Page 40 of Deceptive Vows

“No worries. How are you doing? Last time I saw you, you were attached to tubes.”

This is the first time we’ve seen each other in months. He would have been one of the few select people in our alliance to know I survived the assassination attempt. And because he’s one of the few people I call a friend, he would have come to visit me while I was in the hospital and dead to the world.

“I’m okay.” I’m probably not by medical standards, but I have to be.

“Well, it’s good to see you on your feet.”

“Thanks. It’s good to be back.”

“Looks like you’re back in action, too,” he observes.

“I am.”

“Should you be?” He inclines his head, and his longish dark blond hair falls to the side.

I give him a firm nod. “I need to be back in action.”

“Your message sounded important,” he states.

“It is.”

Instantly, his bright blue eyes cloud with concern. “Has something else happened?”

“In a way, yes, and I need your help.”

“You have it. What’s going on, Mikhail?”

Apart from knowing I woke from the coma and the confirmation of Talia’s death, no one knows what’s happening yet. My father is going to hold a conference call tomorrow and inform the members of our alliance of Raul’s treachery. He’ll also let them know we have control over his cartel.

Eric, however, will be the first to find out the full details.

I drag in a breath and tell him everything. I tell him much more than I did my family because I can be real with him, and the moment I started talking about Raul, I knew he was on the same page.

“Fuck,” he breathes and runs a hand over his beard when I finish. “Mikhail, I get what your father is saying, but there’s definitely something more going on that needs to be addressed. It sounds that way.”

“Yes,” I agree. “But now that the investigation team can’t find shit, I don’t know where else to look.”

“So, you want me to do it?” He smirks, and I nod.

Eric is a computer wizard and has a habit of being able to dig a little deeper than everyone else.

“Yeah. I’m at a loss. Other than what I’m already doing, I don’t know what else I can do.”

“That’s fine. I’ll take a look at what the team found, and I’ll go over everything.”

“Thank you.” I’m already at ease.

“And you’re getting married next weekend?” He raises a brow.

“Yeah, marry the princess and take control of the cartel,” I reply, and he gives me a nonchalant smile.

“And show their alliance you own them forever.”

“Exactly.”

As much as he loves his wife and fell in love the vanilla way, he’s as ruthless as I am, so he won’t question me any further about what I think about what I’m about to do.

He’ll know Adriana Alvarez is a means to an end and an emblem of defeat.