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I smiled thinking about him.
And then the door opened.
My head snapped up, and my heart leaped. I stopped breathing for a second before my lungs kicked into action again, pumping blood into my veins almost furiously. My breathing accelerated, and my lips twitched with the smile.
After waiting for him, he finally came for me.
The joy I felt was too immense, and I wanted to sob. My heart beat just a little faster, thudding with each beat. I felt…warm.
My eyes stayed on the door, waiting for him to make his appearance.
He did.
He walked inside.
The only difference was…he wasn’t the one I was waiting for.
My tiny smile fell, my heart faltered, and all the warmth I felt drained from my body. I was left feeling cold again.
So cold and empty.
Lost and scared.
Broken.
The door closed behind him, and he locked it. He turned to face me, and my skin crawled. I fought the urge to throw up.
In front of me, instead of Viktor—instead of my dreams becoming a reality—my nightmares became real.
Valentin stood in front of the door, his heated eyes leering at me.
My husband had come back home.
Chapter 22
Viktor
I stared at the motherfucker’s face. He stared back, his eyes dark with anger and the need to kill. He was raging.
Valentin Solonik was fucking pissed off.
And maybe I was enjoying it a little bit too much.
He came home to find his most trusted man killed. But what he didn’t know was that the person sitting in front of him was the same one who slaughtered his man.
Too bad, so sad. But Valentin was a little late to the rescue.
Holding my fist against my lips, I cleared my throat and tried to look serious. And livid. After all, Igor was supposed to be my man too.
Igor’s murder was a full circle. He was another piece on this chess game. I made a step, I moved the piece to create a path.
Not only to Valerie, but to my game—Alessio’s game.
My King spoke. I listened, and then I made my move.
He made the plans; I made the kill.
“That doesn’t even make any fucking sense,” Valentin snarled, his lips curling back in fury. I saw his fingers tightening around the edge of the table, his knuckles almost white.
I shrugged. “Igor told me he was going to see Diego for an important meeting. He said Diego called with new information about the drug deal.”
Valentin slammed his fist on the table before furiously pushing his chair away and standing up. “Diego wouldn’t kill Igor. It makes no fucking sense. Diego works for Carlos. And Carlos would never attack one of my men.”
“Just because we have dealings with the Mexican cartel, it doesn’t mean we are best buddies with them, Valentin.” My words brought his attention back to me. His eyes were furious, and his glare could kill anyone on the spot.
But I wasn’t just anyone.
“If Alessio is the Pakhan, the King, then Carlos is no less. Carlos is the motherfucking Head. The Mexican cartel is his. Hell, he rules half of the world. The Ivanshovs deal with Carlos, but even Alessio doesn’t want to mess with him. It’s the unspoken treaty between them. But you must have royally pissed him off for him to kill Igor.”
I planted the seed and watched it take root. Of course, Carlos didn’t send Diego to kill Igor.
I killed Igor.
I also killed Diego.
Two birds with one stone. And now we just had to sit back and watch the drama begin.
“Our partnership runs deeper than you think, Konstantin.”
I straightened in my chair at his words. Our partnership runs deeper than you think, Konstantin.
Ah, there we go.
The secrets—whatever Valentin was hiding. I fucking knew it had to do with the Mexican cartel. I just needed him to say the words.
Every piece we moved on the board, we moved diligently. We moved it with a purpose.
We moved it for a bigger picture.
And the bigger picture was right here. The reason why Valentin was so strong.
“What do you mean? Is there something I don’t know?” I slowly asked.
His eyes widened for a second, and then he shook his head. “There are a lot of things you don’t know and don’t understand. Carlos and I go way back. We have been doing business together for decades.”
I sat forward, placing my elbows on my knees and giving him a hard look. “And don’t you think it’s time I know?” I replied with a raised eyebrow.
Valentin lost his angry demeanor. Instead, a nervous look appeared on his face, and his eyes darted everywhere else except on me. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck.
“All in due time, Konstantin,” he said instead, deflecting my point. “Why the hurry?”
I opened my mouth to rebuke, almost fucking desperate now to know his secrets. Fury curled inside of me, and impatience boiled underneath my skin. Taking this game slowly was hard. Maintaining my character as Konstantin was even harder. And it became worse with every passing day.
