Page 109 of Thorns of Love

Did I fucking ever! In Sofia Volkov’s hands, that chip would have been disastrous. For many families, including mine. It would have given her or the Yakuza leverage over every single member in the underworld.

“I did, but it doesn’t matter. It’s all gone. Nobody is getting any of that data.”

“I guess Adrian had been busy for a long time,” he remarked. I nodded. “Does it bother you that Sofia Volkov didn’t show up to that meeting with Adrian?”

“Yes,” I admitted. “It’s making me paranoid.”

“Ditto.” Vasili pushed his hand through hair. “Tatiana said not even Nikita knew that Adrian changed the deal from the Yakuza to Sofia Volkov.”

“No surprise,” I retorted dryly. “No honor among thieves.”

Silence followed, both of us lost in our thoughts.

My mind was on my wife. I ached for her, my balls turning blue, demanding her pussy. But she was still healing and I couldn’t be that bastard. So I jacked off a lot since the stabbing, thinking about her. God knew I’d had enough practice with it over the last several years. Except, it wasn’t the same. She was so fucking close to me. The scent of roses even lingered in here and she hadn’t stepped into this room in weeks.

“Do you have a plan for Sofia Volkov?” Vasili asked, breaking the silence.

“Find her. Kill her.” My tone was slightly aloof, recognizing it wasn’t much of a plan. The woman had become an expert at hiding. She had years of experience with it. “Maybe her niece or her niece’s husband could get their hands on Sofia and do the job for us.”

The expression on Vasili’s face told me he didn’t believe they would.

“So what’s the deal with your sister?” He changed the subject and I immediately went on alert. It’d be hard to change that reaction. I was so used to killing anyone who learned about our connection. Now it fucking seemed to be a common knowledge.

Isla went back to her friends, still pissed off at me. There were still words left unsaid, except I didn’t know how to say them. Maybe it was better to let her continue to hate me than crush her ideal of her mother’s love.

Fuck if I knew. Tatiana thought I should tell her exactly what happened. I didn’t want to see the pain on my little sister’s face when she learned the truth.

I let out a heavy sigh. “She’s mad,” I settled for a half-answer.

“So she's preparing to kill you? Cut you up and burn you so she can hide your DNA?” Vasili asked half-amused.

“Maybe,” I grumbled. I still didn’t know what the fuck that was about. Isla was one of the softest, most gentle souls ever. You heard it in her music. You heard it in her laugh. The words murder and her shouldn’t be part of the sentence.

Though after that comment in the hospital, I wondered. When I asked her about it, she just shrugged and turned her back to me. My little sister detested me at the moment.

“She said she stayed with Marchetti when you followed Adrian from Paris?” he questioned.

I nodded. It was another thing that bothered me. At that time, I thought it was the safest decision. Now I wasn’t so certain. I kept getting vague answers from the fucker too. Jesus, maybe I’d turn a not so new leaf and kill everyone for a fresh start.

“Yes.”

“You don’t like it,” Vasili remarked.

“Would you like to leave your daughter with Marchetti?” I responded wryly.

“Considering his wife and mistresses turn up dead, no.”

Done with this conversation, I stood up. “I’m off to bed.”

My hand on the door handle, Vasili’s voice stopped me. “Konstantin.”

I glanced over my shoulder. “Yes.”

“My offer stands,” he said seriously. “It might be easier if I torture the woman.”

I shook my head. “Thank you for offering.”

THIRTY-EIGHT