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Would she have ordered those guards to hold a gun to my back so that I would leave with her?
I shake my head. “I don’t believe it. She brought the guards solely for protection. I’m sure of it.”
Andrei sighs a second time and kisses my forehead. “I know you believe that, zhena. I hope, for your sake, that she doesn’t prove you wrong.”
I lay my head against his chest. Everything feels so hopeless. “What do we do now? Liam’s still missing. My grandmother is somewhere out there roaming the streets.” I take a breath but it turns into a sigh. “I invited her to the wedding. I still want her to attend as a guest, not a prisoner.”
Ezra grunts, like he disagrees with the idea.
I turn my frown on him. “Andrei said she could attend.”
“I said I’d try to find her, so that you could invite her. Now, you have.” Andrei shuts his eyes. “I have a feeling she’s going to show up, anyway. We need to be prepared.”
“You’re not allowed to kill her.” I push away from Andrei and look from one man to the next. Known mafia men. Killers. Kings.
But lovers, too.
“I forbid it.” I cross my arms and lift my chin. “And if any one of you orders someone else to kill her, I will find out, and I will be very fucking angry about it.”
“She’s learning,” Mikhail muses, a smile curving across his lips. “My, my, Andrei, she almost sounds like you.”
Andrei’s eyes soften as he gazes at me. “Yes, she does.”
My heart flutters in my chest, skipping a beat as each of my men wander closer. Mikhail reaches for me across the desk and brushes his knuckles against my cheek, smiling at the blush he conjures. Ezra hovers by my right, his fingertips hooking onto mine as he plays with my hand. Andrei smiles down at me, the pride in his eyes mixing with a tenderness that only a lover can possess.
It’s all so much. I can feel my emotions rising, and I have to take a breath to keep them from spilling over. I might do something like cry and ruin the moment. I clear my throat and snap my fingers twice in front of their faces. “Hey. Focus. I’m serious. No one touches her.”
Mikhail sighs dramatically. “Okay, malyshka, I won’t kill Katya at the wedding. But what about Liam? Can we kill him?” A glimmer enters his eyes. “He is, after all, stealing my MO. I’m the only one allowed to take pictures of you.” He winks, and my blush deepens.
Damn him.
“I’d rather talk to him, first.” I press my finger to Mikhail’s lips when he starts to protest. “I’m not saying you can’t kill him—” I wince at the thought. “—all I’m saying, is that I want some answers. I need to hear everything from him directly, or I . . . I don’t know if I can believe any of this.” The idea of Liam stalking me and taking my pictures sends a shiver down my spine. It doesn’t feel real. “Can we please talk to him before any of you do anything rash?”
Andrei looks between Ezra and Mikhail, having some kind of silent brotherhood conversation that only they can hear. Then, he nods. “We’ll talk first. But then, no promises. He may sign his own death wish.”
“I hope he does.” Mikhail rocks back on his heels as he gives me a once-over. “I’d love to see the look on your face when it happens. I bet it’ll be devastating. You’re so beautiful when you’re angry—I can’t imagine how you look when your heart’s breaking.”
Sometimes, I forget who I’m dealing with, and then Mikhail goes and says shit like that.
Ezra grunts. “We must find him first.”
“I actually have an idea about that.” Andrei places his hands on my shoulders. “But we’ll need your help, darling.”
Nerves flutter through my body and settle in my stomach. “Um, what for?”
Mikhail hums a tune. “What does Liam love more than anything?” He brushes his palm across the back of my neck as he comes around the desk and joins the others. “What’s his favorite little hobby, hm?” A photo crinkles beneath his shoe.
Ezra frowns. “I do not like this.”
I can’t say I do, either.
“You want me to lure him out.” If it’s the only way I’ll get answers . . . I have to take it. I need to know the truth.
Andrei nods. “If you’re near, he’ll appear. He won’t be able to resist.”
I grasp the front of Andrei’s shirt and meet his eyes. The pakhan’s eyes. His word is law within the Bratva. “You promise you’ll let me talk to him first?”
I need his word, or I won’t agree to anything.
