what I’m doing.

That only means I’m on my own up here. That’s fine. I’ve been on my own for a long fucking time.

Taking a deep breath, I shoot the doorknob and kick the door open, sending it banging against the wall. A girl screams and the sound stops me in my tracks.

In the room is Ivan, holding onto a young woman – a teenager by the looks of it. Another woman is on the other side of him. His wife, I’m assuming.

The sight of Ivan’s daughter crying reminds me so much of Nadia, it hurts. If Nadia were here, she’d say that this girl is innocent and doesn’t deserve to watch her father get murdered. That if I were a better man, I’d walk away. I would put my anger to the side.

But then Ivan lifts up a gun and fires at me, making me duck back into the hallway. Matteo comes running up the stairs. “Boss?”

“Stay back.”

Matteo hunkers on the other side of the hallway. “I told you to be careful.”

Ivan keeps shooting. He’ll run out of bullets eventually and then it will be my time to strike.

Then, the gunshots stop. I hear the click of the chamber as he tries shooting but nothing comes out. Perfect.

I enter the bedroom and point my gun right at Ivan’s head. “You shouldn’t have stabbed me.”

“Please don’t,” the girl cries. “Please.”

“Elena, shut up,” the woman hisses, making Elena flinch.

I hesitate. “Elena, is it?”

Slowly, she nods through her tears.

“Do you know what your dad has done?”

“No. But he doesn’t deserve to die. He’s a good man. I love him.”

Even though she reminds me of Nadia – even down to the brown hair – they have one thing not in common. Elena loves her father. Nadia doesn’t.

If I killed Sergei, I’m not sure if Nadia would be that upset by it but with Elena, I can tell she would be devastated if I killed Ivan right now.

Ivan looks so middle aged with his sweater vest and glasses. He doesn’t look like a Bratva man. He just looks like a family man .

This is a man who’s built a life and has a family. I have none of those things. It never bothered me before but now… now I can’t help but wonder what having a family would be like.

Having a family with Nadia, specifically. Me as a father. As a husband.

A warmth spreads through my body at the thought. I don’t hate the idea.

But to achieve that, I would have to put aside my anger and I’m just not sure I can do that. I need Erik to pay. I need Ivan to pay. I need them all to pay.

“Please,” Ivan says, drawing me out of my thoughts. “I was just trying to protect my daughter. Elena is only eighteen. She needs me. Don’t make her live the rest of her life without me.”

“She’s eighteen,” I growl. “Soon, she’ll be married. I’m not sure how much she’ll need you.”

“Ivan may have made a mistake,” the older woman says, “but don’t make me into a widow. How pathetic would that be?”

I look at the woman with her upturned nose and pinched lips. “Would you even cared if your husband died?”

“Of course I would. How dare you ask that of me!”

I turn to Elena. “You would care if your dad died. Yes?”

“Yes,” she sobs, clinging to Ivan’s arm. “Please. Don’t do this. Please.”

“Just let my daughter live,” Ivan blurts out. “You can kill me. Just let my wife and daughter live.”

“How noble.” I’m not impressed with Ivan’s sacrifice. Most men would let themselves be killed to save the women they love. But then again, I’m not sure Nadia’s father would sacrifice himself for her life. Maybe Ivan is special then.

Maybe he doesn’t deserve to die.

“If you’re going to kill me, just do it,” Ivan says. “But can you do it in a different room? I don’t want my daughter to have to see me die. Don’t do that to her.”

I can’t help but look back at Elena. How young she seems, despite being eighteen. How small and scared she looks. If I kill her father right before her eyes, I’ll be scarring her forever.

I’ll be the type of man Nadia thinks I already am – her enemy.

I shouldn’t fucking care what Nadia thinks of me. Why is this girl on my mind so much? I should hate her but the more I’m around her, the more I realize that I don’t see her as my enemy at all .

I see her as the woman I want to be with.

And if I want to be with Nadia, I can’t kill Ivan.

Slowly, I lower my gun. “Come with me,” I order.

Ivan startles. “Please. Don’t do this.”

“Just come with me.”

Elena clings to her dad and sobs into his shoulder. “Don’t go. Please. Don’t.”

“Ivan, if you don’t want your daughter to see this, then come with me.”

Ivan forces Elena’s hands off his sweater and walks over to me with his head held high. At least he’s trying not to show fear. I admire that.

“Come on.” I push him out of the room and take him down the hallway.

“What’s going on?” Matteo asks, following behind.

I make Ivan get into the nearest bathroom. “Sit down.” I motion to the toilet.

Through his tears, Ivan does as I say. “Just tell my daughter that I love her.”

“You should have told her yourself.” I put my gun to his head. In the past, I never would have hesitated to pull the trigger. Ivan would have been dead the second I walked into that room.

But now I can’t get Nadia’s doe eyes out of my head. She wants me to be a better man. She wants me to end this war. She saved my life to do it and put her own life at risk. That means something.

“You don’t have to do this,” he sobs.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have stabbed me.”

“It was a mistake. A mistake. I just wanted to keep my daughter safe. You can understand that.”

“I don’t have a daughter.”

“But you care about people. Everyone cares about someone. Don’t do this. Please.”

“You’re pathetic,” I hiss. “Stabbing me the way you did. It wasn’t a fair fight.”

“And this is? You’re holding me at gunpoint.”

“Only because you started it, Ivan.”

“You started it when you kidnapped Nadia.”

He has a point. I did start this war. If I never went after Nadia, I could have rebuilt my empire and gone about my day. Erik and I would still be enemies but we wouldn’t be at war like this.

Fuck. I hate self-reflection. It’s messing with my fucking head.

“Listen,” I growl. “If you ever try to come for me again, I won’t hesitate to kill you. ”

Ivan frowns. “What are you talking about?”

I lower my gun and back away from him. Matteo lets out a relieved sigh from the doorway. “It’s your lucky day, Ivan. You get to live. Tell Erik this is an act of mercy. Tell Erik to stop coming after me. If he does that, we can have peace.”

“But there will never be peace until you can return Nadia to her home. To her family.”

“Her father doesn’t give a fuck about her.”

“Her sister does.”

I crack a smile. “I find you amusing. Enjoy the time you have with your daughter. Who knows how long it will last.”

“Why are you letting me live?”

“You really want me to answer that? Just take the win.” I leave the bathroom before I change my mind and shoot Ivan in the fucking head.

“What are you doing?” Matteo murmurs as we head down the stairs. “Why are you letting him live?”

“I thought you’d be happy.”

“I mean… I am. But why?”

“Call it a change of heart.”

We head for the front door when the door bangs open and Viktor Smirnov comes inside.

We both freeze when we see each other.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“I could ask you the same thing. Got a call about you breaking in. I was the closest in the area. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to kill the man who kidnapped my fiancée.”

“You do know that if you kill me, you’ll never find Nadia. I have her locked up right now. She’ll die otherwise.”

Viktor hesitates and in that moment, I raise my gun and fire. The bullet lands in his arm, knocking him back. He doesn’t hesitate to fire right back at me.

Matteo and I run towards the back of the house. Viktor is relentless in his shots. He’s not a family man like Ivan. He’s a cold, ruthless Bratva man who wants revenge himself.

Matteo and I duck behind a kitchen counter as I reload my gun. “You want to know something, Viktor?” I call out. “I’ve tasted Nadia. And she tastes delicious. Have you tasted her yet?”

Viktor’s snarl tells me that he hasn’t .

I dive out from behind the counter and shoot at him. He has no choice but to run away out of the line of fire.

I keep shooting as I run for the back door. Matteo flanks me and together we make it out of the house.

“That wasn’t part of the plan,” Matteo mutters as we run across the street. Viktor tries chasing us but we make it into the car and drive away before he gets the chance.

“I know. But it was fun, wasn’t it?”

“You’re fucking crazy.” Despite his words, there’s a smile on Matteo’s face. “I have to say, I’m proud of you tonight. You didn’t kill Ivan. Maybe we’ll be able to find peace after all.”

Only if I put aside my anger. I took one step in the right direction and honestly, I don’t feel bad like I thought I would. I actually feel… proud of myself.

Maybe doing the right thing isn’t such a bad thing after all.

Nadia

Dante storms into my room, waking me up from sleep.

“Dante?”

Without a word, he rips the covers off my body and grabs my feet, dragging me to the end of the bed.

“What are you doing?” Looking up at him, I see that he’s a little sweaty and disheveled. There’s a scary, intense look in his eyes. “Dante?”

“I need you,” he growls. The sound goes straight to my core. I press my legs together to stop the heat in my body from spreading. I can’t be with Dante. I can’t enjoy moments like this.

“What happened tonight?”

“Do you really want to know? Would it change your opinion of me?” He grips my knees and spreads them open. “I just want to taste you.” In one smooth motion, he rips my pajama bottoms off and my underwear right along with it.

I gasp. “Dante. ”

He pushes my legs open wider and kneels on the floor so his face is right by my most intimate area.

I should kick him. I should scream at him. I shouldn’t want this.

But I want him to touch me again. I want it with a burning passion.

“No man has ever seen you like this.”

“No.”

“Good.” Before I can react, he places his face between my legs. His lips find my sensitive nub, making me cry out. My hips jerk up of their own accord.

Dante grips my thighs and holds me in place. I can’t believe this is actually happening. Dante has his face… I can’t even think it.

And the worst part is… it feels amazing.

He runs his tongue along my folds and licks me harder and harder. I can’t keep my hips controlled. They buck against his face. I can even feel him smile against me.

“Dante,” I gasp out, clutching my hands over my stomach. The tightening in my core is too much. What we’re doing is forbidden. It’s taboo. I should not be enjoying this.

Dante is the bad guy. He kidnapped me. I can’t give him my body.

And yet, here I am, doing exactly that.

I know that if I told Dante to stop, he would stop. That’s why I don’t say a thing.

It feels wonderful to actually experience something other than fear in life. To feel wild. To feel abandon. To feel… free.

Except, I’m not free. I’m still Dante’s prisoner.

That thought doesn’t stop me from moaning as he presses his lips to my nub. My thighs tremble from trying to stay open. It’s all too much. Too much.

Dante is relentless with his lips. I don’t know what’s up or down or sideways.

“Dante,” I whimper.

He increases his pace. I’m powerless to stop this. Dante is claiming another piece of me and I’m letting him.

My legs clamp around his head as a pleasure spike shoots through me. I can feel the sensation growing in my stomach. I’m getting close to another orgasm.

All worried thoughts leave my mind and I let myself enjoy this moment.

I pretend that we’re not who we are. That we’re just a boy and a girl.

Dante kisses me harder and grips my legs tighter. My hips rock against his face but he doesn’t seem to mind. Instead, he lets out a low growl.

And that’s what sends me over the edge .

I cry out as I clutch the blanket underneath me. Trembles take over my body. All I can do is enjoy the pleasure.

Dante kisses up my body until he reaches my lips. “Taste yourself.” He kisses me deeply. It’s all consuming. It makes me think that I could have real feelings for Dante.

That we could somehow have a future, despite everything.

He pulls back and stares down at me with dark eyes. “God, I want to fuck you so badly.”

I shiver at his words. Nothing has ever turned me on like this before.

But there’s one thing that nags at me. “You just want sex from me? That’s all?”

He lets out a low breath and cups my face. “No, baby. If I could, I’d have all of you. Your body, your heart, your mind.”

“Why can’t you?”

“Because you want me to end this war and the only way to end it is to give you back.”

“You could give me back. I could tell Erik to stand down. We could all live.”

His eyes are slightly pitying. “I love that you think that. You’re so optimistic. But we both know that future doesn’t exist.”

“What happened tonight?” I whisper, clutching his shirt. “Did you…”

“Kill Ivan? If I said yes, what would you think of me?”

“I would think that… you were breaking my heart.”

“Oh, baby. You want me to be good. How can you even think I could be after everything that has happened between us?”

“Because I have to believe it. We live in a dark world. I’ve only ever known pain from my father. I want to know pleasure. I want to know happiness.”

His eyes search my face. “And you think you could be happy with me?”

“All I know is that I’m happy you’re not dead, even though I should be. You’re my enemy.”

“And I always will be, won’t I?” The way he asks it is so sad. It almost makes me cry.

“You don’t have to be. You can end this war, Dante. You have the power to.”

“How do you see any good in me? How is that possible?”

“It’s just my nature.”

He kisses me like he’s a dying man in the desert. I kiss him back just as hungrily. It’s like I’m aching for something I can’t have and I’ll die without it. Now that Dante has awoken these feelings inside of me, they refuse to go away.

Eventually, he pulls back and stands up, eying me over. Self-consciously, I slip my pajama bottoms back up .

“If you really want to know,” he says softly, “I didn’t kill him. Ivan. I couldn’t.”

I gasp. Knowing that Dante didn’t kill another person makes me elated. This is a good sign. “Why not?”

“It’s going to sound silly,” he says, running his hand through his hair.

“Tell me.”

“God. How do you have this effect on me? I didn’t kill him because of you. All I could think about was how disappointed you’d be in me. And I saw Ivan’s daughter there. She reminded me so much of you. It just didn’t feel right.”

“You did the right thing.”

“I know.” But he doesn’t exactly look happy. Before I can say anything more, he leaves the room.

But this time, he doesn’t lock the door.