Page 68 of Twisted Pact

I slide carefully out of bed as Mila mumbles something but doesn’t wake. I grab my pants and step into the hallway before answering.

“This better be important,” I say instead of hello.

“Good morning to you, too, big brother. Did I wake you?”

“It’s six in the morning.”

“Perfect time for a chat, then.” I hear the smile in her voice. “I’ve heard interesting rumors.”

“What kind of rumors?”

“The kind that involve increased security around the family. Care to explain?”

I lean against the wall and scrub a hand down my face. “Just some complications with the Andreev family. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“The Andreevs.” She pauses. “Dmitri mentioned you’ve been overseeing security for Leonid’s daughter. That seems excessive for a business arrangement.”

“It’s a tense situation.”

“Alexei.” Her voice goes serious. “Please tell me you’re not getting emotionally involved with someone from our world after what happened last time.”

She means Natalia. Six years ago, she was the woman I thought I loved until she proved that every lesson I learned as a kid was right—that love is a weapon enemies can use to destroy you.

I was so fucking careful with her. I built walls around my heart that I thought were impenetrable, but she was patient. She spent two years earning my trust, making me believe she was different from everyone else in our world and that I could have something real.

Then she took everything I told her and every secret I shared and sold it to our competitors, nearly destroying everything Dmitri and I had built. The only reason we survived was because Dmitri caught her before she could finish what she started.

I haven’t let anyone close since. Haven’t allowed myself to feel anything beyond physical attraction. It’s safer that way. Cleaner.

Until Mila.

“There’s no emotional involvement,” I lie to Sasha. “I’m just protecting an asset until the threats are neutralized.”

“Bullshit. I hear it in your voice.”

“You don’t hear anything in my voice.”

“I’ve known you my whole life, Alexei. I was there after Natalia. I watched what that betrayal did to you. Don’t lie to me now.”

I let out a huff. “Her name is Mila. Mila Andreeva.”

“And you’re sleeping with her?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“So, yes. Jesus Christ, Alexei. Do you remember what Natalia did? How she used your feelings to get close enough to destroy us? How you swore you’d never let anyone in again?”

“This is different.”

“How?”

Mila doesn’t want anything from me except honesty. She sees the monster I am and still looks at me like I’m worth something. When she’s in my arms, I can almost believe I’m more than just the weapon our father trained me to be.

But I don’t say any of that; I just tell Sasha what she wants to hear.

“It’s just sex. Physical. Nothing more.”

“If you say so.”