Page 86 of Darkest Sin

“You have a nice day, Denis. Enjoy returning to your brother’s home and to your brother’s wife and to your brother’s children. None of it is yours and it never will be.”

“It will be when I marry all those girls off and make strong alliances out of them.”

“Sure. You do that. But I’ll just find out who and kill them all like I did Antoni. You’re going to regret not working with me, Denis.”

He stands and shouts, “You’re going to regret speaking to me this way!” Spittle flies from his mouth, only making him look more pathetic.

“Have a nice half-life, Denis. You’re never going to be Lev.”

I leave the restaurant with my men in tow before Denis can shoot me.

I can’t help but worry as I drive away that speaking to Denis might have made everything worse.

Chapter Fifteen

Natalya

“He said no,” is the first thing Mikhail tells me when he returns home.

My heart deflates. Everything I was hoping for goes completely down the drain. It’s not going to happen. I’m not going to be able to save my sister.

“Hey,” he says gently, pulling me into his arms. “It will be ok.”

“How? Denis won’t work with you. How else can we save Sasha?”

“We have our other plan. Once Sasha finds out who Denis is going to marry her to, I’ll kill the man. Simple as that.”

I shiver. “It’s not that simple, Mikhail, and you know it.”

He tilts my chin up. “I have been a good husband to you, haven’t I? Have I let you down yet?”

“No,” I mumble.

“Exactly. I will do this for you, Natalya. I promise you that. Now, you need to take this off your mind. I don’t want the stress to kill you. I have an idea. Come with me.”

“Where are we going?” I don’t bother telling Mikhail that worry for my family isn’t easily replaced. But I know he’s great at taking my mind off things. He’s done it before.

“You’ll see.”

Mikhail’s driver takes us to… the theater.Mydance theater. The theater where I’ve performed multiple shows. Where I got to dance the lead in Swan Lake. This was the place I practically lived at some nights. This was the place where my father last saw me dance. Where my family still felt whole.

“Why did you take me here? It’s not open this time of night.”

“I know. That’s why I wanted to take you here now. I wanted it all for ourselves.”

Turns out, Mikhail has a key and he easily lets us inside.

“Where did you get a key?”

He gives me a pointed look. “Natalya, I can do most things in this world.”

I blush. There’s a strong innuendo in his voice.

We enter the main theater, walking down the aisle towards the stage. It’s so eerie and beautiful at night with no one else around. My friends from the company have been worried for me since I took a break. I’ve been able to text them and tell them that I’m all right but I haven’t seen them since my last performance.

“What does this feel like?” he asks, wrapping his arms around me from behind.

“It feels like… home. But it also feels like a stranger in so many ways. Why did you bring me here, Mikhail?”