Page 32

He settles beside me and wraps me into his arms. “How was that for you?”

“It was perfect.”

“You don’t have to feed to my ego.”

I laugh. God, it feels nice to just laugh. “I’m not feeding your ego. It was perfect for me. Gentle and sweet but also a little naughty.”

He waggles his eyebrows. “A little naughty, huh?” With a low sound, he kisses me hard, making me smile.

“It really was perfect, Matteo. Trust me.” I run my hands down his chest, just needing to touch him. All of him.

“It was perfect for me too.”

“I know that I don’t have the same experience as you do.”

“And that doesn’t bother me. In fact, I love knowing that I’m your first.”

I frown. “But I don’t get to be your first.”

He cups my cheek. “Don’t compare yourself to my exes. They don’t mean anything to me anymore. Yes, I’ve had partners in the past. But you’re the one I married. The only one I want to be with.”

I could cry from how sweet his words are. “I guess in a way it’s a good thing you’re not a virgin. You made sure I could enjoy it.”

“I only want to make it good for you.”

“And you did.”

“Good.” Another long, tender kiss that leaves me breathless. “Now, how about we make breakfast. You gave me a good workout this morning.”

“Breakfast sounds perfect.” A life with Matteo sounds perfect.

Viktor

Connor is at my front gate in the morning. I hesitate for a moment before letting him inside my home.

“Go wait in our room,” I tell Inessa.

“Why?”

“Please.”

She agrees without asking any more questions.

I don’t want Connor to do anything rash when Inessa is around.

I didn’t tell her about what happened at the hospital last night.

I was too ashamed to say anything. My own sister left in the car of my enemy.

I failed. It’s something I would prefer to keep to myself.

“Connor,” I greet him when I open the door and motion him inside. His face is even more bruised than it was before.

“Matteo did this to me. I was so close to killing him. I swear.”

“I know you were. You attacked a hospital last night. It took all my power to not have you arrested. Your face is all over the news. What the fuck were you thinking?”

He saunters past me into my office and sits down, placing his feet onto my desk. I stare at him until he lowers his feet to the ground. “I was thinking I promised to kill Matteo and I was going to do whatever it took to make it happen.”

“You could have been killed. Or arrested. Connor, I don’t like working with reckless people and you’re being reckless.”

“So? You wanted power. And I have the backing of the Irish mob. We can take down Dante and Erik.”

“So far, you haven’t done shit for me.” Here’s the moment of truth. “And Julia told me that you were the one who shot her.”

Connor jumps to his feet. “Julia? You spoke to her?”

“I found her at the hospital last night.”

“So is she here?”

“No,” I say in a clipped tone. “She’s not.”

“She’s with Matteo still? And you’re judging me?”

“I couldn’t shoot Matteo, not with her in front of him. She was making sure I couldn’t kill him. I asked her if Matteo had hurt her arm but she said no. That you were the one who shot her.”

“She’s lying. She never wanted to be with me anyway. She always wanted to be with the enemy. I know she’s your sister, Viktor, but I’m not sure you can trust her anymore.”

I grab Connor by the shirt and slam him against the wall. “Don’t talk about my sister. You don’t get the right. You shot her.”

“You believe her word over mine?”

“Yes.” Despite what Julia has done, I know she was telling the truth last night. I saw it in her eyes.

Connor huffs. “Come on, man. It was an accident. I was aiming for Matteo.”

“So you admit it? You shot my sister?”

“It was an accident!”

I shove him against the wall and back up. He ends up stumbling towards the ground before he rights himself. “I’m not sure we should work together anymore.”

He brushes his hands down his shirt and stares at me with shock. “What do you mean? We’ve done good work together. Dante and Erik are running scared because of us. We can attack another shipment of theirs. We can take them down.”

“I thought you were capable of killing Matteo but you’re not and my sister is still gone. And your face is all over the news. I don’t need to be associated with you. I think it’s better we part ways.”

“And then what? You have no more power than you did yesterday. You’re going to lose even more if you break our alliance. I am telling you, Viktor. I did not mean to hurt Julia. It was an accident. I heard the stories of you and your wife. Didn’t she get hurt because of you?”

I flinch. When Inessa and I first got married, I learned that she had lied to me about who her father was.

I broke things off with her but a woman named Natasha tried to kill Inessa because she wanted me for herself.

I let that happen and I never fully forgave myself for putting Inessa in danger.

It was my responsibility to save her. I managed to and in the end, we forgave each other.

But I still hold onto that guilt to this day, a year later.

“Don’t talk about me and my wife,” I growl.

“I don’t mean to. I’m just pointing that out.

I didn’t mean to hurt Julia. You have to believe that.

Julia lied to you. She went behind your back and betrayed you.

She was seduced by the enemy. She chose the enemy over you.

How can you trust her anymore? I’ve been nothing but a good ally to you.

I almost died in my quest to kill Matteo. Give me some credit.”

I hate to admit it but… Connor does have a point.

Julia even admitted to my own face that she lied to me and gave information to Matteo that she shouldn’t have.

I might have to come to terms with the fact that Julia is no longer on my side.

If I manage to get her back from Matteo, will she even be happy to see me?

Or will she just try to go back to Matteo the second she gets?

I still don’t know who to trust.

“I appreciate you trying to kill Matteo,” I say. “I still want him dead for taking my sister. But I think it’s best if you lay low for now. Just until people stop looking for you. I’ll handle this on my own.”

“No. Let me do this for you. Let me prove myself. And when I kill Matteo, I get to marry Julia. That’s the deal.”

I hesitate. If I get Julia back, can I really force her to marry a man she doesn’t want to be with? Was that the reason she fell into Matteo’s arms in the first place? Because of my actions?

“I can’t promise you that,” I say. Connor’s face falls. “But if you get another chance to kill Matteo, take it. Otherwise, lay low. I’ll try myself. And if Julia ends up hurt again with you around, then I will blame you for it. And then we will be done. Understood?”

There’s an anger in Connor’s eyes I don’t like. “Deal,” he finally says.

“Good. Now leave before anyone finds you at my house. I don’t need you to drag me down with you.”

Connor begrudgingly leaves and I finally get a chance to sit down from last night. I’ve been pacing the entire night in worry over Julia. What will happen to her being around Matteo. Worry over how she chose him over me.

And worry that my own sister lied to me.

I’ve done nothing to protect her and this is my thanks? I’m starting to wonder if I’m going to have to kill Julia to kill Matteo. That’s a thought that I immediately push from my mind.

But I hate to admit it, the thought lingers.

Inessa

I overhear Viktor’s conversation with Connor and I know I have to do something.

I didn’t listen to Viktor when he told me to hide in our room.

Julia could be hurt in the process. So could Matteo and I know how much he means to her.

I know what it’s like to fight for love.

It’s something I think Viktor struggles with. His baby sister growing up.

I need to help her but to do that, I need to talk to Julia.

I need to warn her that Connor is alive and will still come looking for her.

It’s clear from Viktor’s conversation that he was there at the hospital last night.

I saw the shooting on the morning news. Viktor wants to keep me in the dark but the darkness is not where I can be.

Not when I’m married to a Bratva man and my sister-in-law is now married to a Mafia man.

I hate to say it but I don’t trust Viktor when it comes to Julia. He’s in too much pain to think clearly so I have to think for the both of us.

I know Julia doesn’t have her phone with her but I know that Elena has Matteo’s number and I have Elena’s number.

“I need you to give me Matteo’s number,” I whisper as I hide out in the bedroom.

This is something Elena and I always agreed we would never do: cross enemy lines.

Whenever we’d meet up, we’d agree to do it in secret and never discuss politics.

But things are well past that. “I need it, Elena. I won’t tell you anything more and it’s better you don’t ask. ”

After a long moment, she sighs. “I gave it to Julia a few weeks ago so I might as well give it to you. Just promise me that you’ll be smart about this.”

“I promise.” I’m not sure if it’s a lie or not.

The moment I end the call with Elena, I call Matteo.

My hands shake. I’m going against my husband to do this.

The husband whom I promised I would never lie to again.

But I have to save Julia and I’m not sure Viktor is in the right headspace to do that right now.

Matteo answers after two rings. “Hello?”

“It’s Inessa.”

He’s quiet on the other end for a long time that I pull the phone away from my ear to make sure the call is still on. “Inessa?”

“Yes.”

“Why are you calling me?”

“Connor is still alive. I wasn’t sure if you were aware. He was just over here.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I was there at your wedding. I saw the love you and Julia have for each other. I know it’s real and no one should tear that apart.

So I am telling you this so you can keep an eye out for him.

Be careful. He’s angry. Viktor isn’t sure about working with him any longer and so he just might go even more off the rails.

I need to see Julia. Please tell me where you are. ”

“No,” he says it without hesitating. “I’m sorry, Inessa. I’m sure you want to help but I cannot risk telling you where we are. You could be working with Viktor on this. He is your husband after all.”

“I understand that.” I bite my lip. This isn’t going how I wanted it to go.

“Well, just tell Julia that I’m worried for her.

And that she needs to try to talk some sense into Viktor at some point.

She’s the only one who can truly get him to see her for who she really is.

I will try to help. Just know that I am on your guys’ side. ”

“Thank you for that. But I have to hang up now.” He does it before I can say another word.

I lower the phone to my lap. There it is. I just betrayed my husband. Again. And it’s soul crushing.