Page 24

The moody lounge was full of murmured conversation and live music from a jazz band, along with the occasional clink of those crystal glasses.

The ambiance all blended while I stood next to Daniil, able to feel the pleasant warmth of his palm against the small of my back.

While the gesture was somewhat reassuring, there was a subtle note of possessiveness in it that sent a shiver down my spine. After everything that happened at the club with the bartender, I had the feeling he had every intention of keeping me close.

The memories sent a slight thrill through me, but I pushed the thought down and tried to focus on the conversation happening around us.

It wasn’t exactly the place I wanted to be for the night…not while my mind was still partially back home, mulling over the heat that had been in the kiss—the suggestion of what would be ahead once we finally returned.

There was something about him that made me feel like a livewire. He had me coiled up with tension, waiting for the chance to let go of it once we were alone.

Seeing him dressed up in that black silk shirt tucked neatly into his slacks didn’t help my busy mind, either. His hair was neatly pulled back from his face, but over time, a few strands from the front shifted to frame his face in a way that complimented his features.

God, the things I’d do to have him somewhere private…

But that wasn’t an option while the gathering was well underway.

Between those perfectly tailored dress shirts and evening gowns, and the vapid, empty faces of those investors and associates who took themselves far too seriously, they were all blending into one for me. These social gatherings were important; I knew they were. But heaven above, I wanted to be anywhere else at that moment.

As quietly bored as I felt, Daniil’s presence by my side helped, at least. So did glancing up at him while he gave someone a practiced smile, or how he laughed lightly with the men in that circle, even if he didn’t entirely mean it.

Luckily, he could fool anyone with those pleasantries. He was good at being charming when he needed to be, but knowing him, he didn’t want to be there any more than I did.

All of his family was there, along with a few Levovs and their significant others. We saw them occasionally throughout the night, and Daniil took the time to make sure he introduced me to them.

By the time we were gathered around, listening to the twins while they told a story in tandem, being egged on by Lukyan Levov, I was feeling less engaged and more focused on the slow, deliberate circles Daniil was tracing against my lower back.

I did my best to hide the effect it had on me, not wanting to give myself away, but I couldn’t stop myself from glancing over at him, wondering if he was in the same mood as me.

His eyes were on me for a moment, but not long enough to give away anything. Instead, his attention shifted back to Lukyan and the others.

Despite the kiss earlier, his eyes lacked that usual warmth he often showed me. Instead, his small, polite smile was stiff. Almost like his mind was elsewhere.

Something about it made my heart sink and pulled some of the wind from my sails.

I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, but I could tell something wasn’t quite right with him. Almost like he was anticipating something.

Regardless, I had seen that look in his eyes enough times to know his mind was preoccupied. I just didn’t know with what. And a small, selfish part of me wished he’d return my eagerness.

I studied him for a moment longer before realizing what I was doing and glanced at whoever was talking next.

“You really should try our new gin,” Ari Levov said to Daniil and his brothers standing with us. He gestured to the bar. “Fully stocked, of course.”

At their interest, Daniil glanced down at me with that more reserved expression, silently asking if that was all right with me. Even if the gesture was sweet, the subtle way he seemed to be holding back didn’t sit entirely right with me.

“Go,” I told him easily enough, not wanting him to miss out just because my heart wasn’t entirely in the gathering. “Sample for me.”

Daniil, with his eyes still on me, seemed to hesitate for a moment, and I couldn’t help but catch the faintest movement of something in his eyes, but he was so good at schooling his expression that he dismissed it too soon for me to try and get a better read on him. Then he pressed a quick kiss to my temple and murmured, “Won’t be long.”

Nodding, I watched while the group of them moved over to the bar, leaving me with Alex’s wife Lara, and a few others.

Despite Daniil’s weird shift in demeanor, I did my best to focus on the conversation at hand, giving the girls as much attention as I could.

“Excuse me…I’m just going to freshen up quickly,” I said to the other wives, who all smiled their understanding, not at all bothered by my departure. Disengaging politely, I moved through the busy lounge, able to hear as the guys laughed together at the bar while they let loose more than usual.

I was glad to see Daniil not holding back with them, but at the same time, something in me just wanted to get back home. To be with him and forget about everything else.

But of course, I had to be patient. I wasn’t about to cause a scene, after all…I had my own reputation to uphold.

After sliding my way over to the hallway where the restrooms were, I went into the women’s room and allowed myself to just breathe. To decompress and freshen myself up.

I was usually better with that kind of thing, but whether it was my nerves tied up tightly from Daniil’s promise for later, or the fear I had that he was feeling differently and would rather not indulge me, it was holding me back.

Once I had reined myself in a bit, trying to let go of some of that tension in me, I pushed out of the restroom and glanced back over to the main room. Returning was the obvious thing to do, but the other side of the hallway led to a quieter area, lit up with softer, warm lighting.

For whatever reason, it called to me. Extending my social break was too tempting to resist, so I started in the opposite direction instead.

A few others were milling around while I passed by, but for the most part, nobody paid any special attention to me while I explored, leaving the chatter in the distance.

Reaching the end of the hallway, I took a left turn and continued until I eventually found an exit door there. Getting some air sounded like exactly what I needed.

But before I could reach it, the door opened, and a figure stepped inside. Due to the lack of light at the end, they were shrouded in shadows, making me pause.

The sight was foreboding and sent a bad feeling down my spine, and my pulse quickened a touch.

With their face partially obscured by the darkness, I couldn’t make out who it was.

But even then, something about that figure felt familiar. The way the masculine frame stopped and leaned against the wall, obviously looking in my direction. That body language…

I couldn’t forget it.

But it couldn’t be.

I was seeing things—that was the only possible explanation.

There was no way…

As much as I tried to dispel the thoughts pounding against my skull, there was no denying the uncanny resemblance.

The man standing there a few feet from me looked too much like him to be a coincidence. And when he lifted his head, shifting enough to reveal more of his face, my heart stopped.

It looked exactly like him—those brown eyes, sandy-blonde hair just like mine slicked back out of his face, the same way he always wore it. The calculating stare that never left me.

“Esidor?” I asked, voice so quiet, I didn’t think he heard it.

He didn’t flinch at the name, but even so, he took a few slow steps toward me with a curl of his lips. The jacket hanging off his frame almost seemed to swallow him up, like he had lost weight since the last time I saw him. While he approached me with languid strides, I noticed the toothpick as it moved between his teeth.

“Is that me?” he asked, feigning surprise. With a few more steps, he flashed me an almost sinister-looking grin. “Or am I just a reminder? The vision of everything you’ve lost so far.”

Breath coming out heavy and shaken, I tried to slow my heart down. To just breathe . I needed to calm down.

There was no way this was happening, no way he was actually there.

“I…I don’t…” I trailed off, my voice faltering. It was all too much. I couldn’t think—couldn’t move.

“If only Dad could walk through those doors, it would be a real reunion,” he said, well aware that he was digging in sensitive places.

When I didn’t say anything thanks to my useless brain, far too frozen with shock to come up with something significant, Esidor continued, pulling the toothpick from his mouth to point it at me, as if prepared to say something deep. “You know…you’ve really done something here, haven’t you? You built up this little empire of yours in the wake of my short reign, and I can tell you’re quite pleased with yourself, thinking you have every last man in your rank to cover your ass when you need it. But where are they now?”

Swallowing hard, I didn’t know what he was getting at, and I could hardly muster the ability to try and figure it out.

“Ah, that’s right…” he murmured, looking more animated than before. He stepped even closer, looking more akin to a predator stalking its prey than my brother. He leaned closer, using the toothpick to tap my forehead. “Your thick fucking skull thought it would be more beneficial to lean on the damn Novikovs than your men. You’re in enemy territory without even realizing it. You don’t have a single person here to safeguard you from those bastards. In an attempt to gain allies, you’ve turned your ranks against you.”

The sound of his voice, the fact he was right there in front of me, was enough to release everything I held inside me for months. His death broke me in ways I hadn’t let myself come to terms with before.

It made everything in me burn.

“Stupid, stupid sister…you were never cut out for this.”

His words stung, and I willed myself back a step. “No. This isn’t happening. This isn’t real.”

Esidor sighed. “Maybe it’s not—maybe you’ve finally lost your mind. How about that? After being crushed by all that pressure you couldn’t carry, now it’s letting go, isn’t it?”

Closing my eyes, I tried to push back the nagging guilt inside me. The reminder of how everything had been slipping through my fingers, even if things had been getting better with Daniil.

Giovanni and Vinny. The Pesci men who were not happy with the arrangement. How my cousins were caught in the middle of that tension.

All this time, I thought I was doing something right. I thought I was making changes and succeeding where my father and Esidor both failed.

But I was wrong.

I was just like them.

A satisfied grin spread across Esidor’s lips while he looked at me squarely. Despite the expression, it never reached his cold eyes. “That’s it…think a little harder, Aria. Let yourself really stew in all the ways you fucked up. Maybe then you’ll stop thinking you know better than me, eh?”

Before I could say anything, his eyes shifted up, looking at something behind me. But without looking alarmed, he nodded.

Then, a shift in the air behind me made my whole body tense, but it was already too late. Arms wrapped around me, accompanied by a scent that was all too familiar. Both of them.

Squirming in an attempt to twist free, I went to yell, but a cloth-covered hand clamped over my mouth. The bitter sting of chemicals permeated my senses.

“Stop fighting it,” Giovanni grunted, restraining me the best he could.

Eyes wide with panic while my pulse hammered in my ears, I tried to thrash as hard as I could, but he was far bigger than me—stronger. And little by little, I could feel my control over my limbs lessening.

“We warned you,” Vinny muttered from beside him, sounding almost vaguely regretful. “You didn’t listen.”

My chest ached through that bitter betrayal, feeling like I had been stabbed instead. Betrayed by my own family—the two I trusted to know the ins and outs of every operation.

Feeling like a rabbit caught in the jaws of a wolf, I couldn’t do anything but breathe in whatever was on that rag. I couldn’t muster the energy and mental fortitude to think up a way out…not while my vision started to blur.

I wanted to scream, cry, and fight back all at the same time, but I couldn’t.

After everything…after all of my time and effort…it was never enough.

Esidor’s previous smugness slipped away, his expression growing serious at the sight of me held back and unable to get away. He gestured with his head towards the exit, turning into a haze of dull color. “Take her out.”

Giovanni did exactly that.

And I couldn’t stop him as everything faded away.