Page 28 of Darkest Game (The Dark Mafia #3)

Chapter Fifteen

Liam

I stumble over to the window and look out. Nico is right. Denis is outside, smiling gleefully in our direction.

“Did he have something to do with this?” I ask.

“I would assume so. Who else stands outside a blown up building, smiling like a fucking madman? He wants me and Mikhail dead. It’s why he went into hiding after we became allies.”

“You don’t think he’s working with Elaine, do you? Or did he do this himself?”

“I have no fucking idea. But I’m going out to ask him.” Nico charges to the large hole in the wall where the door once was and something inside of me tells me to stop him.

I grab his arm.

“What are you doing?” He tries pulling away but I hold on too tight.

“If you go out there, there’s a good chance you’ll be killed.

We were just in an explosion. Denis is probably mocking you to go out and meet him.

Who knows how many people are out there that could have guns, ready to shoot you down?

Now, normally I’d be fine with you dying but we promised to work together to bring Elaine down and Mikhail is hurt, which means I need you. So don’t do anything stupid.”

Nico stares back at me for a moment before sighing. “I hate it when people I hate are right.”

“We need to get Mikhail to the hospital. We’re all at a weak point and we need to be there for our wives.”

“Do you honestly care about Irina?”

“Do you honestly care about Sasha?”

Nico puffs his chest out. “Of course I do. We’ve been married for a year now. I love her more than anything. But you… you’ve only known Irina for about a week or so.”

“I don’t have to justify my feelings to you. And we’re not about to have some close, vulnerable discussion about our feelings for our wives. Just trust me when I say I do care for her. It doesn’t matter how long I’ve known her for.”

“Fine.”

The ambulance shows up and the paramedics are quick to get Mikhail inside of it and take him to the hospital. Nico and I drive behind, keeping an eye out for any other ambushes. Denis is gone, I realize by the time we drive away.

I always hated the fucker, even when Cillian wanted to work with Denis. I never agreed with it. I only went along with it because that’s what Cillian wanted.

Now, Denis is back and causing trouble. If he’s somehow working with Elaine… Fuck. I can’t even go there. The less allies she has the better. She’s closing in on me and Irina and I’ve had enough of it.

Who knew trying to kill a middle aged woman would be this fucking hard.

Mikhail is taken straight into the ER when we make it back to the hospital so it’s up to me and Nico to tell Natalya about what happened.

We find her inside Irina’s room, chatting away, happy that her sister is alive and with her.

“You should tell her,” I say to Nico. “She doesn’t trust me.”

“It’s not like she trusts me either,” he mutters but nods and steps forward. Sasha, Ana, and Tatiana are all here as well. I notice that they all tense when they see me. The only one happy that I’m here is Irina, given the smile she gives me. I try to smile back but this isn’t going to go well.

“Natalya,” Nico says. “There was an accident when we tried to go after Elaine. We were ambushed. An explosion.”

She goes eerily still. “What are you saying?”

“Mikhail is alive. But he’s in the ER. He was hurt in the blast.”

“Then take me to him.” Her eyes settle on me and a rage seethes in them. “Did you have something to do with this?”

“What? No –,”

She slaps me across the face. “My husband left to help you. And now he’s hurt? This is your fault. He’s trying to help you with an enemy you caused. And now you’re going to drag my own sister right into it. How dare you. How dare you.” She hits my chest over and over until Nico draws her away.

“Come on,” he says to her. “Let me take you to Mikhail. Sasha, come with.”

“I’m not sure I’m the best one to comfort her,” Sasha says.

Interesting. I know nothing of the sisters’ dynamics.

Who’s the closest with who. From that one comment alone, I’m guessing Sasha and Natalya are not that close.

Judging from how protective Natalya is of Irina, I’d guess they were friends growing up.

“Just come,” Nico says. “Your sister needs you. Come on, Natalya.” He practically drags her out of the room and after a beat, Sasha leaves with them.

I stare at Irina, Ana, and Tatiana, not having a fucking clue what to say. “I… I didn’t ask for this to happen.”

“Are you… hurt?” Irina asks, her voice still raspy.

“My ears are ringing but I managed to hide under a table before the explosion went off. Mikhail wasn’t so lucky.”

Tatiana stands up and shields Ana behind her.

“How do we know we can trust you? My daughter’s husband was hurt tonight helping you.

Irina claims you’ve saved her life multiple times now but I haven’t seen it.

So far, all I’ve seen is my daughter get hurt and now Mikhail.

All because they’re tied to you. I think you should go. ”

“Mom,” Irina objects.

“No,” she says in a voice that meant no disagreements. “I will not let him drag you down, Irina. He can deal with this Elaine woman himself. You are coming home with us where you will be safe.” She sets her fierce eyes back onto me. “Leave my daughter alone.”

“She’s my wife,” I say.

“That doesn’t matter. Go.”

“It’s not safe here. Elaine could show back up. Elaine could hurt you.”

“I can handle her,” Tatiana says with a lot of confidence. “Just go. You’ve done enough damage.”

There’s no point in telling her how I technically saved Mikhail’s life. I threw him further back from the explosion. If I hadn’t done that, there’s a good chance Mikhail would be dead right now.

But Tatiana wont listen to me.

My word means nothing to her.

I want to fight for Irina but now is not the time. She needs to be with her family while her throat heals. If Elaine were to find us together, it would put us both into danger. By leaving, I’ll be fighting to keep Irina safe.

“Don’t go,” Irina says, holding out her hand.

“Irina,” Tatiana snaps. “Do not trust him. You only like him because you’ve been through something traumatic together. He cannot be trusted. Go. Just go.”

I give Irina one more look before I walk away. It’s not until I’m out of the hospital that I realize I didn’t tell them about Denis.

Irina

In the morning, I’m allowed to go home. Natalya remains at the hospital as Mikhail is still in the ER but he made it through the worst of it last night. I don’t know Mikhail well but he seems like a tough man and for Natalya’s sake, I want him to live. She’ll be crushed without him.

My vocal chords are still sore but it’s already getting easier to talk. But that doesn’t mean I say a word to my mom on the drive home. She made Liam leave when I know he didn’t do anything wrong. Mikhail and Nico agreed to help him take down Elaine for all of our sake’s.

I cannot believe that the explosion was Liam’s fault. I refuse to believe it.

“There,” Mom says when we’re back at Mikhail’s house and I’m in the bed in the guest room. She fluffs the pillows behind me. “Just rest more today, ok?”

“I can walk fine, Mom,” I say, not having to push my words out as much.

“I know. I just want you to be safe. You went through a trying ordeal. Not just yesterday but for days now. I don’t even fully know everything you’ve been through.”

“And if you did, you wouldn’t have judged Liam like you did.”

She flinches. “What does that mean?”

“He’s my husband. He had the right to stay.”

“I know you think you care for him. But he put you into this position in the first place. You cannot trust him. It doesn’t matter if he’s working with Mikhail and Nico now. He’s just trying to save his own skin. He’ll hurt you. You’ve already been hurt because of him.”

“I’ve also been spared pain because of him. He has good in him, Mom.”

She pushes a piece of my hair behind my ear. I resist the urge to pull away. “I know you think that because you see the good in everyone but I don’t trust him.”

“You don’t trust anyone. I know you don’t fully trust Nico and Mikhail but they’ve proven themselves capable of caring for Sasha and Natalya. Why can’t you think the same of Liam?”

“Because you’ve only known him for a little over a week. Whereas Natalya has been married to Mikhail for two years now. Sasha and Nico have been married for a year. They’ve shown me that they can protect my daughters. Liam hasn’t.”

“But if you never give him the chance, then he can never show it to you.”

“Enough talking. Rest your voice.” She leaves the room before I can say more. My mom always did have a good job of ending a discussion when she wanted to, not caring if you had more to say yourself.

I can’t just sit here and wait. Liam is out there and he’s the one I want to spend time with. I love my family more than anything. But they’re not the ones that make my heart race. They’re not the ones who make my face flush. They’re not the ones I could potentially have a future with.

They’re the ones that are going to hold me back, even though they have good intentions.

I want to see Liam again. I know I can trust him. He’s more than proven that to me.

So, I change into a pair of jeans and a simple crop top and grab my sneakers and quietly leave my room. I need to be wearing something comfortable in case I need to run for my life.

I know this is risky and dangerous but my mind and my heart will not let me forget about Liam. Not when I know he wasn’t to blame for Mikhail getting hurt.

The issue is Mikhail’s house is surrounded with guards out front. I can hear my mom and Ana in the kitchen, talking away. I know it means a lot to them to just be able to talk since Denis didn’t let them talk much during the years he held us captive.

But I’ve never been a huge talker.

I know where Liam’s safehouse is. Hopefully he’ll be there and we can… can what? Talk some more? Or do… more?