Page 59 of Darkest Sin

“I had to stop some of Nico’s men from stealing my gun shipment. I caught one of them and he told me about the mole. I…”

I sneak a glance at him. “You tortured him?”

“I did.”

My mind goes back to when he shot Jackson like it was nothing. “You killed a man right before me.”

Finally, he looks at me. “And?”

“My mom told me you’re dangerous. That you take delight in killing. Is that true?”

He stares at me for a long moment before he answers. “It’s true. I do enjoy hurting those that have wronged me.”

“But Jackson was helping you.”

“He failed. I can’t have men who have failed me either. I run a tight ship. I make sure al my men are loyal to me and if they’re not… well, they know the consequences. I have to find this mole and kill him so no one else gets any bright ideas about it.”

“So you don’t kill just for the fun of it?”

“No,” he says in a softer voice. “I don’t kill just for the fun of it. I only kill when I have to. When I have to make a point. When I have to get my men in line.”

“You’re a dictator. Is that it?”

“In the Bratva, you have to be. There’s no room for men who act out. They know who they follow and it’s me. If they’re not happy, they can follow someone else. But they know I’ll find them and end their lives.”

I shiver. Mikhail speaks about death in such a matter-of-fact way.

“Am I scaring you?” he asks.

“A little,” I admit. “I think there’s a reason my dad kept this all from me. It wasn’t just to protect me. It was also so I never saw him differently. He only ever wanted me to see him as my father.”

“Do you see me differently now?”

“Yes. How can I not?”

“Are you afraid of my touch now?” He rests his hand over my stomach. My body can’t help but respond to his touch.

“No. I’m not afraid you’ll hurt me. I’m not afraid you’ll kill me. But…”

“But what?”

“But what does it say about me that I can still feel this way for you after what you just told me?”

His eyes soften. “It means that we were meant to be together.”

“You forced me into this marriage.”

“No. I gave you a choice.”

“But it was a choice made out of stress. A choice made when I didn’t have many other options. Was it a choice at all?”

“You could have married Antoni and been your uncle’s little pet and watched him destroy your family. But instead, you married me. I will take Denis down. It will just take a while. It’snot as easy as you’d think. I could go in guns a ‘blazing but that would land me right in jail. I need to end Denis’s life without it coming back to me. Just like I need to end Nico’s life without it coming back on me.”

“Can we really get my sisters back?” I whisper.

“Do you think I’m not capable?”

“I think you’re capable of a lot of things but… answer me honestly. Do you think we can get them back?”